Renovating toward your dream home

Finding the perfect house is a dream and people need space to explore what this looks like for them. The reality is there is no perfect house, but gaining clarity about what you want by visualizing your ideal place is an essential part of the home buying process. I pride myself on helping clients create space for this inquiry because when we dream, we can act in service to our deepest values.

Prioritizing the features in a home that matter most and are unchangeable helps us create a roadmap to finding the right house within the budget, instead of chasing a unicorn. Plans and needs change and so can your house. When you select your home with your core needs in mind, there is a greater likelihood that your home can adapt alongside you.

I have inhabited many different eras of homes in my own house journey, which started in north Portland with a 1920s Piedmont bungalow. I was in my early 20s with my husband and a newborn. We spent 4 years on renovations and moved on right after they were complete. From there, we enjoyed the ease of new construction in Scappoose with our two kiddos until we returned to Portland to renovate a 1940s home. This time, we had more experience and renovated in an order that allowed us to enjoy the paradise we were creating in Roseway, but life changed and we picked up and moved to a quieter pace in the land of mid-century homes on large lots — Milwaukie. We knew this was the house we planned to stay in long term and we thought our years of renovating were over, so we bought a nicely remodeled 1960s ranch in the Oakridge Neighborhood. But renovation is in our blood; turning that off is very hard. When I tour homes, I instantly see the roadblocks and the possibilities and start looking at how to solve or improve them. 

We found the house knowing we would need to recreate the backyard oasis we had created in Roseway, but this desire blossomed into so much more. This project quickly became one we knew would be too large for my husband and I to take on ourselves. My husband Greg has remodeled every one of our projects – man, did he deserve a break – time, bandwidth, and willingness were depleted. This project was the first one that involved an addition to the house, so for the first time, we looked into hiring a designer and having the work professionally done. I learned so much along the way, adding one more layer of knowledge to help clients. The project kept growing, and we endured delays and surprises as you do in any project, but the stress was low because we trusted our contractor at the highest level and knew we were in great hands. This project was so different from past ones because we knew this was the home we planned to grow old in and pass on to the kids. Knowing this, I allowed myself to dream and made design choices with more self-expression than in past homes where we knew we would eventually move on. Searching for the right products and tweaking options to create the best space we felt was possible became an obsession. I reactivated a more creative side of myself lost through the years. This creative side I allowed myself to have, combined with my knowledge of homes and design, was a perfect recipe to create our dream space. 

Jessica LeDoux

Broker | OR

She/Her

JESSICA LEDOUX Licensed Broker Lead Buyers Agent Oregon is where Jessica’s heart lies. Born and raised in Portland, Jessica grew up in Concordia and bought her first home in North Portland in 1996. She was seduced by the front porch of a 1920’s bungalow and as a young 20 year old there were so many factors she did not know to take into consideration when choosing her home. After 5 years of restoring the home, it was time to move and the seed had been planted – her love of restoring homes was born. It took a few more projects and years for her to make the choice to enter Real Estate. In 2006 she got her license and set out to empower people with information and encourage inquiry beyond the basic needs in a home, which was something she wished was provided to her when she bought her first home. As her Real Estate career developed she found joy in helping buyers the most, which led her to specialize in buyer representation. Jessica loves helping buyers consider all angles, future needs, and possible roadblocks in a home. Her goal is to empower a buyer with choices and to consider the unchangeable elements of a home to better ensure many years of happiness in their new home. Buying right is the most important factor to protecting your investment and she takes this very seriously, which is why helping buyers eliminate homes in order to get to the right one is her top priority. She believes wholeheartedly in the power of investing in real estate. She brings this wealth of technical housing knowledge, intimate familiarity with the city, and investment experience to her counsel for homebuyers, but it is her commitment to buyer advocacy (and seeing the impact this has on people's lives) that most inspires her and has kept her engaged and in love with her job after all these years. Jenessa V.  Licensed Buyer Team Operations Manager jenessa@livingroomre.com  When I first joined our team in 2019 I had been feeling dispirited about real estate. I'd been a realtor for several years and had a strong desire to find increased meaning within an industry that didn't always reflect my values. The thing that kept me returning to real estate despite this was the zing of happiness I felt when I helped clients through the home-buying process and witnessed them on the other end having accomplished a dream or otherwise empowered. To me, the role of a realtor is one of stewardship. I am proud to be on this team because the level of informed honesty, ethical counsel, and all-around excellence we offer is truly unparalleled in this industry.  Working as the Operations Manager on our buyer team means I get to focus on all my favorite parts of the job. I'm hyper-attentive to detail and delight in tending to nuance; transparency and communication are critical. If you are at ease knowing the train is running smoothly and if I answer your questions (maybe even before you've thought of them), then I've done my job well. I'm an introspective person and I view my sensitivity as a strength. I enjoy listening and taking the time to thoughtfully respond so we can move through the home buying process with intention together. I think searching for a home is about identifying your fundamental values and assessing how the decision you make about where you live can best support the life you want to lead.  On the more personal side, when I'm not working I'm probably writing or thinking about language. Give me a stack of good books and I'm happy. I'm a creative thinker and a maker - I love great design and discovering new outlets for expression. I don't ever want to stop learning. Putting my hands in dirt is just about the most invigorating thing I can think of and my little garden is my sanctuary. I like to dance at home so free that it makes other people laugh. I love to sing. I freaking love my family. Karim Alaeddine | Operations | Principal Broker Licensed in OR | karim@livingroomre.com Kim Parmon | Lead Listing Agent | Principal Broker Licensed in Oregon | kim@livingroomre.com Andee Zeigler | Licensed Listing Team Operations Manager | andee@livingroomre.com Jenessa VanZutphen | Buyer Operations Manager | Licensed in Oregon | jenessa@livingroomre.com   

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• T: 503-310-5816
• Jessica@livingroomre.com