Modern Houses in Portland

With its slim profile and sleek gray exterior, Lola Oyibo and Eric Boardman’s home in Portland, Oregon, bears little resemblance to the house it used to be. Keeping the footprint, foundation, and framing intact, the architect stripped the structure down to its bones, opening up the interior and adding a second story to give the family 1250 square feet —and a sweet modern space—in which to live. "It's the idea of reuse," architect Ben Waechter says. "We recreated a building that had reached the end of its lifespan, infusing it with another hundred years of living."

Photo on left by Sally Schoolmaster; photo on right, courtesy Atelier Waechter.

Natural light and fresh air pours in through the six windows (each three feet wide by six and a half feet tall) that pattern both sides of the home. “We picked out this size because it’s the biggest you could buy and still be standard,” says Boardman, mindful that custom windows cost a whole lot more. Photo on left by Sally Schoolmaster; photo on right, courtesy Atelier Waechter.