My Houzz: Mixed-Use Oregon Home Serves and Charms
Home, restaurant, garden, rental cabin — and it gives back to the community too. This multitasking home is a wonder in more ways than one
Dayna McErlean's seven-year remodeling project transformed a debilitated Portland, Oregon, building into a vibrant multiuse project. Drawing on her childhood and inspired by her hands-on, creative family, McErlean created four dynamic spaces — the Yakuza Lounge (a food lover's Japanese pub), an upstairs living space, a gorgeous garden and deck area, and a cabin for rent. Working with a carefully chosen team of building consultants, McErlean also incorporated a green roof and a water reclamation system. Now, nearly a decade later, her converted home in the city's Alberta Arts District, is at the heart of a thriving creative community.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Dayna McErlean and son Bishop
Location: Portland, Oregon
Size: 1,200-square-foot interior and 1,500-square-foot exterior deck; 2 bedrooms, 1 bath
That's interesting: McErlean lives above a restaurant she owns, and rents out a cabin in the gardens below.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Dayna McErlean and son Bishop
Location: Portland, Oregon
Size: 1,200-square-foot interior and 1,500-square-foot exterior deck; 2 bedrooms, 1 bath
That's interesting: McErlean lives above a restaurant she owns, and rents out a cabin in the gardens below.
The kitchen island is set on wheels. The countertops are black granite, and the kitchen cabinets are made of Plyboo that McErlean scored at a discount due to slight flaws. The corner post was salvaged from the original building, and all the cabinet pulls are custom. The stove surround and backsplash are milled steel panels fabricated and installed by David Bertman. McErlean's clay mug and teapot collection is set against the steel panel.
Casters: John W. Negus
Casters: John W. Negus
Louise Lakier: What or who inspires your personal style?
Dayna McErlean: My late mother and father and the way they led their lives. I grew up in a huge 15,000-square-feet open home built by my father and brothers. I watched them build the nine-bedroom, nine-bathroom home from the age of 3 and remember running around on long, steep planks of wood before the stairs were built. My father built it so all of his seven kids could each have their own bed and bathroom. My mother decorated the whole home herself, and I remember she used fabric as wallpaper.
A 30-foot bridge separated the boys' rooms from the girls' rooms, with my parents' room located at the head of the bridge like a toll house. My father moved to Staten Island from Brooklyn in the early '60s when they where constructing the bridge, so I always wondered if the Verrazano Narrows Bridge inspired the bridge in our home. It was just an amazing, magical place to grow up, and I think my parents would be proud to see what I have created today.
Dining furniture: Era Vintage
Dayna McErlean: My late mother and father and the way they led their lives. I grew up in a huge 15,000-square-feet open home built by my father and brothers. I watched them build the nine-bedroom, nine-bathroom home from the age of 3 and remember running around on long, steep planks of wood before the stairs were built. My father built it so all of his seven kids could each have their own bed and bathroom. My mother decorated the whole home herself, and I remember she used fabric as wallpaper.
A 30-foot bridge separated the boys' rooms from the girls' rooms, with my parents' room located at the head of the bridge like a toll house. My father moved to Staten Island from Brooklyn in the early '60s when they where constructing the bridge, so I always wondered if the Verrazano Narrows Bridge inspired the bridge in our home. It was just an amazing, magical place to grow up, and I think my parents would be proud to see what I have created today.
Dining furniture: Era Vintage
The curved metal walls draw you in at the top of the entry stairs. A coat closet is behind the chalkboard-painted plywood panels. The cove lighting system in the rear part of the house was conceived by Andee Hess of Osmose Design and installed by "Sandy" Alexander Mills along the ceiling truss joists to create a beautiful amber glow.
LL: What was your biggest splurge?
DM: The rugs. I have a love of fibers and weaving, and to me the rugs were a huge functional indulgence of art that would create comfort that surrounds both of us.
LL: What was your biggest splurge?
DM: The rugs. I have a love of fibers and weaving, and to me the rugs were a huge functional indulgence of art that would create comfort that surrounds both of us.
Works Architecture designed the shelving and custom cantilevered desk in the living room, and Rob Roy of Recychedelic fabricated and installed it. The lamp is from Mexico and belonged to McErlean's parents.
The furniture is an eclectic mix of modern pieces and family heirlooms from her childhood home in Staten Island. She also recently splurged on reupholstering the couch.
LL: Tell me about the artwork on the fireplace.
