A few months ago I visited what must be one of the most grand and impressive houses in Irvington, a Portland neighborhood already known for its historic homes (but most of them more modest foursquares and bungalows). The house is being featured in the current issue of Renovation Style magazine. (Photos you see here, taken from the article, are by Jon Jensen.)
As I wrote in the article, the Stuart House is said to originally have been built for a member of Scottish royalty who moved to Portland and built it in 1913. But by the turn of the 21st century, the home was in disrepair. That's when homeowner Gai Williams and designer Sheila Reilly stepped in to complete a loving restoration.
"It's strong and much like Oregon," Reilly told me. "It has a wonderful classicism, but you can feel the trees that put it together."
The interior is thoroughly ensconced in wood, most notably the Greco-Roman columns marking the entryway, but also the array of bannisters, mantels and moldings.
Redesigns of old homes often have a particular challenge. The homeowners almost always want to remove some walls and make the space more contemporary and open. But people also want to preserve the house's original integrity. Reilly and her client did a nice job with this balancing act, focusing their biggest changes on the kitchen and breakfast nook.
For all the condos and offices and public buildings that comprise most architecture and design news, there are almost always a lot of home restorations that largely go unnoticed. The Stuart House isn't anything new or different when it comes to Portland architecture, but it represents the best of what we have.
wow...what a gorgeous house...in a neighborhood of gorgeous houses!
Posted by: Scott | June 14, 2009 at 08:56 PM
I admire that almost a century old house. Still looks beautiful and elegant. I love looking at those pictures.
Posted by: Patrice | June 15, 2009 at 05:14 AM
Really one of the most interesting houses around. It's a great mystery who the architect was. It has lots of Jacobberger suggestions---but none of the usual Jacobberger sources identify it. It appeared in the Oregonian several times when it was first built--but, unfortunately, no architect was cited. I've always seen the name as Stewart. The September 7, 1913 Oregonian has a photo of the house with a slight caption description. C.W. Stewart also had the house behind it on 14th built at the same time. A picture of that house was in the September 14, 1913 Oregonian (both times in the real estate section)
Posted by: Robert Mercer | June 17, 2009 at 04:52 PM