Sophisticated mid-century with a classic design. New renovations complement the many restored, original features. New kitchen cabinets and peninsula with quartz counters perfectly nestled in with original built-ins. Large new windows and open spaces create bright main floor living with new flooring and original wood burning fireplace. Lower level with separate entrance and high ceilings has two functional family rooms, fireplace, 2 bedrooms and full bath. New roof and 96% efficient furnace. Walkscore: 84, Bike scores 99.
4 bed | 2 bath | 2440 sq. ft. | 2 Car Garage MLS# 21105215 | Taxes: $4,906 | Lot Size: .11 Acre
Tasa first reached out to me in 2018. She had seen some of the work I’ve done, and expressed a deep interest to buy and renovate a house. She also “warned me” she had no home renovation experience outside of her own, but as a professional home stager, she had design sense. Had work was second nature to Tasa, and that she had a successful janitorial business for over 20 years helped.
That said, we started off on the journey to get Tasa ready to take on a renovation project. From finding a funding source, to vetting contractors, we went through many of the ins and outs of house flipping.
The Modern Kenton Ranch
Nine months later we found this sweet Portland ranch in the Kenton neighborhood. Because she was skeptical at first, Tasa passed it up. While it was a smaller size house, which was appropriate for her first project, it was still in pretty rough shape. It was certainly rougher than what she was looking for. After weeks of searching, I asked her if she would reconsider the Kenton house. We went back for another look, and something changed. All of a sudden she was ready to go, and this time around Tasa knew this was the renovation for her.
And so it was. We wrote that offer. Her offer was the only one, and the sellers accepted. While I knew she had it in her, I was impressed every step of the way. Her quality job and dedication was distinct, and she spent almost everyday at the house until the renovation was complete, including her birthday. She expressed to me that taking this leap was something she had talked about for 10 years. I’m very proud, and it’s been a privilege to work with her. It’s not a surprise that she’s already onto her next renovation. That one will be coming soon in Milwaukie, Oregon.
Portland Home Renovation Before
Portland Home Renovation After
Interested in other home renovations, check out this Portland Farmhouse I restored in the Montavilla neighborhood here.
Bobby Curtis Principle Broker Licensed in Oregon Licensed Contractor CCB# 215071 503-502-3066
Great vibes at this spacious 1962 Mid-Century Modern ranch impeccably restored, reimagined, and modernized. The home sits back off the street on an oversized lot. Enter into the light and airy open layout kitchen / living / dining with two skylights and two fireplaces. Two bedrooms and master with en suite bath on the main. Finished lower level with separate entrance, large living room with fireplace, generous legal bedroom, full bath, and laundry. Large 2 car garage. New plumbing, electrical, furnace, water heater, and solid wood doors. New bathrooms, refinished oak hardwood floors, and new paint. Fenced backyard with lawn and covered patio.
4 bed | 3 bath | 2,467 sq. ft.
MLS# 19488446 | Taxes: $3,705 | Lot Size: 7,405 sq. ft.
$449,000
Mid-century modern living in SE Portland
For more restored and renovated houses, click here
Montavilla is known as the quietly cool neighborhood in Southeast Portland. Centered on the commercial Stark/Washington couplet, the heart of it runs along SE Stark on what used to be street car tracks from 76th to 82nd.
Montavilla 1939. Corner of SE 80th and Stark
Montavilla 2018. Corner of SE 80th and Stark
Founded as Mount Tabor Village just before the turn of the century, its current name originates from an abbreviation used on that street car line: Mt. Ta. Villa. In addition to quietly cool people, Montavilla is home to shops, restaurants, watering holes, hardware stores, a university. In fact, Lonely Planet named it one of the “Top 10 Hot Hoods in the US you need to visit”. It is also home to the latest farmhouse we restored at 505 SE 76th Ave.
Well, TECHNICALLY she’s across the street from the Western border of Montavilla, but she has been sitting at the foot of Mt. Tabor with her full attention staring down the heart of Montavilla for nearly 120 years. And she’s seen it all, believe me. Births, deaths, family gatherings, life before Country Cat, you name it. A huge tree even tried to take her down at one point but nevertheless she persisted. Persisted just long enough to welcome us in, so we could restore her to (most) of her original glory.
