Home+Garden

Modern ‘Mid’ Look Design Finds

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.

Oregon Home Renovation: New Vintage

It’s hard to say what appealed most to Leslie Dunlap and Seth Cotlar when they visited their Mid-century home for the first time a decade ago. Of course, there’s the incredible view.

DIY: How to Plant Your Own Mid-century-Inspired Garden

written by Melissa Dalton To tackle a Mid-century-inspired landscape, try these tips drawn from Leslie Dunlap and Seth Cotlar’s garden project. 1. Consider Sightlines From Inside the House In order to sync the existing architecture with the backyard, assess the views from inside the house looking out, then create attractive vignettes at the end of those sightlines. For instance, Dunlap wanted to keep an existing Smoketree that she could see from the living room, so Canfield surrounded it with low-lying plants that underscore the tree’s height and shape. 2. Think In “Drifts” Repetition is key: Cluster the same plants together in masses to create unity and encourage the eye to move through the garden. “Not just one of this or one of that,” said Canfield, which can create a jumbled effect. 3. Highlight Architectural Plants Architectural plants have a more pronounced silhouette, either via branch or leaf structure. In Dunlap…