Remodel of an existing mudroom and pantry, completed earlier this year.
DRW ARCHITECTURE BLOG
SW Vista House Kitchen Finished
Friday was our last day working on the Vista House Kitchen, which we previously wrote about just after the cabinets were delivered. The project was a complete remodel of the kitchen, which included the demolition of a bearing wall to allow the kitchen to expand into space previously used as a pantry. All the cabinets, tile, lighting, countertops and appliances are new, but were designed to compliment the 1925 house.
We would like to thank our clients, both for giving us the opportunity to work in their house, and for their patience while they were displaced from their kitchen. We're very pleased with how the project turned out, and hope that they will be equally happy as they use the kitchen for years to come.
Skyline Residence
Our latest project is a remodel of a house near Skyline Blvd. The house was built in 1970, and was given a very successful exterior remodel 5 years ago, but much of the original 1970s interior still remained. Our clients bought the house in the summer, with the intention of doing a complete remodel of the interior before they move in.
Demo at the Skyline Residence
Our design seeks to preserve the modern, open layout of the house, while making selective improvements to the flow through the building. By removing a wall between the hallway and an existing storage area, we were able to create a new mudroom off of the garage. Changing the kitchen layout creates a more efficient use of space, and creates a more logical relationship between the kitchen and the dining area. An entry area was added as part of the previous remodel, and made the old entry area near the back of the house redundant. By removing one of the walls adjacent to the old entry, we were able to create a new games room, which would also function equally well as a formal dining room.
We received a building permit last week, and got started immediately with the task of removing the existing finishes.
View from the Corbett-Terwilliger house
For the past couple months at our Corbett-Terwilliger remodel, we have been busy demolishing existing structure, excavating soil, pouring new concrete and reframing walls at the basement and first floor. Now that this work is largely complete, our framers are able to move up to the second floor, and have just started building the walls that will support the roof. It was a rare late-November blue sky day when this photo was taken yesterday, with clear views out across the Willamette, to Mt Hood in the distance.
The progress since our last update is most visible from the back of the house, where the addition is being built.
Corbet House from Sportcourt
And two days later, two of the gables are built.
SW Vista House kitchen
We consider ourselves very lucky that a previous client of ours has invited us back into their house to build a new kitchen. In 2010, we completed a remodel of their previously unfinished basement, and put in a new master bathroom. Their house is always a pleasure to work at, and has beautifully proportioned rooms, but the existing kitchen didn't reflect the way the clients actually live. The layout of the kitchen hadn't changed since the house was built in 1925, and had a narrow galley style plan, and a separate pantry. By removing the wall between the kitchen and the pantry, we could create a more open and spacious layout, with a center island. While this is a more contemporary plan, we wanted to ensure that the new kitchen didn't feel like it belonged to another house. For the past month, Skyline Fine Cabinets in Eugene have been building the cabinets, which have a traditional American face-frame construction, with 3/8" overlay doors and drawers. Meanwhile in Portland, our team were busy demolishing the existing kitchen, inserting a new beam where we removed the bearing wall, and coordinating the plumbing, electrical, sheetrock and floor tiling.
Yesterday marked an important milestone, when the cabinets arrived. Right now, it's like a game of 'Tetris' as all the pieces come together. Once the cabinets are in place, we can install the appliances, and the final measurements can be taken before cutting the stone for the countertops.
Cable Hill House at Night
Cable Hill House Update
We recently had the opportunity to go back to our Cable Hill House project, which was completed earlier in the year. Since then, the landscaping had a chance to bed in, and the exterior has been painted in its final color; a dark brown-grey that nicely contrasts with the natural grain of the wood screens.
The light fixture in the last image was built by Gene, one of the carpenters at DRW. The custom metalwork was crafted by Brian Creany of Flux Design.
For comparison, the house prior to our work:
Corbett-Terwilliger demo progress
The demolition on our Corbett-Terwilliger project is progressing nicely, and we're now at a stage where we can start adding to the house rather than taking away.
We have removed all the exterior siding and interior finishes, and are left with only the basement, first floor joists & wall framing, and second floor joists.
Foundations for the new porch at the front of the house. The metal rods are reinforcing bar for the concrete stem wall, which has yet to be poured.
The existing front door, still in place.
The existing basement will step down three feet here, into a new artists' studio, with a nine foot high ceiling and views out to the river.
The house sits on a site with incredible views down to the Willamette, which the new house will make the most of. These photos were taken from the location of the future living and dining rooms, which will open out on a large back porch. On a clear day, both Mt Hood and Mt Saint Helens will be visible from the porch.
View from the second floor.
Corbett-Terwilliger demo
Demolition has begun on the Corbett-Terwilliger remodel, which we blogged about just after we submitted it for permit. Demolition is a major part of this project, and involves removing the existing roof, siding, exterior deck, insulation, plaster, and interior fixtures, as well as electrical, plumbing and mechanical systems. It's also the first real chance to verify the assumptions about the existing structure that were made during the design process. Once the building is stripped down to studs, we can start with the new concrete work and framing.
Landscape project
Garage
We completed this SW Portland project in 2010, which involved creating a new two car garage, as well as an interior remodel of the existing residence. Due to its location on the site, the addition is particularly prominent on the approach to the building, and so we took great care to match the style of the new garage to the existing 1923 house. The owners tell us that visitors frequently don't believe that the garage isn't an original part of the house.
Here is the project under construction, in July of 2009, just before the concrete slab for the garage was poured. The steep slope on the site required the large retaining wall seen on the left.
Project in progress
More photos of the completed project:
Corbett-Terwilliger remodel
DRW Design Build are excited to have submitted our latest project for permit, a remodel of house in the Corbett-Terwilliger-Lair Hill neighborhood. The house originally dates from 1913, but has been remodelled so extensively that it is now difficult to see its origins as an old Portland craftsman style house. The project will completely change the exterior of the building, to be more sympathetic to the surrounding neighborhood, and the historic origins of the house. While reusing as much the existing framing as possible, the house will get a new gable roof with projecting dormers on the east and west elevations. The existing vertical siding will be replaced by cedar shingles, and all the windows will be replaced with custom-made craftsman windows. Internally, we will be creating a much more functional layout on the second floor, as well as a new artists' studio in the basement. Here is how the house looks now, on a rainy day earlier this year:
We hope to start work later this summer, and plan on keeping the blog updated with progress shots during construction.