DM: The print on the fireplace is a life drawing/collagraph print that I made when I was studying at the Glasgow School of Art in Scotland in 1991. The printing plate is made from cardboard, coated with floor tile adhesive and drawn into with a chopstick as it was drying. I coated it with matte medium to seal it, inked it up, then passed it through the press.
The furniture is an eclectic mix of modern pieces and family heirlooms from her childhood home in Staten Island. She also recently splurged on reupholstering the couch.
LL: Tell me about the artwork on the fireplace.
DM: The print on the fireplace is a life drawing/collagraph print that I made when I was studying at the Glasgow School of Art in Scotland in 1991. The printing plate is made from cardboard, coated with floor tile adhesive and drawn into with a chopstick as it was drying. I coated it with matte medium to seal it, inked it up, then passed it through the press.
LL: What is your decorating philosophy?
DM: Clean lines, soft tones and beautiful textures. Warm indirect lighting as well as lots of natural light and plants.
LL: Is there a story behind the bedspread you made for Bishop?
DM: My childhood friend Alex Bush had these duvet covers in her home made by her “big grandma” in Hungary when we were growing up. The duvets had a big opening in the center to fit the comforter in, and I remembered them fondly. I looked all over but could not find them, so I asked Sara at Whipstitch to custom make one. She also made all of my draperies.
Light fixtures: Frank Gehry, from Era Vintage
DM: Clean lines, soft tones and beautiful textures. Warm indirect lighting as well as lots of natural light and plants.
LL: Is there a story behind the bedspread you made for Bishop?
DM: My childhood friend Alex Bush had these duvet covers in her home made by her “big grandma” in Hungary when we were growing up. The duvets had a big opening in the center to fit the comforter in, and I remembered them fondly. I looked all over but could not find them, so I asked Sara at Whipstitch to custom make one. She also made all of my draperies.
Light fixtures: Frank Gehry, from Era Vintage
In the master bathroom, a freestanding bathtub sits on a custom base constructed from glulam beams and metal.
The shoji panels were a collaborative project. McErlean sourced the paper from local lamp maker Lam Quang, and the metalwork was custom fabricated by Kenneth Wright of Rocketworks Design. The French doors open wide for indoor-outdoor bathing.
LL: Do you have a favorite designer?
DM: I have two — R.M. Schindler and Shigeru Ban. I love Schindler's inventiveness of space and lifestyle — his furniture, bed baskets, fireplaces, sliding panel doors that open up whole rooms to garden living rooms. His tilt-up concrete construction and the simplicity of layout, scale of rooms and concept of studio living where married couples live communally but all have their own creative living space is brilliant!
I have a great love for paper and fibers, so Ban's work fascinates me. The vast openness and resourcefulness of his temporary housing he creates from his paper tubs is amazing.
The shoji panels were a collaborative project. McErlean sourced the paper from local lamp maker Lam Quang, and the metalwork was custom fabricated by Kenneth Wright of Rocketworks Design. The French doors open wide for indoor-outdoor bathing.
LL: Do you have a favorite designer?
DM: I have two — R.M. Schindler and Shigeru Ban. I love Schindler's inventiveness of space and lifestyle — his furniture, bed baskets, fireplaces, sliding panel doors that open up whole rooms to garden living rooms. His tilt-up concrete construction and the simplicity of layout, scale of rooms and concept of studio living where married couples live communally but all have their own creative living space is brilliant!
I have a great love for paper and fibers, so Ban's work fascinates me. The vast openness and resourcefulness of his temporary housing he creates from his paper tubs is amazing.
The horizontal lateral support ribs of the curved metal wall serve a dual purpose as shelving. Containers, artwork and jewelry are all stored and hang from the wall on magnets.
LL: What can't you live without?
DM: My bathtub. My favorite thing to do at home is dance with Bishop and take baths.
LL: What can't you live without?
DM: My bathtub. My favorite thing to do at home is dance with Bishop and take baths.
McErlean's closet used to be what is now Bishop's room. When Bishop was born, she built her closet into her bedroom. She lined the walls of the bedroom with built-ins, added closet rods and shelving, and covered the walls with pretty damask fabric curtains. The chandeliers were salvaged from a nearby restaurant. "It feels like I'm sleeping in a ship's berth," she says.
LL: What would you call your style?
DM: My style is "it-is-ness" — it is the finessing of space. I get very inspired by what is there and how it can be improved. I’m influenced by the project at hand, space and what resources I have to work with. It is what I make it.
I consider my home my sculpture, and I have pushed and pulled it into its present form and will continue to do so. As long as I own it, it will always be a work in progress.
LL: What would you call your style?
