On August 1, 2010, Oregon’s “Heat Smart for Clean Air Law” went into effect. This law is meant to protect homebuyers and clean our air of unnecessary wood-smoke pollution. This law requires a homeowner to remove and decommission an uncertified older woodstove or fireplace insert from a home at the point of sale. The law also applies to uncertified woodstoves located in outbuildings, shops, and garages. Uncertified wood stoves and inserts are required to be removed only when a home is sold.... more

Without an Indow Window With an Indow Window Brian McLean’s breakfast nook, with its seven windows looking out onto northeast Fremont Street in Portland, OR, was cold and drafty. The windows, in close proximity to the kitchen, also experienced condensation, with potential damage to the wood frame from water running down the cold panes and collecting on the muntins. This is just a preview...Read the rest... Read More →

This year is the 10th anniversary of Build It Green! The tour sparks the imagination, provides resources, and presents green remodeling ideas. Ever since the first event in 2002, approximately 1000 do-it-yourselfers, contractors, students, homeowners, and renters buy tickets every September for the tour. Build It Green! is presented each year by the City of Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability. This year’s tour will be held on Saturday, September 24, 2011, from 11 am to 5 pm. Twenty-two... more

In most kitchens, it seems that everything behind the first row in the pantry gets lost and falls into a black hole, never to be found again. Are you always looking for those items you know are there but cannot seem to find? If you want to use your mixer, you have to get on your hands and knees to unbury it. There has to be a better way. There is! This is just a preview...Read the rest... Read More →

You’ve been tearing pages out of magazines, searching websites, talking to co-workers, friends, and family members to find that right kitchen or bath design. You seek a design that you can afford that won’t disrupt your household for six months or more. Over and over you keep thinking, I love the layout of my kitchen. The space works well. It’s just dated. This is just a preview...Read the rest... Read More →

When it comes to favored architectural styles for old Portland homes, the Cape Cod doesn’t have the cachet of its Craftsman cousin. However, homebuyers Carolyn and Bret Winkler weren’t put off by the unassuming exterior or unappealing kitchen of the 1947 northeast Cape Cod. “We liked the space, the neighborhood, and above all, the price… we were prepared to look past the lack of obvious curb appeal,” Bret says. “We also saw past the ugly-duckling kitchen — literally, it had duck... more

Floorcloths are painted canvas rugs that originated in Europe in the 1700s. They were initially an artisan craft, hand painted and stenciled by house painters and often made to look like marbled floors, used in place of more expensive woven carpets. Eventually, manufacturing was established in several cities in Europe, most notably Bristol and London in England, and Dundee and Kirkcaldy in Scotland. This is just a preview...Read the rest... Read More →

On February 11, Architectural Historian Jack Bookwalter met with Mrs. Halliburton’s 2nd/3rd grade class at Access Academy for an after-lunch discussion of common Portland house styles. This was followed by a walk through the Northeast Sabin neighborhood, looking at many of the architectural features mentioned in the talk. This unusual endeavor was facilitated by Judy Berck, mother of one of the students in the class. The class had been studying Japanese culture and design as well as... more