Collection by RFL
Architects
Aaron and Yuka Ruell transformed a 1950s Portland ranch house into a retro-inspired family home with plenty of spaces for their four children to roam. In the kitchen, interior designer Emily Knudsen Leland replaced purple laminate cabinets with flat-sawn eastern walnut, and added PentalQuartz countertops in polished Super White for contrast. The kitchen island is clad with original red tiles, and hanging cabinets above it were removed to maximize light and family-room views.
The curved wall marks the entrance to a hallway with two bedrooms and a bathroom. When the kitchen expanded in size, Engelsman was faced with the problem of the hallway being squeezed too tightly. “One day I was like, ‘Why don't we just curve it over to the bathroom door,’” says Engelsman. “We got an extra eight – ten inches by having it curve instead of come to a sharp corner.”
The headboard is a custom fabrication from a live oak felled on the property, made by DeVos Custom Woodworking and Jobe Fabrications and in collaboration with JCA. The headboard “brings so much texture and life into this tiny room,” says Corral. Custom steel shelves are poised below, with a sconce from Serena and Lily mounted atop.
Previously, a screened porch at the front left had been enclosed for additional living space, but wasn’t very usable, so Jobe and Corral converted it back to its original purpose. Now, it serves as a mudroom and a transition space before entering the living room. The preserved board and batten siding is painted Benjamin Moore ‘Kendall Charcoal’ and the ceiling fans are from Schoolhouse. Board-formed concrete replaced the brick, and new steps are formed by limestone slabs taken from the tops of quarries so that the top surface is natural.
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