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Front of the house during the day

“We always want to feel the carpentry in our projects. Our goal here was to show the wood of the structure as much as possible,” says architect Jean-Baptiste Barache.

From the front, Greg Hoffman and Kirsten Brady’s home in Portland, Oregon, bears little resemblance to the daylight ranch house that once stood in its place. Yet upon closer inspection, it is clear that the enlarged structure is actually an updated version of the same dwelling that has occupied the site since the early 1950s. More windows, a trellised roofline, a basalt privacy wall, and a flat-roofed, top-floor addition are among the most striking changes. Plantings were also added to enhance the yard. “There was zero landscaping,” says Greg, “If you look at the original photos, the house was just sitting on the ground.” All of the new features are carefully oriented so that the sightline from the street through the house to the vista beyond remains open. “The original house had a gap in the hedge so people could see the view,” Greg recalls. “We said, ‘Let’s keep that.’”

A new wood-panel wall is a focal point in the open layout. The original white oak floors were also refinished.