Home + Design

A Modest and Chic Portland Home

Modest chic Portland home with texture and bright pops of color written by Melissa Dalton | photos by Built Photo Not all kitchens need the pomp and circumstance of showy stoves and flashy range hoods. Take the one in this custom home in Southeast Portland—it’s all about the subtle details. Sunlight pours through a full-height window which is perfectly aligned to brighten the center aisle on the city’s grayest days. White quartz counters wrap white oak cabinet fronts, revealing a neat shadow gap where the stone and wood meet. Yet behind those cabinet doors are boxes from IKEA’s Sektion line. Such an unfussy approach was deliberate on the homeowners’ part. “They wanted a fairly modest and compact house,” said architect Jeff Stern of In Situ Architecture, who worked with JRA Green Building to complete the home in 2017. “They weren’t looking for anything very formal.” Stern started the design process…

A Modern Traditional Tetherow Home

A modern traditional Tetherow home detailing of modernism, with a few rustic and industrial accents thrown in written by Melissa Dalton | photos by Heaven McArthur for Timberline Construction of Bend When building a brand-new house, the options can seem endless, which sometimes leads to “analysis paralysis” in certain clients. The owners of this recent build in Bend’s Tetherow development avoided indecision by identifying what they didn’t want first. “Especially in Tetherow, a lot of the houses are super modern, but they didn’t want a super contemporary home,” said Bend-based interior designer Lucy Roland of Harper House Design. In 2015, Roland joined Timberline Construction and Tebbs Design Group to guide the owners, a couple in the brewery business, through the design and build process. “[The wife] definitely errs on the side of more traditional,” Roland said. “So, they wanted something that can bridge the gap between modern and traditional.” On the…

Design Finds With A Modern ‘Mid’ Look

Design Finds Get the modern ‘Mid’ look of the West Hills bath Go bold with Clayhaus Ceramics’ Futura Collection. It’s comprised of five different tile designs that can be mixed and matched in a rainbow of glazes, all with a distinctive three-dimensional quality to their surface. clayhaustile.com There’s no need to have disparate packaging around when the cotton balls and Q-tips can be decanted into these chic stoneware vessels, available in a variety of sizes. Offered in either white or black and topped with low-profile acacia lids, they’ll create a much more cohesive display. rejuvenation.com For a minimalist treatment similar to the floating light fixtures in the West Hills bath, try the Baird Aged Brass Sconce from Hudson Valley Lighting, which combines a simple brass base with an oversized orbital shade. Pick it up at Globe Lighting, an outpost for fine lighting in the Pacific Northwest since its first store…

Two Portland Bathroom Luxury Remodels

Two mid-century Portland bathroom remodels pack a lot of luxury with light tile and charm written by Melissa Dalton A Modern Take on a West Hills Mid-century When a couple bought this rambler in Portland’s West Hills, it still held much of its Mid-century charm, which the new owners loved. Soaring ceilings clad in cedar in the living room? Check. Original kitchen cabinets in excellent shape? Yes, please. Unfortunately, their swooning stopped upon seeing the master bathroom. “ The house was built in 1954, and I don’t think the bathrooms had ever been touched,” said Stewart Horner, principal designer at Penny Black Interiors, who worked with the homeowners on a refresh. “It was pretty much as it had been for fifty-plus years, and it wasn’t pleasant.” First, there was the room’s unappealing Jack-and-Jill layout. A popular treatment during the Mid-century era, it meant the bathroom was shared between the parents’…

Green Living Around the State

Step inside these recent sustainable home designs around the state written by Melissa Dalton Oregon has some serious green building cred, but there’s always room for improvement. Governor Kate Brown led the state into an embrace of energy conservation when, last November, she signed an executive order stating that newly constructed residences must demonstrate 40 to 50 percent more energy efficiency than conventional construction. Intrigued, we checked out three recent sustainable builds to better understand what our future neighborhoods might look like. The First Passive House in Corvallis exterior photography by David Paul Bayles | interior photography by Jen G. Pywell Choosing to Build their first home was a no-brainer for Carl and Julie Christianson. He runs G. Christianson Construction, which was started by his parents in Corvallis in 1986. Less obvious is that the couple would make their home a certified Passive House. Although Carl’s company had never built…

DIY: How To Make a Terrarium

Nothing pretties up the bathroom like a little terrarium written by Melissa Dalton Make your own terrarium by following these easy tips, terrariums can be made with materials bought from specialty terrarium shops, pet and aquarium stores, home improvement destinations and the nursery. 1 PICK A CONTAINER Whether it’s a vintage cloche from an antique mall or an ordinary fish bowl, pick a clear glass container that will offer plenty of space for the plants and transmit enough light to encourage growth. If choosing a container with a lid, make sure it won’t be sitting in the direct sun, as that can kill the plants inside. 2 POUR THE FOUNDATION Cover the bottom with small rocks to encourage drainage. Pour in a layer of sand, using a funnel to keep the grains neat. Have fun choosing the colors of these elements, since they will be visible. Next, add activated charcoal…

DIY:Concerete Veneer Countertops

If you like the look of the Tumalo barn remodel’s concrete countertops, consider trying a concrete veneer in your own home.

Refreshed Barn In Tumalo

This refreshed barn in Tumalo has been convereted into a beautifully classic home with just the right amount of rustic style.

Modern Portland Foursquare Home In SE

Walk down any street in inner Southeast Portland and you’ll see the Foursquare. As a popular build after the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition of 1905, Foursquares stand two-and-a-half stories high, usually have a wide front porch, and eschew the ornate flourish common to their Victorian predecessors.