Design

[janeteastmanjournalist]

Beautiful 130-year-old Lair Hill townhouse, once saved from the wrecking ball, is now for sale

A remodeled Victorian home, part of the 1889 Buchman Building, has 2,600 square feet of living space across three levels.

When bulldozers were plowing down buildings for midcentury urban renewal projects, residents here took a stand and made the city redirect its ambitions. The 17-acre Lair Hill neighborhood, at the base of Marquam Hill south of downtown, was declared a City of Portland Conservation District in 1977.

The residents preserved not only their homes, stores and a settlement house, but the stories of the original newcomers, who crossed an ocean to join the city’s prosperity during an economic boom in the late 1800s, which would be repeated after the 1905 Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition.

[janeteastmanjournalist]

Pittock Mansion is giving away VIP tickets to see ‘Downton Abbey’ movie

The upstairs-downstairs drama of wealthy landowners and the servants who catered to them played out in real life, American-style, at Portland's Pittock Mansion.

Before theaters in the U.S. run the first frame of the highly anticipated “Downton Abbey” movie on Sept. 20, winners of Portland’s Pittock Mansion’s giveaway drawing will be watching as the British aristocrats of the fictional Edwardian manor in the English countryside and their staff reunite to prepare for a royal visit.

[janeteastmanjournalist]

New podcasts about Portland’s buildings let you learn as you walk the neighborhoods

"In Search of Portland" audio series by Brian Libby spotlight architects, artists and a range of other local creative types, from Looney Tunes voice Mel Blanc to filmmaker Gus Van Sant and jazz legend Duke Ellington.

[janeteastmanjournalist]

Florida’s selling iconic lifeguard towers as kids’ forts; Oregon’s aren’t for sale at any price

What kid hasn’t eye one of the narrow, vertical outposts and yearned to bring it home to survey their backyard?

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Why is this funky Portland fixer-upper for sale at $230,000 so popular?

A forlorn Southeast Portland bungalow was viewed more than 5,500 times over the weekend.

[janeteastmanjournalist]

Portland's foreclosed homes for sale: Bargains at up to $1,350,000 or money pits not worth the work?

People stop paying their mortgage because they're in over their heads or "something unexpected happens."

[janeteastmanjournalist]

Evergreen Aviation founder Del Smith's $18-million Dundee estate to be auctioned: Bids due at noon

Bids to buy the fanciful, 47-acre estate on the Willamette River are due at noon Wednesday.

Who's submitting a sealed bid to buy Evergreen Aviation founder Del Smith's fanciful estate on the Willamette River for a fraction of its $18 million cost?

"We have interested buyers across the U.S.," teases Todd Wohl of Premiere Estates, who is accepting offers for 22111 Riverwood Road in Dundee through noon on Wednesday, Aug. 21.

The asking price for the 47-acre property was $6 million in April 2017. The price dropped to $5 million in August 2017. Now, the auction hopes to open with a bid of $2.25 million.

[janeteastmanjournalist]

Celebrating architect Pietro Belluschi’s 120th anniversary: You’re invited to walking tours, talks this weekend

One of the great American modernists of the 20th century impacted the way commercial towers, churches and houses look and feel today.

Did you ever work, live or pray in a Belluschi-designed building? Which one and what do you remember about it?

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2019 Street of Dreams: Modern farmhouse has high-tech features

West Hills Homes Northwest’s custom home, The Meadow, has an oversize kitchen island with a peninsula to prepare food, eat a meal or spread out homework.

Have you visited the NW Natural Street of Dreams home tour in Wilsonville yet? You have until Aug. 25 to see the six custom homes and landscaping. 2019 Street of Dreams #Wilsonville Frog Pond @nwnatural @HBAPortland Stafford Meadows @EnergyTrustOR Everett Homes Northwest #earthadvantage Red Hills Construction#westhillshomesnw Exterior Spaces @RenaissanceHome BC Custom Construction

[janeteastmanjournalist]

Remembering architect Pietro Belluschi on his 120th anniversary: Oregonians remark on his legacy

Frank Lloyd Wright was a fan of Oregon’s most revered designer and its most highly awarded citizen; so are thousands of others across the globe.

To spotlight the genius of one of Oregon's most influential residents, we asked readers and design experts to remark on the legacy of #architect Pietro #Belluschi. Here's what they said. @AIAnational 

[janeteastmanjournalist]

Celebrating architect Pietro Belluschi’s 120 anniversary: Building tours, book talk and dinner in his home

Frank Lloyd Wright was a fan of Oregon’s most revered designer and its most highly awarded citizen; so are thousands of others across the globe.

[janeteastmanjournalist]

10 expensive luxury estates lingering on the market in Oregon right now

It takes time, sometimes years, to sell a multimillion-dollar residential property.

It typically takes longer to sell a multimillion-dollar residential property than the more common tract house. So it is no surprise that most of Oregon’s highest priced dwellings linger much longer on the market, sometimes for years.

The price may drop. The listing agent may change. But what remains constant is a house packed with every luxury -- from indoor pools to glamorous guest houses -- is not finding a buyer.

Here’s a gallery of 10 expensive estates lingering on the market in Oregon right now.

[janeteastmanjournalist]

Guardhouse from ‘Wild Wild Country’ commune for sale at $8,000

The security booth from the Rajneesh Ranch in Central Oregon can be used as a tiny house, gazebo or "simply as a cool collector’s piece," says seller Jake French.

You can own a tiny part of the Rajneeshees’ Oregon commune as seen in “Wild Wild Country,” the Netflix documentary about guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, his powerful personal secretary, Ma Anand Sheela, and how his 2,000 followers took over a small Wasco County town for a brief, tumultuous time in the early 1980s.

A guardhouse, once used by the sect’s private security detail to deter outsiders from entering the remote, 65,000-acre ranch, just popped up for sale on Ebay at $7,920.

[janeteastmanjournalist]

2019 Street of Dreams: French country house with a striking copper porch roof

La Maison by West Hills Homes Northwest has a true stucco exterior and secret closet.

What will visitors see on this year’s NW Natural Street of Dreams home tour at Stafford Meadows in Wilsonville through Aug. 25? Six luxury residences exhibiting energy-efficient building techniques, top-of-the-line appliances and popular trends in indoor and outdoor living spaces.

One of the homes, the French country-style La Maison built by West Hills Homes Northwest, has exterior walls coated in time-consuming, true stucco and clad in stone, a look inspired by rural European estates. A copper roof over the entrance is supported by cedar columns.

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Odd or adorable? Oregon’s most unconventional homes

"Keep Portland Weird" relates to unusual dwellings in the city and beyond.

[janeteastmanjournalist]

Composer’s midcentury modern Portland house has Palm Springs swank: Check out the cool kitchen

Southwest Portland's Vista Hills home evokes a sense of Palm Spring glamor and Frank Sinatra stealth.

In 1972, composer-turned-developer Mel Hansen brought glamor and a sense of Frank Sinatra stealth to Southwest Portland with a tract of luxury, modern carriage houses in Vista Hills.

As in the Palm Springs area, the facades of the single-story dwellings here are protected from passersby by gates, garages and solid walls. But once inside, floor-to-ceiling windows frame gardens and rooms open to terraces, patios and walkways.

[janeteastmanjournalist]

On the market: Enduring farmhouses with shiplap siding and apron sinks for sale

Homebuilders capitalize on modern farmhouses popularized by Magnolia's Chip and Joanna Gaines and other tastemakers.