Holiday Gift Guide 2014
Give the gift of Oregon this season with these Oregon-made products. Prefect for anyone on your nice list.
Home + Design
How to Make a Bird Feed Suet
Ginger Livingston Sanders is a Bend resident and fulltime explorer, glassblower and photographer for photographoregon.com, a site dedicated to photographic exploration of Oregon.
Beyond the Ranch
In the 1970s, there was the ubiquitous ranch house—and then there was everything else. For those who opted for custom designs, you might see some far-out features, such as a yurt-style ceiling or rounded walls. In the following pages, we take a look at three remodels of 1970s-era homes. These modern renovations add function and beauty without compromising the spirit of the originals.
The Modern Mix
We searched high and low to find four modern bathrooms with compelling designs. Then we questioned the designers about their choices. We wanted to know—what makes something look fresh and contemporary even years after it’s completed? “It’s all about taking a minimal approach,” said Stan Boles, former principal of Boora Architects, a company that’s been designing custom homes in Oregon for twenty years. “It’s the old ‘less is more’ strategy.” Read on to find out everything we learned.
Backyard Oasis
It’s no secret that it rains in Oregon. But buckets of rain and snow squalls notwithstanding, Oregonians refuse to languish inside for long. In the following pages, three homeowners share their backyard transformations—inspiring us to embrace all four seasons from the comforts of home.
The Life Aquatic
Houseboat living looks pretty romantic, but it’s not for the faint of heart. First, you have to get your land legs used to the water’s movement. It’s not unusual for the lights (and people) to sway during dinner parties. Second, living on a dock often means long treks in Oregon’s winter weather between the car and home. As one homeowner puts it, “You better like wearing your raincoat and Wellies.”
Garden to Glass
Landscape designer Shannon Lester, 39, has spent the past two decades creating landscapes around Oregon. She started in city planning and wetland restoration, and then spent eight years running a landscape design firm with her husband, Andrew, 41.
La Terra Vita
Lucie Gouin examines seeds from a friend’s tomato plant that she says tasted particularly good. On a plate at her kitchen table and labeled “9/23/13,” the heirloom seeds are among hundreds meticulously plucked, dried and saved for possible cultivation for the farm’s community-supported agriculture members. These luscious, thin-skinned heirlooms at the farmers’ market come at a price–and not just to the consumer. photo by Andrea Lonas They also sell at farmers’ markets, including the Saturday market near Portland State University. Poulos harvests vegetables Friday night. Gouin washes them into the wee hours, then he loads them and departs around 4:30 a.m. They joke that, by September, Poulos resembles a zombie. Heirloom tomato production begins the previous season, by picking and saving seeds from the best plants. “Harvesting and saving heirloom tomato seed is like collecting dying wishes,” quips Gouin. “It is practically an obligation and comes with the promise…
Clean Rivers
Oregon is known as a leader in sustainability, and cities around the world are looking to rainy Portland for stormwater management. The city’s elaborate bioswale systems typically take the form of curbside gardens throughout the city and function as an alternative to sewers, capturing rainwater runoff in a sloped drainage course. The course is filled with rock and soil beds, which are planted with vegetation.