Montavilla / Mt Tabor Farmhouse before
Montavilla / Mt Tabor Farmhouse after
Whitewashed from top to bottom but still in really great shape, the exterior just needed a few standouts. So we maintained the original color and added black trim around the windows and to the large concrete posts. The roof had very recently been replaced, so we had to work with a trim color that worked well. Starting there, we quickly got inspiration for our interior color scheme. Not pictured here is the brand new roof we put on the garage, which had rotted all the way through to its joists and sill plates. Not very glamorous but very necessary. We added a fence and stone patio in the backyard for instant BBQ privacy/fun.
Backyard Mt Tabor / Montavilla Farmhouse before
Back of the house Mt Tabor / Montavilla Farmhouse after
The living and dining rooms required the least amount of serious work. We restored the original wood floors, and added a fresh coat (or two) of paint to the ceilings, walls, and moulding. Tying in the exterior black trim color in with the stair risers and hand rail made a big impact. And because there were no original light fixtures left in the house, we added period lighting that worked well with the era of the house.
The kitchen cabinets were original solid wood and in sturdy shape. All they needed was some freshening up. Staggered white 12” ceramic tile flooring was nicely accented with light gray grout, and we added maple butcher block countertops to warm it all up.
Montavilla / Mt Tabor Farmhouse kitchen before
Montavilla / Mt Tabor Farmhouse kitchen after
We made improvements to the TWO sunrooms off from the kitchen and master bedroom. For many years these had been used as storage rooms, so little attention had been given to them. The windows hadn’t been used to look out of, and the sunlight coming in didn’t matter. Facing West, it was important we recreate these two rooms because they add so much charm to the home, and are very functional spaces. Now these two rooms are the best places for languid summer afternoons with a good book and an even better ice cold beverage.
Farmhouse sunroom before
Farmhouse sunroom after
The main floor half bath and upstairs full bath got custom hex tile floors, efficient toilets, sinks and fresh paint. We also added all new water supply lines and sewer line to the house. Upstairs also got a brand new, gleaming subway tile surround. Very classic look for this beauty.
In order to gently nudge this old beauty in the 21st century, it was pretty clear early on that she’d need another bathroom. This had always been a family home and still now, she has room for more! Some spaces lend themselves easily to conversion. In this case, we converted the SE corner bedroom into the master bath and walk in closet, mixing vintage and modern. The 12” hexagonal tile pushes the design forward while an original clawfoot tub firmly (and very heavily) keeps it grounded in the turn of the century. The double vanity is a great mix of old and new, and the bedroom closet was easily turned into a private toilet room.
Montavilla / Mt Tabor Farmhouse master bedroom before
Montavilla / Mt Tabor Farmhouse master bedroom after
Montavilla / Mt Tabor master bath before (as a bedroom)
Montavilla / Mt Tabor Farmhouse master bath after
Montavilla / Mt Tabor master bath before (as a bedroom)
Montavilla / Mt Tabor master bath after
If you’re interested in checking out this Mount Tabor Village beauty, she’s still at the foot of Mt Tabor staring down Stark street, looking for new dwellers to call her home. You can check out the listing, price and see more pictures here.
And if you want to see Montavilla in all it’s glory, consider checking out the Montavilla Street fair on Sunday, July 29, 2018. More information here.
Bobby Curtis
Principle Broker
Licensed in Oregon
Licensed Contractor
CCB# 215071
503-502-3066[/caption]
If you’re getting ready to remodel your house, or take on a small house project, here are some of my top tips.
Save money and time without compromising quality.
Some lighting and bath stores have deeply discounted prices at certain times like Rejuvenation which specializes in new , high quality made to look original lighting. Once/quarter: new stuff sometimes 75% off from returned orders, or overstocked stuff. You can also visit online coupon websites and get a home depot promo code to use on your purchase.