DM: My style is "it-is-ness" — it is the finessing of space. I get very inspired by what is there and how it can be improved. I’m influenced by the project at hand, space and what resources I have to work with. It is what I make it.
I consider my home my sculpture, and I have pushed and pulled it into its present form and will continue to do so. As long as I own it, it will always be a work in progress.
The deck railing is custom made with frosted glass panels salvaged from shower doors.
The exterior decks provide an additional 1,500 square feet of space. McErlean created outdoor play areas for Bishop by covering sections with turf grass.
Bamboo planted in stainless steel containers provides privacy from the street. The containers are from Coastal Farm.
An overview of the cabin and the gardens from the upper deck.
LL: Do you have any nicknames for the building/garden compound, like "The Bishop Building"?
DM: I always called it “The Lynch” during development. I’ve noticed that the staff calls it “The Kuz,” and it's kind of stuck.
LL: Do you have any nicknames for the building/garden compound, like "The Bishop Building"?
DM: I always called it “The Lynch” during development. I’ve noticed that the staff calls it “The Kuz,” and it's kind of stuck.
Outdoor seating in the garden on a bed of oyster shells. The slanted roof above is a green roof.
LL: What advice would you offer to other homeowners?
DM: Build your dreams and don't listen to the naysayers. People thought I was crazy. They couldn’t see my vision until it was finally executed, and then they were inspired. But until then they said things like, "I don’t envy you" and "Why are you building this here on the 72 bus line when it belongs on the California coastline?"
LL: What advice would you offer to other homeowners?
DM: Build your dreams and don't listen to the naysayers. People thought I was crazy. They couldn’t see my vision until it was finally executed, and then they were inspired. But until then they said things like, "I don’t envy you" and "Why are you building this here on the 72 bus line when it belongs on the California coastline?"
Ann Baker was the the original landscape architect, and Anne Cullerton provides ongoing maintenance and design.
LL: What do you want to do with your house next?
DM: Build cantilevered plant holders off the structural steel columns in the living room. David Bertman is designing them, and they will extend out, kind of like trees.
LL: What are you working on now?
DM: A small commissary kitchen for hire called Dash. It's about 12 blocks away on Northeast 42nd.
LL: What do you want to do with your house next?
DM: Build cantilevered plant holders off the structural steel columns in the living room. David Bertman is designing them, and they will extend out, kind of like trees.
LL: What are you working on now?
DM: A small commissary kitchen for hire called Dash. It's about 12 blocks away on Northeast 42nd.
McErlean received two separate grants from the city of Portland to build her green roof and water reclamation system. The rainwater reclamation tank resides under the bamboo forest at the end of the entry walkway and holds up to 2,500 gallons of water. Overflow runs into a giant trench drain along the base of the restaurant seating, hidden with river rock. The toilets, hose bibs and sprinkler system all operate with graywater.
The outdoor bathing area features an outdoor shower, a hot tub and a cold soaking tub. Both tubs are made of embedded river rock that provides a natural foot massage and blends nicely into the garden.
The Kuza Garden Cabin blends beautifully into its surroundings with an ivy-covered exterior. Available for short-term stays, the cabin was originally a shed. The walls, roof, concrete floor and carriage doors are original to the 1920s structure.
McErlean and her son Bishop up on a roof. What began as a remodeling project in 1999 has contributed to the community with its lively restaurant and gardens, where McErlean hosts a myriad of events, such as kids' happy hours and community dinners benefiting homeless youths at p:ear.
LL: What was your proudest homeowner moment?
DM: The day I brought my newborn son, Bishop Valentine, home from the hospital and walked around our home. Talking to him and showing him around, I realized I had built this home for the two of us just like my father had done for me and all of my siblings. It was a magical moment when I could see that my dream had come true. I wish my parents could have been there to share it with me.
Houzz call: Do you live in a multiuse building? Share it with us!
LL: What was your proudest homeowner moment?
DM: The day I brought my newborn son, Bishop Valentine, home from the hospital and walked around our home. Talking to him and showing him around, I realized I had built this home for the two of us just like my father had done for me and all of my siblings. It was a magical moment when I could see that my dream had come true. I wish my parents could have been there to share it with me.
Houzz call: Do you live in a multiuse building? Share it with us!
McErlean worked with a team of consultants — including an engineer, a contractor, an excavator and a sculptor — to create her dream house. Hiring them individually allowed her the freedom to source her own suppliers and investigate alternative building strategies.
Metal gate: designed by David Hurley, fabricated by Rob Roy, Recychedelic