Bill Cornog’s family has had a long history with Black Butte Ranch, a planned community in Central Oregon that broke ground in the early 1970s. The community, which occupies more than eight square miles of a former cattle ranch and is surrounded by the Willamette National Forest and the Cascade Mountains, holds 1,251 homes (and 20 undeveloped sites). In the late ’70s, Cornog’s father built one of the early homes on the ranch. After his death, the family sold the house and purchased a share of one of the original Country House Condos.

In the following years, the family continued to visit the area regularly for weddings, vacations, or family get-togethers. “I imagine, that after the first home was sold, one of Bill’s goals was to buy a house at Black Butte someday,” says architect Miles Woofter, founder of the Portland, Oregon–based Woofter Architecture. Woofter is Cornog’s brother-in-law, and when Cornog and wife Leslie found the house that he was looking for in 2006, Woofter’s firm led the ensuing renovation.

Black Butte Ranch “reminds me a lot of Sea Ranch—something kind of utopian,” says architect Jonathan Bolch, also of Woofter Architecture. “It’s the Central Oregon version with really beautiful, Pacific Northwest modern structures.” Since Cornog’s house was built so early in the development’s history, it has a prime site facing a meadow, with views to the Three Sisters and Broken Top Mountain.

Despite such fantastic siting, before the remodel, “You really didn't have a sense of the magnificence of the site,” says Woofter. On his first visit, he remembers being surprised when he stepped up to the front door. “It's a Leroy Setziol-carved door,” says Woofter. Setziol was a self-taught woodworker who carved lyrical sculptures and collaborated with many PNW architects. “I knew at that point that something special was going to unfold,” says Woofter.

Before: Front Exterior and Entry

The Cornog family started with the goal of renovating the kitchen and replacing the roof. Aside from a remodel to the master bathroom in the ’90s, not much else had been touched since the house was built in 1972. As the design process unfolded, more areas were identified for improvement, such as the entry sequence, which didn’t flow well with the rest of the house.

“The sequence just wasn't appropriate to the house and the views,” says Woofter. “That celebration of the arrival was something we felt we really had to fix.” They did so by creating a defined exterior entry court, a covered porch with seating, and a glass entry vestibule.

After: Front Exterior and Entry

“Above all, we were excited, but we were also hesitant because the house had so much family history and had really good bones,” says Bolch. “There were some really great qualities to the house that we wanted to keep, and we didn’t want to do any harm. So, we wanted to be very sensitive to the opportunity but not mess it up. And that was our charge from Bill—to not screw it up.”

To that request, the firm’s redesign added 1,300 square feet to the floor plan, with much of the added area going to a new kitchen and dining wing. A new office was also added to the master suite, which creates a work space sequestered from the activity of the social areas. The layout was further massaged to improve general circulation and bathroom setups.

A key goal along the way was to better connect the house to the views and its incredible meadow site. To do so, the team used lots of glass and created distinct outdoor zones all around the house, including the entry court, a breakfast terrace, and a new deck that wraps the northwest corner.

Before: Meadow-Facing Facade

After: Meadow-Facing Facade

Before: The Great Room and Stairs

After: The Great Room and Stairs

The great room’s additional space and new glass, now on two sides, creates a stronger connection to the setting. “I think having the additions feel like they were meant to be there and really connected in a seamless way was part of the design challenge,” says Bolch.

A key move to resolve that challenge was maintaining the interior wood cladding throughout the home. “We did everything we could to keep as much of the original wood as possible,” says Woofter. The firm supplemented the old wood with new planks where necessary. “The only gypsum board is in the mechanical room, in the basement,” says Woofter. “Everything is wood.”

Before: Kitchen

After: Kitchen

Before: Master Bedroom Suite

After: Master Bedroom Suite

Before: Game Room

After: Game Room

By the time the remodel wrapped in 2016, the Cornog family knew that their connection to Black Butte Ranch would continue well into the future. “Bill was clear that this was going to be a project that would be a legacy project for his family,” says Woofter. “That it would be passed down from generation to generation, and that every decision would be made based on quality and longevity.”

More Before & After:

A Derelict Cottage and Dairy Stable Become a Sleek Family Compound

A Mother-Daughter Duo Rescue a Forgotten Albert Frey Design in Palm Springs

The Epic Quest to Restore Walter J. Hall’s Legendary Lynn Hall

Project Credits:

Architecture: Woofter Architecture (@woofter.architecture)

Builder: Construction Management Service

Structural Engineering: Walker Structural Engineering

Landscape Design: Lango Hansen Landscape Architects

Lighting Design: LUMA Lighting Design

Interior Design: Carolyn Woofter Interior Design

Cabinetry Design: CWID / w+a / Custom Woodworking / Jim Newport

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