Tile stores like Pratt and Larson, Daltile and others have a formal clearance section. Great quality at deeply discounted prices for returned tile, or leftover boxes from a large order. Deeply discounted and high quality.
There are places around town like The Rebuilding Center in North Portland that have great deals on original kitchen and bath fixtures, windows, and doors that came right out of houses in Portland, often times when houses are getting a make-over. Clawfoot tubs aren’t for everyone, so if someone takes it out, and you’re looking to put one it, you can get it for a great price.
Contractor/Designer Discounts. Places like Lowes, HD, the lighting and tile stores I mentioned earlier, almost all of them offer contractor or designer discounts. If you let them know you restore houses, they will give you a contractor rate. Be sure to ask for it before you make purchases.
Worksite/House Stuff: Bring Donuts and Coffee (especially when there are many contractors in a house at once). Most of these guys like to work alone, and you’re a savvy house renovator, so you have a timeline to keep and have several of them working at once. Bring donuts, and start the day off with a smile. It goes such a long way.
Work clean- at the end of everyday, make sure the people you are working with pick up after themselves, remove debris, and take their tools and supplies with them. It allows you to see true progress on the house, and not feel like its constantly a wreck.
For more, check out my interview with Kara from KATU here
Bobby Curtis Principal Broker Licensed in Oregon Living Room Realty & Licensed Contractor CCB: 215071 503-502-3066
There’s no house I’d rather renovate than one that’s been in the same family for years. When a house is turned over from one family to the next, with each family comes new ideas, styles, and a new set of renovations. Over time there is often little of the original character left, and what is there is masked by designs from each decade and each new owner.
So when we discovered this 1945 ranch had been owned by the same family since about 1950 and they did not do updates every ten years, we jumped on it. Added bonus- it was a solid house and the family maintained it well over all of those years. Here it is: 8603 NE Dyer St, Portland, OR 97220
And here is what we did. Starting from the outside, we knew the roof needed to be replaced, but weren’t anticipating having to remove three layers first. We replaced the roof, and removed the large drop arm awnings and dated barred glass door. Any time I see bars over window and door and large awnings, I always remove them. This is a safe neighborhood, and there was a great solid wood door behind those bars which you really couldn’t see. The awnings, while they kept out some of the heat, they also kept out light which now comes shining through these great midcentury windows.
The living room had rare wooden vaulted ceilings for this era of house. We freshened up the space, replaced the carpet, got rid of the wood paneling from the walls, and added a large, new modern light fixture. This room now feels completely inviting, and one you want to hang out in.
The dining room was centered in what I would consider the walkway from the front door. We removed the chandelier, added a flush mount modern light fixture, and moved the dining area in front of the window which overlooks Rocky Butte. Under this carpet we discovered white oak hardwood floors. With some sanding and a few coats of polyurethane, they turned out better than new. What you see here is the natural color of the wood. No stain needed.
Oh this kitchen…while cute (and who can resist that horse rocker), it lacked functional space. The refrigerator was in front of the sliding glass door, and kitchen overall needed more storage. We swapped the fridge location and the coffee bar (and built a smaller one), and made room for a new large pantry. We kept and restored the solid wood cabinets and added butcher block counter tops to warm it up. With new appliances and the benefit of a dishwasher, this kitchen functions much better.
The master bedrooms, and all the bedrooms for that matter, are gleaming with the new refinished floors and a fresh coat of paint. These light fixtures were original and in good shape, so of course we kept them. You may notice wall cadet heaters were in all of the rooms. That’s how the house was heated. We opted for a major upgrade with all new ducting and a high efficient furnace. No more electric heat.
The bathroom layout worked, but it felt small and was dark. We brightened it up with white walls and wall tile, added a large mirror and some stylish, bold blue floor tile.
The exterior is one of the highlights of the house. It sits on almost a double lot, with a spacious front, side and back yard. There’s even RV parking for the adventurous spirits. The patio is inviting, and neighborhood is pretty quiet for how busy Portland has become these past several years. This house is solid and beautiful, and ready for the next family. No renovations needed.
