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The family gathers in the kitchen, which features oak cabinets, a concrete island, and brass fixtures. The backsplash is made of pink bricks hand-selected by Alix and Onur from a nearby brickyard. The mango wood pendants were purchased in a market in Bangkok.

New custom walnut cabinetry syncs with the rest of the built-ins throughout the home, to create a pleasing rhythm in the open plan. The backsplash is Heath Ceramics tile, and the counter is Pental Quartz. Open shelves at the rear overlook a cozy den, and allow sightlines out the new windows at the front of the home.

Originally designed in 1939 by Roscoe Hemenway, the Burton House was once home to famed artist Verne Tossey, who was best known for his campy pulp fiction book covers throughout the 1950s and 60s. Recently, Portland-based designer Benjamin Silver and builder Oliver Olson have completely renovated the home, transforming the property into a modern interpretation of Hemenway's original design.

"In some ways the strongest attributes of the house are probably the outside spaces,” says Court. The original cedar deck was replaced with Kebony decking that wraps around a century-old cherry tree. A pair of Andy rockers from Mamagreen face an ottoman by Kenneth Cobonpue. The accordion doors are a NanaWall SL-60 system that allows the main room of the guesthouse to open completely to the deck.

A couple’s 269-square-foot getaway features a crimson exterior and an unfinished pine plywood interior.

Webster Wilson designed this backyard ADU in Portland, Oregon, as a retirement home for a grandmother with visiting grandchildren. It’s clad in white-stained tongue-and-groove cedar.

The off-grid MU50 is topped with solar panels and solar thermal panels. Ground-source heat pumps support underfloor heating and cooling, while a nearby well supplies water. A desalination system provides drinking water, and rainwater is collected for landscape irrigation.

The project’s name, Loom House, is a nod to “weaving people and place,” says Karen. The couple hope their project contributes to spreading more awareness of the kind of systemic changes the LBC strives for. “With the Living Building Challenge, we liked that you not only create a healthy home,” says Todd, “but you consider how that healthy home is creating a healthy environment and community.”

Working with architects at The Miller Hull Partnership and interior designer Charlie Hellstern, they honored the 1960s Northwest-modern design while pushing the boundaries of renovating sustainably.

The Patton New Century House treads lightly on the land while providing wide-open living spaces.

The exterior features vertical, untreated cedar panels. “We tried to use materials that are beautiful in their natural state without excessive treatment or finishing,” Pavonetti says.

Risa Boyer Architecture guided the whole house remodel of this 1955 Portland home. Lillyvilla Gardens executed a new landscape plan for the property, including this updated entry sequence, while Boyer added more glass to suit the midcentury façade.

Architect Line Solgaard, founder of the eponymous Oslo- and Fredrikstad-based firm, designed a getaway for her family in the place where she grew up. Untreated, exposed concrete pairs with cedar cladding; custom, oak-paneled ceilings; and a glass roof in the center of the home that opens like a sunroof for natural ventilation.

Sleeping Cabin from southeast lawn and existing storage shed beyond.

Floor-to-ceiling glass allows guests to appreciate the forested lot as much as the owners do.

The exposed rafters were carried into the exterior areas, including the covered patio.

These are the cliff notes and the details continue. You can certainly look at the pictures and get a sense of Jenson’s essential architecture and the homeowners thoughtful vision; but the only way to truly see it, is to feel it when you tour the home and grounds and imagine it being your own. You may want to move quickly on this one.