Houzz Tour: Couple Create Their Contemporary Dream Home

Photos by Sally Painter

House at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple who relocated from Seattle
Location: Northwest area of Portland, Oregon
Size: 3,571 square feet (332 square meters); three bedrooms, three bathrooms
Designer: Giulietti | Schouten Architects

A couple relocating from Seattle to Portland, Oregon, sought help from Giulietti | Schouten Architects to find a home that marked a change in style from the 1909 Craftsman they were living in. They wanted something more contemporary in their new city.

“They were looking for a complete change in their new home to retire in,” principal architect Dave Giulietti says. “Stylistically, they wanted a modern-minimalist, lighter and brighter home in a walkable neighborhood. While they loved the character of their old Craftsman home, they were ready for a new energy-efficient home with doors and windows that function properly. An old home, while beautiful, always has a lot of idiosyncrasies that come with old age.”

After helping them find a two-story house to renovate in northwest Portland, Giulietti’s firm delivered their wish with a remarkably transformed contemporary home. There were some challenges along the way. After a geotechnical engineer found a 40-foot-long horizontal crack in the basement retaining wall, the construction crew stabilized the foundation, adding a new waterproofing and drainage system, which will be put to good use in rainy Portland.

The team also added a partial third story and redid the basement. Throughout the process, Giulietti and the homeowners shared a Houzz ideabook that Giulietti created for design inspiration.

Before: The home was built in 1959, and Giulietti thinks some remodeling had been done in the 1980s. The daylight basement ranch was built on a sloped lot, and during the previous remodel the exterior was clad in Dryvit synthetic stucco. Daylight basement homes are built into sloped lots and have partially subterranean basements with windows and often doors to outdoor patios.

Previously, the home had two levels: two bedrooms and two bathrooms on the main level and the basement level with a family room, bathroom, laundry, study and garage.

After: The architects kept the original footprint and expanded the structure vertically to add a master suite and outdoor terrace on a partial third level. They removed the old roof, which made the main level’s 8-foot ceilings a foot higher, and added a dormer to the kitchen. “Doing so gave the main-floor spaces more volume and allowed for more expansive windows and skylights to bring light deeper into the interior,” Giulietti says.

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Near the front stairs, the team installed planters that allow water to flow through them, which filters and reduces the amount of water that enters Portland’s stormwater system and ultimately its rivers, Giulietti says. “Dealing with and filtering stormwater is a high priority in the Portland area and especially important on steep sloping properties,” he says.

The newly open living room is flooded with natural light and easily connects to the kitchen and a dining peninsula, as well as the outdoors. The flooring looks like concrete but is large-format porcelain tile. Danish modern chairs designed by Hans Wegner and a coffee table by Isamu Noguchi give the airy space a midcentury modern vibe.

Interior design consultant Poppi Hammer Interiors handled the furniture and light fixtures and chose the colors in the rooms.

Browse modern free-form coffee tables in the Houzz Shop

The new living room is in roughly the same spot as the original one. Before, the kitchen was cut off from the living room by walls that enclosed the stairway to the basement. The stairway was relocated to open the space, Giulietti says. “We also added a substantial amount of glazing to capture the natural light and views,” he says.

The stairway leads to the upper master bedroom level and down to the basement level. Relocating the stairway increased space in a basement storage room, allowing the architects to add a photography studio and darkroom for one of the homeowners, whose artwork is on display throughout the home.

The stairway was carefully constructed of painted steel supports and laminated maple treads. Its construction was a team effort with the general contractor, Giulietti says. “We worked closely with the on-site superintendent and the metal fabricator to get the steel tread-riser supports dialed in, especially at the floor and landing transitions.”

The bright and sleek new kitchen features vertical-grain fir cabinets; stainless steel counters, appliances and peninsula; and a raised bar with concrete counters. A glass door leads to the rear patio. Skylights installed in the third-level dormer bring in even more light. The previous kitchen was C-shaped with a pass-through window.

Here’s a view from the other end of the kitchen into the dining room.

The dining area is open and simple, with a midcentury-modern-style wood table and Eames chairs and a cluster pendant chandelier. “The owners like to cook and entertain, and we needed an open floor plan to accommodate their lifestyle,” Giulietti says.

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Upstairs on the new third level, the master bedroom features a custom bed with built-in headboard and nightstands. Floor-to-ceiling aluminum-frame windows provide treetop views.

There’s plenty of room for two at the master bathroom’s cast-concrete trough sink. Green-blue glass wall tile and soft gray flooring softens the light-filled space.

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Before: Here’s a view of the back of the house and its wooden deck, which was deteriorating. The architects removed it, along with decking that extended around the east side of the home.

After: The back of the home got a big makeover with concrete decks, a covered dining area and outdoor fireplace. The architects slightly increased the patio area on the home’s east side and reorganized access to the upper garden terraces, Giulietti says. The crew installed large concrete piers to support the weight of the deck.

The architects added a covered outdoor area on the patio to accommodate Portland’s often gray, drizzly weather. “The outdoor covered patio and fireplace will definitely get used year-round except for the extremely cold stormy days in January and February,” Giulietti says.

Large eaves and covered deck areas extending out from the main-level living area and upper-level master suite help connect the interior to the outside. The architects used a mix of exterior materials, including cedar tongue-and-groove siding, Cor-Ten and painted steel, and distressed concrete that is intended to stay attractive as the home ages.

General contractor: Don Young and Associates

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