Period Pieces

The Hanifan residence not only exemplifies how to expand a modest Craftsman, but is a treasure-trove of vintage and salvaged finds.

- Brian Libby

Gary Hanifan likes to joke  that  the  massive  painting of snow-capped Mt. Hood hanging in  the living room of his renovated and expanded  1920  Craftsman  in  Lake  Oswego,  Oregon  is  actually a mirror. After all, the artwork faces a  window through which the real Mt. Hood can be  seen. But the wood painting, its grains and patina showing through as beautiful as the mountain image itself, says a lot about the love affair  Hanifan and his wife, Melissa, have with finding vintage art, furniture, and architecture. 

“I do enjoy the hunt,” says Gary, who first  saw  the  Mt.  Hood  painting  hanging  in  a  saloon  many  years  ago  and  found  it  again  on  one  of  his  regular  sojourns through vintage shops, estate sales, and even house  deconstructions. If that was serendipitous, so too was running  across  the old  clock  that  now  sits  on  the fireplace  mantel. The Hanifans bought it from a neighbor’s garage  sale not knowing it had once sat in the same spot.