Portland's Cape Cod Remodel
With its slim profile and sleek gray exterior, Lola Oyibo and Eric Boardman’s home in Portland, Oregon bears little resemblance to the house it used to be. Unable to afford the 40% down required to build a new house, the couple instead opted for a FHA 203K renovation loan that let them put just 3% down—and hired architect Ben Waechter of local firm Atelier Waechter to give the place a massive facelift. Formerly a nondescript 1947 Cape Cod-style structure, the house “had a horrible kitchen and had no built-ins or historic elements worth keeping,” says Waechter. Plus, it was only 625 square feet, which was overly crowded for the homeowners and their two year-old daughter, Mena. Keeping the footprint, foundation, and framing intact, the architect stripped the structure down to its bones, opening up the interior and adding a second story to give the family 1250 square feet —and a sweet modern space—in which to live. "It's the idea of reuse," Waechter says. "We recreated a building that had reached the end of its lifespan, infusing it with another hundred years of living."
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Cape Chair (and Sofa)
Cape’s informal dropcloth vibe is as cheeky as it comes. We’re inclined to forgo the expense, and re-create this piece with a nice new blanket and that old sofa from Goodwill.
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Pedal Pod
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Events
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Walking Tour: Cape Cod Modern Architecture
Visit the Cape Cod National Seashore to view the Modernist cottages. A chartered bus provides transportation for an exclusive tour by architect Peter McMahon, principal of PM Design, a firm…
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Documenting and Preserving Modernist Architecture in the Outer Cape
Beginning in the late 1930s, a group of visionary architects congregated on the isolated backshore of Wellfleet and Truro. In conjunction with the exhibition Marcel Breuer, this lecture by Peter…
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Bike Rides
Organized by Aldrich curators Richard Klein and Mónica Ramírez–Montagut, with the advice of musician, artist, and bicycle advocate David Byrne, the exhibition explores the…
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Really...a 203K. I can't believe they got away with doing a FHA 203K for this project. Last time I checked, FHA 203K's were for minor rehab...nice work...this is the epitome of creative financing.
This is a really nice rehab. I'm wondering if there would be any info on the total cost of the project and how they went about it - were they living there for some years to build on the principal? How long did the renovation take? I assume the family had to move out...? Thanks for the info. We're trying the same thing!
Thanks for the nice comments. Agreed that this is not what FHA had in mind with the 203k, but it wasn't too bad making it work. The renovation took 5-months, which is the upper limit of what the 203k loans allow. We were not living there through the process. It was not a 'jumbo' loan, so the total cost fell below that threshold, if that helps.
Great place. In picture #8, there appear to be some sort of clear inner shield in front of the windows. Is this Lexan or something to get around having tempered glass in the windows?
Hi Eric and Lola. Love what you have done here. The space feels so bright and open and only 1250 sq.ft! I intially looked at the images before reading the article (I completely missed the title :-) and was shocked to find that this home is in Portland, OR; I expected CA. The split flooring materials is a brilliant choice; it must be nice to get out of bed and step onto carpeting; no cold feet. Ingenious use of the 203K financing option, by the way. I am curious: how did you manage to hide the liebherr fridge behind the IKEA cabinets? I've been searching for a solution using IKEA cabinets with the 24" (or is it 21") integrated liebherr without spending a lot on custom and this may be a good option for me. Secondly, in image #5 what curtains are you using? Thanks so much for sharing your project with us. Sean
A wonderful story but I wish it had been properly staged to see the full effect for photos.
I love everything! What material have you used for the ramps of the roof deck ?
Jesse: Windows are tempered, but they all open out 90-degrees, hence the glass guards you saw. Sean: Thanks. The Liebherr is listed as 24" but it's really 21". It's housed in the "cube" in the middle of the room and covered by a custom (not IKEA) plywood panel. Nice fridge though and relatively inexpensive when compared to the other "built-in's". The curtains are West Elm hanging from tracks purchased from a medical store online. Karine: Tight-knot cedar.
Where did the money go? So many sterile architectural surfaces and overpriced windows here. I am glad the owners plan on being here for a very long time. The way the budget was spent versus on what this space really offers does not pencil out for a true return on resale. Seriously, as a emerging designer, it is redundant seeing architectural history exchanged for Revit boxes wit IKEA finishes. Designers today are lacking a serious stretch of their imaginations. Almost anyone can "design" a box within a box within a box using prefab boxes to finish the job.
Mie what kind of "architectural history" was lost here? As an "emerging designer" you should be able to elaborate on this.
Mie - some do not believe the house is a place for traditional architectual detail. We get enough stimulation from other areas of life. Some people want a house to be mainly a place of function; a place uncluttered so the mind can think and not be distracted with unneccesary things like crown molding.
Thanks, Eric. Did you first purchase the house and then did the renovation some time afterwards? Thank you again.
i hope they are thinking gas for that fire pit...................................
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