When Lauren O’Neill’s mother found a midcentury home near the back side of the high school Lauren attended in Lake Oswego, Oregon, she knew it had potential—even if Lauren and her husband, Mikey, couldn’t see it yet. The couple were living in Seattle at the time, but with a little prodding from Mom, they made an offer on the property—sight unseen.

“Once our offer was accepted, we drove down to Lake Oswego and saw Fernwood in person for the first time,” Lauren recalls. The reality hit hard. “I took a moment out on the deck, and I was like, ‘Mikey, this is insane. Are we willing to take on this much work?’”

Before: Exterior

After: Exterior

When they were ready to proceed with a renovation, the couple reached out to local firm Risa Boyer Architecture for a design that would honor the home’s midcentury character while reorganizing it for their life together. “The house was super funky, but it had some cool things going for it,” recalls Risa Boyer, the firm’s founding principal. “There’s a tree house vibe for sure—you’re just kind of perched up in the trees.”

While Boyer and senior architect Val Reynolds took charge of design (and Lauren’s sister Katie O’Neill handled the interior design with her firm Rhome), it was ultimately Mikey who got his hands dirty bringing the vision to life as general contractor—he had recently joined Lauren’s dad’s building firm in a career shift out of the corporate world. (Lauren, meanwhile, works in tech.)

Before: Basement

After: Basement

The O’Neills wanted every space to be purposeful. “We don’t need an excess of bedrooms that are just going to sit there,” Mikey explains. That meant pushing back against conventional real estate wisdom—skipping a shower in the powder room just to call it a full bath if they sold in the future. “We would never use it,” says Mikey. “Why would we do that?” Instead, they focused on spaces they’d actually use: a large gym downstairs, a cozy den, and Lauren’s essential home office.

Before: Dining Area

After: Dining Area

The renovation kept the home’s tree house vibe while introducing strategic edits. “The entry was really important,” explains Reynolds. The couple wanted to turn the home’s cramped, ho-hum entrance into a purposeful, statement-making welcome area. The design team borrowed square footage from the oversized deck to create a wide, inviting entryway that pulls you in the front door and reveals a dramatic staircase and an expanded kitchen.

A new two-story addition holds the primary suite, guest room, and workout space. A false brick wall that had extended from the original structure helped the new volume blend in seamlessly. “The house doesn’t look like it actually went through an extension, even though it has a pretty big one,” Lauren notes.

Before: Kitchen

After: Kitchen

Inside, the team debated exposing the original nail-laminated timber structure, but ultimately opted for new tongue-and-groove cedar ceilings. When they varnished the ceiling, “it just totally brought all the colors out,” Mikey says. “It was like this checkerboard effect that tied everything together.”

Now white oak cabinetry, solid white oak flooring, and various wood furnishings all harmonize under those varied cedar tones. The couple saved money through sweat equity—literally air-sealing the house themselves and conducting their own blower door test—while splurging strategically. In the kitchen, for instance, they installed circular Bocci outlets flush with the tile backsplash, a detail that required extensive collaboration between trades. “My subs were just sort of beside themselves,” Mikey admits. “But we got there in the end.”

Before: Living Area

After: Living Area

They mixed high and low throughout the project: there’s $12-per-square-foot Ambiente tile in the kitchen and laundry, and $6-per-square-foot Fireclay tile downstairs. “Not everything has to be exquisite,” says Mikey. “Just pick your details—and simple stuff done well looks amazing.”

Now that the project is finished, the kitchen, as in so many houses, has become the heart of the home. “That’s where I spend a lot of my time,” Lauren says. “Every time we have guests over, we congregate over this huge island. When Mikey and I cook together, we’re never in each other’s way.”

Before: Primary Bedroom

After: Primary Bedroom

To celebrate the build, the couple hosted a fete with all their subcontractors—many introduced through Risa Boyer Architecture. “A lot of times they work on a house and don’t see it in completed form,” says Mikey. “People showed up with their wives, all dressed up. It was really nice.”

Today, Mikey invites his own building clients to Fernwood to see his labor of love firsthand. “I just love our house,” he says. “There honestly is nothing I would change about it. We put so much thought and time into it—it’s just us.”

Before: En Suite Bathroom

After: En Suite Bathroom

After: Powder Room

Before: Staircase

After: Staircase

After: Hallway and Entry

More Before & After stories:

A Serene Renovation Saves a Midcentury From Shag Carpet and Pink Linoleum

A Radiant Renovation Opens a Portland Midcentury to Its Forested Lot

Project Credits:

Architect: Risa Boyer Architecture / @risaboyerarchitecture

Builder/General Contractor: O’Neill Homes / @oneillhomes

Structural Engineer: Grummel Engineering / @grummelengineering

Landscape Design Company: Quatrefoil, Inc.

Interior Design: Rhome Design / @rhomeinteriordesign

Cabinetry Design/Installation: Carey’s Custom Woodworking / @careyscustomwoodworking