Boora Architects

The husband and wife who commissioned this residence are accustomed to adventure at work and play.  In addition to being trial lawyers, they are also intrepid travelers, having climbed Kilamanjaro, scuba dived Zanzibar, and motored the Pacific Coast on Harley Davidsons – all in one year.  When the youngest of their three children left the gable-windowed and dimly-lit house in which the family lived for 20 years, the couple envisioned a calmer lifestyle in a home offering simplicity, order, and peace.

They secured a heavily forested site in the hills of Portland, Oregon, and directed their designers to clear clutter, embrace the outdoors, and maintain openness while still preserving privacy and seclusion. In an environmentally sensitive forest, the property's zoning regulations controlled the siting of the house and limited its height. Placed across a ridge, the house's boomerang shape and folded geometry aligns with the topography; conforms to the land's profile; produces a dynamic special quality; and admits daylight.

Organized vertically, the program includes the couple's main living spaces in a lofted environment comprising the middle and upper floors.

Screened from the great room by a white maple half-wall, the perched bedroom and office borrow light and space from the living area without exposing these private spaces to public view. Separate lower level guest quarters include three bedrooms, a small kitchen, and a living room, so that the owners enjoy one-bedroom loft living while offering privacy to their guests.

At the rear of the house, a two-story field of windows (whose rhythm and proportion echo the verticality of the trees outside) brings natural light into the interior and captures forest views, producing a feeling of living in the trees. The extensive glazing contributes to the open and spacious feeling of the home, while the tree canopy provides privacy for the living spaces. A rich natural finish palette connects the house to its site and smoothes transitions between indoor and outdoor spaces.

After countless adventures to get away from it all, this couple now finds seclusion, quiet, and serenity at home. "It's so peaceful," they described in a recent article on the design. "It's been a little surprising to us how nice that is."