Just after we got engaged, my husband, Stan Amy, and I found this house... later we were married here. I think you could say that we are deeply tied to our home. It's a big, classic Ranch with a view, built in 1952 on Alameda Ridge in Portland, Oregon. We'd been looking for a house in MCM style as it's a passion of ours. We re-imagined a Palm Springs motel and created the Orbit In and Hideaway hotels in Palm Springs. I was on the founding Board of Modernism Week. We were co-founders of New Seasons Markets and sold our stake in 2020. Our current project is building a housing community designed to help working professionals become homeowners.
When we bought this 3,100 square foot house in 1994, it was very dated, filled with shag carpeting and disco wallpaper. There was no footing under the south end of the house. For the first phase, we worked with Richard Brown Architects. Then, in 2014, we consulted with Anne De Wolf of the Portland design firm Arciform [arciform.com].
This story is from the July - August 2023 edition of Old House Journal.
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This story is from the July - August 2023 edition of Old House Journal.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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THE Villa RENEWED
This house in Greene County, New York, has been faithfully restored, from its foundation and structure to exterior elements and trim inside.
walls & ceilings
BY THE 1870s, the tripartite treatment was fashionable: walls divided into dado (or wainscot) below the chair rail, fill or field section, and frieze at the top of the wall.
lighting + hardware
ANTIQUE, REPRODUCTION, or contemporary, lighting fixtures and lamps are among the most cost-effective ways to add drama or period style to a room.
CRAFTSMAN PATINA
A smitten owner brings the Arts & Crafts aesthetic to a 1921 bungalow in Seattle.
furniture & decorative accessories
PERIOD ROOMS are the goal of a very small niche of old-house owners.
wall & floor tiles
TODAY WE FIND TILE from small studios . . . carved relief tiles, subway tile and mosaics, glazes matte and iridescent . . . plus encaustics and California revivals.
A TRANSCENDENT BATHROOM IN OJAI
A seamless addition allowed for this timeless primary bath, which has been re-imagined as an upgrade dating to ca. 1930.
CRAFTSMAN DETAILS IN A KITCHEN
An excellent layout and period motifs distinguish this midsize kitchen in a bungalow-era house.
home design - HOUSES HAVE A PAST - AND A FUTURE, TOO
THE BEST RENOVATIONS TOE THE LINE BETWEEN NECESSARY UPDATES AND ENOUGH SENSITIVITY TO ASSURE DESIGN INTEGRITY.
a farmhouse RESCUE
Using a cache of salvaged finds, the homeowner, architect, and contractor together rescued a tumbledown farmhouse in Vermont.