Ultimate Open House

From The Oregonian   Story by Ruth Mullen   Art by Rene Eisenbart

This regional style emerged as a result of the Northwest’s mild climate and abundant natural resources, as well as a desire to tie houses more closely to the landscape. Additionally, the utilitarian wooden barns, outbuildings, marine docks and fish canneries of the region played a role in the look, as did a fascination with Japanese architecture, with its emphasis on simple, natural forms and materials.

Coastal roots: The style’s origin is often attributed to Albert E. Doyle’s cottages at Neahkahnie on the Oregon coast, lauded for their straightforward construction using native materials. These 1916 structures later inspired a generation of prominent Portland architects, among them John Yeon, Pietro Belluschi and John Storrs. Starting in the 1930s, they applied the principles of International Style to this new regional style that embraced indigenous woods and vernacular building techniques. Later, Storrs offered up his own version of this new regional style, inspired by Native American structures and the power of industrial forms. Northwest Style homes adopted the open floor plans, studied lack of ornament and careful attention to siting of the International Style. But they differed in roof forms and building materials, and placed an added emphasis on a building’s relationship to nature.

Style characteristics: Low-pitched, shed, hipped or gabled roofs with wood shingles. Covered outdoor spaces with roof overhangs, one-story, open, asymmetrical floor plans linking kitchen, dining, living, entry and outdoor rooms. Doors are simple wood or glass, ribbon windows maximize light, and walls of glass offer expansive views of the landscape. Interior and exterior trim is kept to a minimum, focusing instead on the beauty of natural materials.

Building materials: Wood-frame construction with unpainted wood siding using native woods such as cedar and fir. Exteriors include tongue-in-groove siding, plywood panels, Roman brick, fieldstone and exposed concrete terraces.

Location: Northwest Style homes can be found throughout the region, thanks to widespread interest in Oregon and Washington that continued into the 1950s. One of the finest residential examples is the Aubrey Watzek House, designed in 1937 by Yeon when he was only 26. Located in Portland’s West Hills, the Watzek house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. Belluschi, a professional peer of Yeon’s, is widely credited with applying the style to schools, banks, commercial buildings and churches. The Central Lutheran Church in Portland and the First Presbyterian Church in Cottage Grove are two landmark examples.

From The Oregonian  Story by Ruth Mullen

This all-American style originated in California in the 1930s and gained widespread popularity through the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s. Its rise coincided with the decades after World War II, when unprecedented prosperity and a sense of optimism reigned. The single-story homes on larger-than-ever lots reflected faith in the nation’s seemingly endless supply of land.

Rambling interiors: Characterized by a low-pitched roof and a ground-hugging profile, sprawling floor plans often had sliding glass doors that linked the interior to the back yard. Large picture windows made the most of available light and views. Built-in garages or carports emphasized the automobile as it replaced streetcars and buses as the principal means of transportation.

The first great room: Walls and doors no longer divided homes into separate living spaces. Rooms flowed into one another, creating open, spacious areas that didn’t have stairs or damp, dark basements. The kitchen often shared space with a dining area that opened onto the living room. In turn, the living room often was connected to the kitchen with a pass-through opening or a countertop with stools. Rooted in the 20th-century Modernist movement, the ranch home’s clean lines, wide eaves and open floor plan draws on elements of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Prairie style. Partially enclosed patios or courtyards that open to the outdoors reflect Spanish Colonial influences.

Suburban flight: As important as its innovative design was the ranch’s birthplace: the suburbs. For many first-time home buyers, the ranch represented a tremendous improvement over crowded city lots with little room for children to play. The built-in garage, sweeping lawn and quiet streets symbolized the new American dream: a big, affordable house with an expansive yard, far from the dirt and noise of the city. Some critics, however, maligned the ranch’s uniformity, as vast housing tracts — linked by a web of roads and highways — gobbled up farmland and lured many middle-class families farther and farther from the city’s core.  The homes, now fashionably retro, are scattered through Portland’s older neighborhoods as early examples of in-fill. The style is most prevalent in outlying areas including parts of Woodstock and South Tabor, Raleigh Hills, Cedar Hills, Parkrose and Portsmouth.

Building materials: Decorative iron or wooden porch supports and shutters reflect Spanish and English Colonial influences. Exterior walls were most commonly covered with brick, stucco or wood — sometimes in combination. Vinyl tile and plastic laminates covered the kitchen floor and counters, while wood flooring and wall paneling was frequently found in the living and dining areas. Large fireplaces of brick or stone often dominated the living room.

From The Oregonian   Story by Ruth Mullen   Pictures by Rene Eisenbart

The bungalow was among the most popular house styles of the Arts and Crafts movement, which began in the 1880s in Great Britain as a reaction to Victorian excess, and was embraced in America at the turn of the century.

BACKGROUND: The bungalow grew out of the American Arts and Crafts movement, popularized in the first two decades of the 20th century by furniture maker and designer Gustav Stickley, and through architects such as Charles and Henry Greene, who specialized in elaborate woodwork and grand, high-style designs for the wealthy. Other designers and builders helped spread the philosophy to the American middle class in the 1920s by creating affordable, efficient, attractive homes that sprang up in early streetcar suburbs across the country.

WHAT’S IN A NAME: The term “Arts and Crafts” is used interchangeably with “Craftsman” — the name of Stickley’s magazine — when describing a house with the horizontal lines, wood built-ins and decorative details common to bungalows. Some experts believe the name bungalow comes from “bangala” or Bengali,” a type of summer house used by British colonists in India.

STYLE CHARACTERISTICS: The Craftsman bungalow has a low-slung structure, appearing to hug the surrounding landscape. A typical floor plan emphasizes flowing, horizontal spaces, with one to one-and-a-half stories. It usually has a wide, welcoming porch, a long, sloping roof line and extended eaves supported by decorative brackets or exposed rafter tails. Because bungalows were targeted to America’s middle class, designers didn’t include spaces for maids and servants. The kitchen was usually small and functional, while the fireplace was considered the heart of the home. Exposed structural elements often served as decorative details, and light fixtures and hardware were considered integral to the design.

WHERE TO FIND THEM: Craftsman-style homes and bungalows abound in Portland, where skilled early-20th-century craftsmen designed built-ins, beamed ceilings and wainscoting with native fir. They are prominent in North, Northeast and Southeast neighborhoods, such as Piedmont, Irvington, Alameda and Laurelhurst. Bungalows also are found in older neighborhoods across the United States.

BUILDING MATERIALS: Designs called for natural materials native to a region — wood shingle, brick, stucco, stone, lap siding. Roofs were shingled, though in some regions slate or Spanish tiles were used.

INTERIOR STYLE: Rooms tended to be sparsely furnished, with the home’s many wood built-ins as focal points, along with a few pieces of Craftsman-style furniture. Stone, brick or glazed art tiles embellished fireplaces. Plate rails, wainscoting, banks of double-hung or casement windows, beamed ceilings and polished wood floors were also common.

CATALOG CONNNECTION: Many working- and middle-class homebuyers purchased Sears and Aladdin “kit” bungalows that arrived by rail and were assembled on site.

ARCHITECTURAL POLICE TIP: Extensive woodwork and overhanging eaves might make a bungalow interior too “dark” for those not familiar with the style. One of the most common remodeling mistakes over the years has been the widespread painting of natural woodwork, in a misguided effort to give interiors a white-washed, “Colonial” look. More aggressive “remodels” involved the actual removal of built-ins and other rustic details. Word to the wise: Don’t paint! Instead, enhance that warm wood glow with period lighting and candlelight.