A NW Natural Street of Dreams winner caps off another memorable homebuilding showcase.
Photos by George Barberis
When he and his team went looking for just the right name for his company’s entry into the Home Building Association of Greater Portland’s 2023 NW Natural Street of Dreams, Mike Riddle settled on “Lagom.” The Swedish term means “just the right amount” — and perfectly captures the lifestyle the homeowners will live there.
With inspirational views of Mt. Hood and the surrounding forest as the main focal points of the home — the kitchen and dining area, the great room and adjacent outdoor patio, and the primary suite look out on them — it’s clearly a fitting term. The home reminds you all the time to enjoy where you are.
“In the plan process, we weighed heavily on capturing mountain and forest views you could enjoy throughout most of the home with floor-to-ceiling windows,” says Mackenzie Kauer, owner and lead designer with M. Kauer Co., the firm behind the design. “It was important for us to blend the home with nature and capture the best indoor and outdoor living that the Pacific Northwest has to offer.”
For Lagom, that started with a design style described as organic modern, which Mike Riddle, owner of Mike Riddle Construction, says was achieved by using clean lines, warm wood, natural stone and neutral colors.
A giant glass pivot door leads inside to an airy great room, and expansive multislide glass doors showcase the singular view. There are five bedrooms, four full bathrooms and two laundry rooms.
And then there are the spaces and amenities that really push Lagom up to Street of Dreams levels: a theater for family movie nights, a fitness room with a glass-enclosed sauna, a wet bar, and an entertainment room that opens onto a covered patio, a bocce ball court and a fire pit.
In addition to capturing the Mt. Hood views and the Street of Dreams swagger, Lagom also snagged something else during this year’s showcase: the Professional’s Choice Best of Show Award. Also known as the Homer Award, the honor is bestowed by building professionals. Riddle says the home has many attributes that likely caught his peers’ attention.
“The unique design style, the green exterior color with the European-inspired stone and then walking through the huge glass front door and being greeted by Mt. Hood,” he says. “The spaces are a good size but not too big, and the home feels luxurious but livable.”
Other winners from this year’s showcase included Teal Point Custom Homes, which won Realtor’s Choice Best of Show for its home, The Hawk’s View, and J.T. Roth Construction, builder of the Theresa Ann, which won People’s Choice Best of Show.
Along with spotlighting luxury homes like Lagom, the NW Natural Street of Dreams has evolved over the years to feature an expanded range of the best of the best in homebuilding. This year that included a luxury lineup, as well as a tiny home from Tiny Heirloom, a standalone outdoor office from Tualatin’s Outdoor Office, and a remodeling and building science exhibit from JT Roth.
And, as always, the NW Natural Street of Dreams teamed up with the Home Building Foundation of Greater Portland, donating $1 from every ticket to support the foundation’s work renovating area shelters and scholarships for students in the homebuilding industry.
