Until recently, Ninian Blackburn and Kat Grammer’s rustic home in the Hood River Valley was as challenging as it was charming. Despite its beautiful recycled Douglas fir interior and pristine views of Mt. Hood, the simple act of spending the weekend in the drafty 40-year-old house in Parkdale had become more and more a labor of love for the married couple.

When Jim and Courtney Brooks moved into their 1940s bungalow in Portland’s Mount Tabor neighborhood in the summer of 2012, they knew that, in theory, they had views of Mt. Hood and the Cascades. They just didn’t have an actual second-floor, east-facing room to enjoy them in. 

Portland’s green builder of the year builds a modern infill home.

Opportunity often comes disguised as a disaster.

Randy and Ellen wanted a master bath that looked out over the Asian-themed oasis in their backyard. The Beaverton couple  also wanted their Zen- style  retreat to have simple, elegant and peaceful features. Whoever they hired to transform their bathroom needed to have an eye for detail. Said Randy, “We are perfectionists with high expectations.”

The owners of a 1950s Colonial-style ranch in Southwest Portland knew their kitchen needed to jump forward a few decades—or seven.

When you find what could potentially be the perfect home, a small dark kitchen could be a deal breaker. Robert Stacey and Celia Dervan were undaunted by the 1960s remodeled kitchen that blighted the home they bought in Portland’s West Hills. 

Even though Sandy and Joel Shilling made the most of the kitchen in their 1972 Montclair Portland home—successfully hosting Thanksgiving dinners and squeezing cookware into existing cabinets—the room needed an update.