Maybe your family is outgrowing your home and you don’t want to move, or you bought a small house that you’d always planned to expand. Whatever the reason, you’ll need to do some serious thinking before deciding to tackle a home addition in Portland, Oregon.

At COOPER Design Build, we have made many Portland homeowners happy with whole-house remodels that include adding a second story. But before you decide on such a major project, you should think long and hard about all the issues involved, because building a second story isn’t always the best option.

In certain areas of the house, who doesn’t want more storage? The kitchen is a major gathering point in the homes, so you may need a lot of variety in storage options here. As you get ready to remodel your kitchen, plan to maximize every inch, limited only by your budget and your square footage. Take a look at these options.

Feeling crowded in your small home? Dying to do something with that unfinished portion of your basement? A home addition may be right for you. Since this is often a much larger project than a simple remodel, you’ll want to start with a range of costs.

Portland continues to be a pioneer in the field of ADUs, or accessory dwelling units, as a result of the city’s policies making the construction of such dwellings legal on most single-family lots. It is easier than ever to incorporate an ADU into your Portland remodel, allowing your family to house renters for additional income or to make room for an adult child or aging parent. 

The international recognition of Oregon as the producer of world-class wines over the past four decades has confirmed what Oregonians already knew: that the 725-plus winemakers in their state bottle some really great wines. If you’re one of those aficionados of Oregon wine who has moved beyond buying a couple of bottles for the weekend into serious collecting, you might be considering having a custom wine cellar built as part of your planned home remodel.

COOPER Design Builders took advantage of an acre of level, undeveloped land behind this home in the green Portland suburb of Lake Oswego to create an outdoor playground for all ages last year. Now the family is ready for a summer outdoors.

When you’re planning an addition to your Portland, Oregon, home, it’s best to take a team approach to a job that has so many facets. Your team will include players such as your own family, financial professionals, city officials, architects, engineers, designers, builders, subcontractors, and more. Let’s consider where you should start.

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.

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.