Houzz Tours
Houzz Tour: Portland Remodel Invites In Light and Views
Oregon homeowners create an open living area with better access to their beautiful backyard
Staircase
The problem: The original staircase that connected the main entry to all levels of the home was fully carpeted, with heavy wood railings that blocked views within. “[O]ur intention was to dissolve this barrier and create a better connection between the different levels of the house,” Boyer says.
The solution: The open design of the new steel and oak staircase makes better use of the house’s split-level concept. The 2-inch solid oak stair treads were milled from a fallen tree that was harvested by a local cabinetmaker. Boyer notes the new staircase helps to create the transparency the homeowners wanted inside the house.
The problem: The original staircase that connected the main entry to all levels of the home was fully carpeted, with heavy wood railings that blocked views within. “[O]ur intention was to dissolve this barrier and create a better connection between the different levels of the house,” Boyer says.
The solution: The open design of the new steel and oak staircase makes better use of the house’s split-level concept. The 2-inch solid oak stair treads were milled from a fallen tree that was harvested by a local cabinetmaker. Boyer notes the new staircase helps to create the transparency the homeowners wanted inside the house.
Great Room and Kitchen
The heart of the home is the new open living, dining and kitchen plan with an adjacent master bedroom addition, giving ample points for natural light to enter from every direction.
Living room: Though this project was a full renovation, both the owners and architect wanted to preserve some of the original features of the home, which was purchased from its first owners. So they kept the living room’s original stone fireplace and sunken floor. Boyer says the result is an intimate, focused seating area within the larger open plan.
Furnishings: The homeowners worked with Holly Freres from JHL Design on finding many of the furnishings. The chrome and leather armchair was already part of the homeowners’ collection. Arborist Kevin MacKenzie of Overlook Tree Preservation collaborated with the homeowners to create the coffee table from a fallen tree found in the owners’ previous neighborhood.
Sofa and daybed: RH Modern; console table: Crate & Barrel; chrome and leather armchair: Wassily, Design Within Reach
The heart of the home is the new open living, dining and kitchen plan with an adjacent master bedroom addition, giving ample points for natural light to enter from every direction.
Living room: Though this project was a full renovation, both the owners and architect wanted to preserve some of the original features of the home, which was purchased from its first owners. So they kept the living room’s original stone fireplace and sunken floor. Boyer says the result is an intimate, focused seating area within the larger open plan.
Furnishings: The homeowners worked with Holly Freres from JHL Design on finding many of the furnishings. The chrome and leather armchair was already part of the homeowners’ collection. Arborist Kevin MacKenzie of Overlook Tree Preservation collaborated with the homeowners to create the coffee table from a fallen tree found in the owners’ previous neighborhood.
Sofa and daybed: RH Modern; console table: Crate & Barrel; chrome and leather armchair: Wassily, Design Within Reach
Kitchen: The architect switched the locations of the kitchen and dining room in the redesign, moving the kitchen from the front to the rear of the house next to the family’s main living space This enabled the family to enjoy the backyard while cooking and entertaining.
A vaulted ceiling rises above the new combined kitchen and living space. “These shifts drastically changed the feel and added a light, airy quality to the space,” Boyer says. A blend of horizontal and vertical walnut panels on the cabinetry reveal the beauty of the wood grain.
A vaulted ceiling rises above the new combined kitchen and living space. “These shifts drastically changed the feel and added a light, airy quality to the space,” Boyer says. A blend of horizontal and vertical walnut panels on the cabinetry reveal the beauty of the wood grain.
Dining room: The architect kept the ceiling height in the relocated dining room at 8 feet to provide a more intimate scale and create a separate identity within the open plan. The homeowners purchased their dining table from friends. The family can now access the new front patio from a pair of French doors in the dining room.
Dining chairs: Hans Wegner walnut chairs, Design Within Reach; sideboard: Ethan Allen; pendant: DIY kit, Lindsay Adelman
Dining chairs: Hans Wegner walnut chairs, Design Within Reach; sideboard: Ethan Allen; pendant: DIY kit, Lindsay Adelman
Master Bedroom Suite
Master bedroom: The third major change gave the owners a new 500-square-foot master bedroom addition off the kitchen. The new master bedroom is now separate from the original grouping of bedrooms arranged around the split-level staircase. A new set of French doors opens to the same covered backyard patio that is accessible from the kitchen.
Master bedroom: The third major change gave the owners a new 500-square-foot master bedroom addition off the kitchen. The new master bedroom is now separate from the original grouping of bedrooms arranged around the split-level staircase. A new set of French doors opens to the same covered backyard patio that is accessible from the kitchen.
Master bath: The new master bath ties in many of the same finishes and materials seen elsewhere in the house, such as walnut cabinetry and the porcelain floor tile.
Sink faucet set: Axor Uno, Hansgrohe
Sink faucet set: Axor Uno, Hansgrohe
“Before” floor plan: The owners were especially eager to establish more connection points from the main living spaces to the backyard to fully enjoy views of the husband’s garden design and to gain easier access to the yard for outdoor dining and recreation. Interior spaces from the front of the house to the back were physically as well as visually disconnected. The dashed lines on this floor plan show walls that were removed during the renovation, and as this plan shows, the living and dining room were separated from the kitchen and breakfast nook by walls. “The kitchen was completely separated from the rest of the house and yard,” Boyer says.
“After” floor plan: The remodel created a number of new connections to the outdoors, including a new outdoor seating area in the front of the house, a new covered patio off the back and a second back patio off the home’s lower level. “These new connections to the outdoors not only extend the living space outward physically and visually, [they also open] up the house to a ton of natural light,” the architect says.
Backyard
New generously sized bifold doors leading from the great room to an outdoor covered dining area allow the homeowners to fully enjoy the husband’s talent for garden design.
New generously sized bifold doors leading from the great room to an outdoor covered dining area allow the homeowners to fully enjoy the husband’s talent for garden design.
The lower level now serves as the teenager’s domain, opening to a lower-level patio for pickup basketball games. Stairs lead up to a wide lawn area for playing soccer.
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Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple with an active teenager
Location: Portland, Oregon
Designers: Risa Boyer of Risa Boyer Architecture and Holly Freres of JHL Design
The backstory: When the owners of a Portland, Oregon, 1970s split-level home approached architect Risa Boyer about a full renovation, their main goal was to open up the home, both internally and to views of their yard.
The interior transformation hinges on three important changes: opening up the main staircase; creating an open-concept plan for living, dining and cooking; and adding a new master bedroom suite behind the renovated kitchen to give the homeowners the privacy they craved.
The result is an open, inviting marriage between house and site that gives the family ample natural light with full access to their lushly planted yard.