Hotel Turned Beautiful, Efficient Apartment in Portland

My first apartment living alone was a 390-square-foot oddity. The door opened into a main room that was more like a wide hallway, too small to fit more than one piece of living room furniture. A curtain turned the front into a makeshift bedroom and dining area and my couches ended up in the technical bedroom. It’s what worked in the strange space and it’s all I could do to functionally — and somewhat beautifully — live there. When Casey Keasler moved to downtown Portland, OR, two years ago, she knew it would be important for her to find a home she could work out of, share with an assistant, find historical significance in and walk easily to and from downtown with her dog, Winston. She found everything she needed, except excess space, in this two-room apartment in a 1914 hotel converted into rental units. Looking at Casey’s Instagram account, you’d never know that her apartment is 365 square feet. Her perfectly proportioned furniture, design solutions and the gorgeous natural light pouring in makes her place feel airier than it is.

Casey is an interior designer who works for herself and from her home. Her use of the space to accomplish all of the various aspects of her life in the main room is pretty remarkable. Her lounge area with her couch and bar flows effortlessly into her small dining area. Since Casey loves to entertain, she’s created a space that achieves her hosting needs, despite the apartment’s small size. “The process is always evolving and organic. Come back in six months and things will have changed. The place is small, so it took me some adjusting to realize what I actually need on a day-to-day basis. I got rid of a lot of stuff,” Casey says. “I wanted the place to be a background for everything that I do. My place needs to have a life that can evolve. Because of my lifestyle, it needs to do many things, but also be a relaxing environment for me to live and work.” It’s one thing to create a functional space, but Casey has created a beautiful home as well. —Lauren

Photography by Casey Keasler.