Allison Smith painted her Victorian in Portland's Lair Hill neighborhood a vivid turquoise, as befits a color expert. // Photo by Teresa Meier

Take a walk through Lair Hill, a neighborhood tucked between the Willamette River and the southwest hills of Portland, and you’ll find rows of turn-of-the-century Victorians. The tall, skinny homes with ornate architectural detailing and storied pasts blend together, except for one brightly colored turquoise home, the home of Allison Smith.

“The Victorian era was a time of boldness and a period where extravagance was celebrated; you could just go for it,” says Smith. “I love this house and turquoise is one of my favorite colors; it was a daring choice but I knew it was the right one. It makes me happy every time I see it.”

Don’t be fooled, this was not a fly-by-the-seat-of-her-pants color decision, but rather one made from a color theory she’s developed (and proven successful) over many years.

It was clear from childhood that Smith was a designer. Afternoons spent rearranging her mother’s eclectic collection of art and furniture evolved from playtime to schooling. Allison left southern California for New York City to study art, and soon landed an internship with Vera Neumann, a 1970s artist and textile designer best known for her vibrant colors and bold pattern designs.

She eventually migrated back west, first to southern California, where she worked for a commercial design firm, and in the late 1980s to the Northwest, where Smith promptly made a big bang in the design community. 

In Portland less than a year, Smith partnered with a builder to design a Street of Dreams home that won accolades including Best of Show and Best Kitchen. From there, Smith’s interior design practice took off.