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As Nolan Kurtz walks through his downtown Portland condominium, the stories tumble out of him.
A screen propped up against one wall of his dining room that depicts lions on a black background was a gift from his great uncle to his grandmother. (It includes Chinese characters Kurtz says he cannot read, but he ran the text through Google Translate and says it describes someone visiting the historical city in Xian and seeing a mural with three lions.) A screen propped against the opposite dining room wall portraying a series of cranes in various poses came from Shanghai: “My grandma bargained with some man and got a great deal on it. It’s all really heavy, and I love that piece.”
Other items were lucky finds: A bench at the end of the long hallway at the space’s entrance fits the alcove it’s in so tidily one could be forgiven for thinking it was custom-made, with drawers where shoes can be stored and another heirloom screen behind it. But Kurtz says he found the bench at Goodwill. There are ceramic items made by his brother; vases inherited from his grandparents; and VHS tapes and art prints sourced from local thrift and vintage stores.
“I look in magazines, I’m inspired by a lot of creators on Instagram that I see, but I’m really kind of just going with my gut with a lot of this stuff,” Kurtz says.
Kurtz lives in The Ambassador, built in 1922 and listed in the National Register of Historic Buildings since 1999. The space, which he bought in 2022, is 1,400 square feet, with almost every square inch of wall space covered with art; in addition to screens featuring scenes of the natural world are vintage clocks, kitschy thrifted pieces, and religious iconography from various traditions.
Kurtz was born in Bend, but moved to Tacoma, Wash., with his family when he was 4. His grandparents lived in nearby Federal Way. After his grandfather died and his grandmother moved to a cottage on his parents’ property, Kurtz inherited a large number of their belongings. He brought them with him to Portland when he moved here in 2022. He’s slowly filled the condominium with a combination of those inherited pieces as well as pieces he’s purchased—some in Portland, some in other places he’s lived, like North Carolina and the Bay Area—that speak to him.
“I like feeling like I’m in an enclosure a little bit,” Kurtz says. “I tried the minimalism thing when I first moved here, and I felt like it only reinforced the kind of loneliness I felt living in a new city all by myself…I think I quite literally surround myself with things to feel like part of something.”
While Asian-inspired art is everywhere in Kurtz’s space, and expressing his heritage—he describes himself as half-Chinese and half-white—he also takes inspiration from other spaces.
Kurtz has a bachelor’s degree in Christian theology from Seattle Pacific University and a master’s in divinity from Duke University; the religious iconography is a nod to his relationship with faith: “I identify as a Christian mystic. I practice contemplative prayer, but I’m very universalist in my theology, so I don’t believe there’s one right path,” Kurtz says. “Christianity is what I’ve found, and I think it makes me a better person; you’ll see there are icons from various faiths around here, and I do that intentionally.”
But he also thinks of his particular approach to decorating as a nod to his youth in the 1990s and 2000s, and to his sense of humor, with pops of color or funny trinkets. “I’m very inspired by that kind of Y2K posters-all-over-your-bedroom kind of maximalism, and I think my place is drawing from that a lot, except now I’m more interested in vintage and antique décor.”
The space is indeed maximalist, with eye-catching art, books and other media visible from every angle—but it feels curated, not cluttered.
Most of our homes are works in progress; Kurtz’s is no different. His next project is building a home gym in his second bedroom, but he’s still thinking through how he wants it to look; he wants it to be functional but also an aesthetic fit with the rest of the space.
“That’s why it’s taking me so long, because I’m kind of stumped on how to do it, but I want to make it unique,” he says.
Kurtz came to Portland to attend school to study Chinese medicine, which his mother also practices, and bought his condo around that time. His grandfather died shortly thereafter, and amid some other personal upheavals, he decided Chinese medicine wasn’t his path. He’s worked as a hospital chaplain, but is taking a break from that work and contemplating next steps. He’s considered a career in design, and does some content creation, including for local vintage stores like Tiny Brambles in downtown Portland.
While he isn’t precisely sure what his next career move will be, Kurtz has made a space that feels like home to him.
“I have always been kind of searching for that sense of belonging, and I think my space kind of shows that a little bit,” Kurtz says. “There’s some bits of everything here, and it all feels like it represents a little piece of me.”
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SEE IT: Nolan Kurtz joins Nester subjects past and present in a panel discussion of “Home as Identity” moderated by magazine editor Christen McCurdy at NestFest, 110 SE Taylor St., nestfestpdx.com. 1 pm Sunday, Sept. 20. Free.
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