In a Northeast Portland neighborhood filled with old Craftsman houses, a 1920s Prairie-style residence has always stood out for its clinker brick facade and double corner lot. “We fell in love with it because of the uniqueness of the architecture,” says Anyeley Hallová, speaking from the home’s front stoop. She and her family can be found here frequently, especially on summer afternoons when the strong sun lingers late into the evening.

Anyeley, a partner at the real estate development firm Project^, and her husband, Ed Halla, an entrepreneur working on a beverage start-up called Máte Time, purchased the home in 2016. The couple had been looking around the city for a lot where they could build a new house for themselves and their two children but changed course when they came upon this rare find.

Architect Thomas Robinson of Lever Architecture decided to update the original windows to gave the facade a more contemporary look. Robinson also removed an old carport, replacing it with a black shingled extension and a pavilion made of cross-laminated timber (CLT). " layout="wide" credit="Courtesy of Anyeley Hallová" photoUserId=""/>

Not only was the architecture unusual, but the home also presented the opportunity to live in a traditionally Black community—one of very few in Portland, a city with a legacy of redlining—and especially in one without a historic designation affecting how they might choose to renovate and modernize.

“The truth is that zoning has been used as a weapon to exclude people of color here,” Anyeley says. “Some historic designations have been implemented under the guise of saving old houses, when they’re actually a way to keep people who don’t have the know-how or resources to renovate within those restrictions out of certain neighborhoods.”

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Anyeley has collaborated with Lever Architecture on many large-scale projects over the past 10 years, so the firm was a natural choice for her renovation. Thomas Robinson, its founder, came by to take a look, and he knew immediately that major work would be required. “Right away, I was like, ‘Anyeley, we have to move the kitchen and we have to fix the stairs.’ ”

With a goal of preserving the look of the house while reorienting the interior for a contemporary lifestyle, they eventually decided to completely gut everything but the living and dining rooms. They moved the kitchen from the dark north side of the house to the sunnier south side and inserted it into a subtle, black-shingled modern extension with a strong indoor/outdoor connection.

Sliding glass doors open from the kitchen to the side yard and lead to a new, airy pavilion made from sturdy but lightweight, regionally sourced cross-laminated timber (CLT)—basically an “oversized beach cabana,” as Anyeley puts it, and a nod to her Florida roots.

Shortly after moving in, the family had the chance to test the limits of their new home when Anyeley’s sister and brother-in-law—both artists whose work hangs on the walls—ended up sheltering in place with them. They discovered that the reconfigured house could more than accommodate the strain of new uses.

“We found that we have ample creative and office space, as well as a supportive homeschool environment for the kids,” Anyeley says. “The house has proven to be much more than just a comfortable place to live.”

Project Credits:

Architecture: Lever Architecture / @leverarchitecture

General Contracting: Owen Gabbert / @owengabbertllc

Structural Engineering: SCE Engineers

Landscape Design: Lango Hansen Landscape Architects / @langohansen

Carpentry: Big Branch Woodworking / @bigbranchwoodworking

Landscaping: Forest Landscape Inc. / @forestlandscapeinc

Interior Plant Design: Interior Regrowth

Interior Plants and Pots: EcoVibe / @ecovibestyle

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A Portland Family Updates an Unusual Prairie-Style Home