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Kenna Hanson
Kenna Hanson, senior to be in interior design, has an internship this summer that she’s been preparing for almost half her life.
Hanson is working for Tiffany Home Design, a key vendor on the 6,275-square-foot “Quintessence” home in this year’s NW Natural Street of Dreams.
“Brittainy Tiffany of Tiffany Home Design is responsible for the design and staging” of the five-bedroom, five-bath house, Hanson said, “as well as for coordinating on a neighboring wine tasting location called ‘The Barrel House.’ I have been involved in furniture, accessory, and casegoods sourcing, selection, design and installation of the Street of Dreams house and have also been involved with other personal clients with our head interior designer, Brooke Johnson. I also have contributed some sourcing to local community projects and participated in their staging department and showroom.”
Hanson, who grew up in southwest Portland, traces her roots as designer to age 12.
“My grandparents were building a house on Puget Sound, and my uncle was the architect,” she said. “Every time we went up, the house grew and grew, and I said, I want to do that; I want to take my own design and build my Barbie dream house, which sounds so lame, but I was 12. I started drawing and still have the drawings: a three-story mansion with a pool. My dad flipped houses on his own time, so I just grew up around house construction and architecture and design and all of that. I was used to it and decided I wanted to be in business for myself.”
The interior design program within the College of Business has helped put her on the cusp of launching a career in her aspirational field of residential design.
“I truly love Oregon State,” she said. “I love the campus, I love the interior design staff, and all the design and human environment teachers are really nice. Residential design kind of died out when the (housing) market crashed, but now it’s coming back up.”
This year’s Street of Dreams, the 47th edition of the event produced annually by the Home Builders Association of Metro Portland, features five homes in a vineyard development on Pete’s Mountain in West Linn. It opens July 30 and runs through Aug. 28.
Tickets to view the work of all of the builders and design professionals are on sale now.
“The houses are all built and it’s up to us to place the pieces and stage them to bring most attention to the home as well as show everyone what we can do to the best of our abilities,” Hanson said.