For Tim and Nive Bailey and their three children, summers spent in central Oregon’s Black Butte Ranch community are all about falling into a slower rhythm of life with hours shaped by reading, bike riding, cooking, and gathering with loved ones.

When the Baileys briefed the design team at Hacker, a Portland-based firm, for the remodel of their condo, they prioritized this leisurely lifestyle. “Overall, our summer is relaxed, and anything we do to the house should be in the direction of keeping life simple,” Nive told the architects.

For the rest of the year, the family resides in Hong Kong, where they’ve been for over 17 years and called six places home. “Our house in Black Butte Ranch is the first, and only, house we have ever had, so it is an anchor for our family,” says Nive.

Before: Exterior

After: Exterior

After purchasing the condo in 2011, Tim and Nive had discussed remodeling but weren’t swayed either way until they saw Hacker’s deft design for the ranch’s pool facility, called Lakeside, in 2015. “I didn’t want the hassle or disruption of a renovation and had never seen anything at Black Butte Ranch that seemed worth the effort,” says Nive. “It was all theoretical until the pool’s grand opening. The Lakeside area was so beautiful and thoughtfully designed that we introduced ourselves.”

And while Hacker doesn’t often take on small-scale renovations of single-family homes, the Bailey Residence was too good of an opportunity to pass up. While working on the Lakeside pool facility, the firm had forged “such a connection to Black Butte, and we just love it down there,” says Jennifer Fowler, director of interior design at Hacker. “We always said, ‘If we could ever get our hands on one of those condos, how amazing would that be to redo?’”

Before: Living Room

After: Living Room

Aside from catering to the family’s summer routines, the renovation needed to retain the home’s inherent ’70s charm and simplify maintenance. “We really wanted to honor not just the vernacular of the ranch and the uniqueness of those condos, but also Nive’s specific desire to embrace that era,” says Fowler. “The exercise was really about stitching in new things that helped to elevate the old.”

Much of the existing layout was preserved and streamlined to bring in natural light and privilege the surrounding views. For instance, a wall between the dining room and kitchen was removed to free the latter’s galley layout from its dark, narrow confines. The firm also took out a wall across from the entry to enhance sight lines to mountains and meadows throughout the first floor.

Before: Kitchen and Dining Room

After: Kitchen and Dining Room

Shop the Look

Thoughtful details stud the home, from specific spots for stowing packages to open shelves in the kitchen that organize fresh produce. Existing niches were padded with upholstered window seats to create cozy reading nooks.

The family didn’t want the condo to become too precious, requesting that surfaces stand up to dirt and wear. To that end, wide-plank, white oak floors replace old tile and carpet while matte laminate kitchen cabinets withstand smudged hands and scratches.

Before: First-Floor Bathroom

After: First-Floor Bathroom

Before: Second-Floor Bathroom

After: Second-Floor Bathroom

Before: Guest Room

After: Guest Room

Before: Third-Floor Suite

After: Third-Floor Suite

The finished residence is a home that feels tailored to the family and evokes nostalgia for happy summers past. “The thing I love most about our new place is that it fits exactly to our routines,” says Nive. “[Hacker] really captured how we use the space and what my eyes like to see.”

More Before & After:

An L.A. Loft in a Former Nabisco Factory Gets a Japanese-Inspired Makeover

Clever Changes Bring Out the Charm in a 1920s Seattle Bungalow

Project Credits:

Architecture: Hacker, Charles Dorn / @hackerarchitects

Builder: Chuck Newport / Construction Management Services

Structural Engineer: Jerome Madden

Interior Design: Hacker / Jennie Fowler

Cabinetry Design: Chuck Newport / Construction Management Services

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Before & After: A Funky ’70s Condo in Oregon Gets a Soulful Makeover