Wood Paneling Loses its Dated Reputation With This Renovation of a 1959 Portland Gem

Tucked under a grove of towering fir and cedar trees, Aaron and Yuka Ruell’s house in southwest Portland is long and lean, its structure carefully sitting upon the suburban landscape with large expanses of glass, a bountiful use of wood, and generous overhangs, all markers of its vintage. It’s a bright beacon of 20th-century Pacific Northwest design—refreshed for today. When the Ruells decided to remodel, there was no question that they’d hew closely to the home’s original style: As Aaron says, "The architecture of this house almost demands that the interiors follow suit."