Inside a Creative Couple's Portland Home, Where the Color Palette Outshines Even the Gloomiest Days

"For Jolyn Chen and Louis Lin, debuting their Portland, Oregon, restaurant Xiao Ye in 2023 was a significant milestone. "It was Jolyn's first commercial project and a chance for her to show who she was as a designer," says Lin. "And for me, as a chef, to show how I cook and how I feed people." The Hollywood District venue serves what they describe as first-generation American food—an interpretation of their experiences growing up outside of Los Angeles with immigrant parents from Taiwan."

"Once the scalloped floating shelves, sage beadboard walls with forest green trim, artfully mismatched chairs, and every last code-compliant detail at Xiao Ye (which means "midnight snack" in Mandarin) were in place, Chen's skills were called on again—this time in the world of residential design. But instead of answering to clients as she had when working for Ginny MacDonald in LA and AD PRO directory member Jessica Helgerson in Portland, her next project would be personal."

"Chen and Lin's paths have long run in parallel—first as childhood friends, later as a couple, and eventually as creative partners, too. Both cut their teeth in restaurants like Rose's Luxury in Washington, DC, before life nudged them in slightly different directions. Chen followed a growing pull toward interiors and enrolled in UCLA Extension's interior architecture program, while Lin kept sharpening his skills in acclaimed kitchens, including chef Evan Funke's Felix in Venice."

Jolyn Chen and Louis Lin opened Xiao Ye in Portland's Hollywood District in 2023, presenting first-generation American food influenced by their upbringing outside Los Angeles with Taiwanese immigrant parents. Chen designed the restaurant with scalloped floating shelves, sage beadboard walls, forest green trim, artfully mismatched chairs, and code-compliant details. Xiao Ye means "midnight snack" in Mandarin. Chen previously worked for Ginny MacDonald and Jessica Helgerson and studied interior architecture at UCLA Extension. Lin cooked in kitchens including Rose's Luxury and Felix under Evan Funke. In early 2024, while still operating Xiao Ye, Chen began remodeling the Dutch Colonial Revival home they purchased in Northeast Portland.

Read at Architectural Digest