Draw it first
Nothing is ordered before there is a signed drawing set with dimensions on it. A drawing can be argued with; a delivered cabinet cannot.
Home
The studio
Four people. One room type
We started in 2011 taking whatever work came in. By 2015 it was obvious the kitchens were better than everything else we did, so we stopped doing everything else.
How we got here
The story, briefly
Astrid trained as a furniture designer in Gothenburg and spent her first Portland years drawing kitchens for a design-build firm that also did bathrooms, decks and the occasional garage conversion. The kitchens were always the drawings she cared about, and they were always the ones the firm rushed.
Nordhaus opened in 2011 on the top floor of a building on SE Division Street, one designer and one carpenter. The first three years included bathrooms and one regrettable basement. By 2015 the numbers said what the instinct already had: the kitchens made money, the rest did not, and the kitchens were better work.
Since then it has been kitchens only. Around fourteen a year, never more than three on site at once, almost all of them within four miles of the studio. We have turned down whole-house remodels from clients we liked, and recommended other builders to them, and still drawn their kitchens.
The Scandinavian thing is not a style we picked from a magazine. It is where Astrid learned to draw, and it shows up as restraint more than as a look: fewer materials, one hardware finish, a plan that makes sense before anything is decorated.
The studio in figures
- Kitchens completed since 2011
- 214
- Kitchens. No bathrooms, no additions
- 100%
- Jobs on site at any one time, maximum
- 3
- Return visit to adjust doors and drawers
- 60-day
Sample figure
Included
How we work
Four things we hold to
None of these are unusual. What is unusual is writing them down and then being held to them by clients who read the website.
Say the awkward thing
If refacing solves your problem we will say so, even though a full remodel is worth more to us. We have done this often enough that it is a policy, not a gesture.
One room type
Four people cannot be excellent at kitchens, bathrooms, basements and additions. We picked the room we know best and stopped there.
Write it down
Variations are priced in writing before they happen. A Friday note says what happened and what is next. Nothing important is transmitted verbally on a busy site.
Who you will meet
The four of us
Astrid Lindqvist
Principal designer · 19 years
Trained in furniture design in Gothenburg, then eleven years drawing kitchens in Portland. Does every measured survey herself and draws every plan.
Marcus Boone
Lead carpenter · 22 years
Came up through cabinet shops and pre-war restoration. Runs the site day to day and is the person you will see every morning.
Yuki Tanaka
Cabinetry and specification · 12 years
Turns approved drawings into cut lists, order schedules and hardware lists. Catches the appliance cut-out that is half an inch off before it matters.
Rosa Delgado
Client coordinator · 9 years
Handles the schedule, the permit calendar and the inspection appointments, and sends the Friday note that says what happened and what happens next.
Licences and cover
Credentials
- Oregon CCB registration (demo number shown in the footer)
- EPA lead-safe certified renovator, required in pre-1978 housing
- General liability and workers' compensation insurance, certificates with every contract
- City of Portland permit and inspection coordination handled in-house
- Manufacturer-certified installers for engineered quartz and porcelain slab
This is a demonstration website. Registration and licence numbers shown are placeholders and should be replaced with the real business details before the site goes live.
Where we stand
Come and see the drawings before you decide anything.
The studio is at 1420 SE Division Street, Suite 3, Portland. Visits are by appointment so that whoever you meet has your room, and only your room, in front of them.