Portland Design Build Remodeling Blog

Anna and Jeff, the owners of a classic Prairie/Craftsman-style home in the historic Alameda neighborhood of northeast Portland, Oregon, needed upgrades to a fine home that had fallen into disrepair over the years. The entire house presented potential remodeling projects, but they decided to focus on the immediate needs first: a kitchen remodel and remodels of two bathrooms.

Getting the kitchen of your dreams in your Portland, Oregon, home is an exciting prospect. It also can be a little overwhelming. Here are some guideposts to help you along that journey.

The task of designing a master bathroom addition for your Portland, Oregon, home involves as much thinking about your lifestyle as planning of plumbing features. If two of you are living in the master suite, do you each need your own sink? Do you really think you’ll spend a lot of time soaking in a tub? Would you make use of a sitting area to rest or visit with another occupant of the bath? Assuming you like the trend toward spa-like master bath retreats, here are some layouts to consider.

Remodeling a historic Portland home takes special care, including paying attention to local zoning guidelines, as we have discussed elsewhere. You’ll need to decide whether you will be restoring your home to a certain historic period, making modernizing changes that are historically compatible, or taking some other approach to the project.

Do you own a historic home in Portland? That makes you a custodian of a piece of your neighborhood’s and the city’s history, with a responsibility to treat your home kindly. Here are some things to keep in mind as you consider a remodel of your historic home.

When you are ready to undertake a major remodel or addition to your Portland home, you will be faced with the choice of approaches to take: Hire an architect or designer to draw up the plans, and then find a builder to execute them; or contract with a design-build company, such as COOPER Design Builders, which will provide full-service remodeling from design to completion of the job. Here’s how COOPER Design Builders works.

Whether you’re building a new home in the Portland area or contemplating a remodel, it would be only natural to absorb the influences of your surroundings into your home’s design. In the Pacific Northwest, those influences include, perhaps most obviously, trees. The area’s culture also is affected by Native American and Asian influences and a connection to the natural environment that manifests itself in a desire to use resources wisely. So stained woodwork is a natural in Portland-area homes, as are windows arranged to connect the indoors to the natural beauty outside.

These days, it’s hard to find a new home that isn’t built with at least one master suite. But if your home is old enough or humble enough to not have a master bath, you could be itching to add one. Here are some dos and don’ts to keep in mind as you consider your options.

The process of remodeling a home in the Portland area encompasses so many factors and involves so many steps that we’ve put together a basic guide with links to articles on each topic: planning ahead, finances, finding a builder, bids, contracts, and surviving the process.

The bathroom — with its hard, smooth surfaces, clean lines, and potential for sleek fixtures — is a great place to dabble in modern design. If you’re toying with the idea of going modern with your bathroom remodel, here are some ideas to consider.