When Digital Trends co-founder and COO Chris Carlson and his wife Jeanine, a marketing executive relocated to Portland from London, England, began their home search they did not immediately narrow in on the cliffside mid-century in Lake Oswego, they now call home.
At first, a desire to maintain an urban identity drove a hasty decision to settle in an overly grand recent-build in Portland’s SW hills. “The house was not ‘us’, in so many ways, we later learned” says Carlson thumbing through photos of the cherry cabinetry and large rooms. “We wanted to be cooler than that house, or for that house to be cooler than it would ever be.”Realizing the mistake and selling the home, the Carlson’s
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The Edgecliff House Story
modern and a little mid-century in the way Jeanie envisioned from collecting clippings.
Ben’s solution was careful art planning, strategic simplification of the furniture layout, and clean smooth plaster walls painted in flat alabaster paint to mimic the backdrop of the worlds museum.
The second challenge was the kitchen. We wanted to achieve an open concept, but maintain the formality needed to give the art the level of seriousness it deserved. During one of our the planning sessions, a wall perpendicular to the kitchen was chosen to be one of the best places for Chris’s highly prized poinilism piece, one of the most valuable of his collection. When asked if the kitchen was too casual a setting for the high end piece, Ben replied that the Art and kitchen could be planned to reinforce eachother. Now, the kitchen boasts a careful green cabinet color with brass knurled cabinet pulls matching the colors on the art piece and frame. Removed upper shelving and Calcutta counters and floors, as well as careful positioning of the appliances behind the service wall makes the now, open kitchen formal enough to support the museum quality art.
The kitchen was cleverly reconfigured into an impressively large galley. The added symmetry greatly improves the flow of the main entertaining spaces.
The all new luxury poweder room was inspired by hotels and is fit for a rock star, and showcases the owner’s collection of signed Nirvana albums.
Instead of a series of added family rooms, A new service wing now houses two laundry rooms, a butlers pantry and access to the garage, nanny wing and indoor gymnasium. In the lower level library, white washed concrete floors.
Ben Willis is a lawyer, whose mostly friends with doctors, but works out of an office full with vintage and current design magazines. “ I help people plan for, purchase and design their dream real estate portfolios, in no particular order.” Says, Willis.
I am full-service for clients who are aligned with my style, and in need of my services.
quickly retreated to a trendy NW loft downtown that far better fit their tastes. After the birth of their second son, however, they realized a heightened need to increase their square-footage, and developed a strong desire for a yard for their their Poodle and growing boys; Theis (5), and Pierce (2).After previewing properties and failed meetings with realtors and designers, the couple was introduced by a mutual friend to broker/designer Ben Willis from the boutique Lake Oswego brokerage Avery Bunick Luxury Properties, and founder of Oregon Equity Design. “Ben immediately understood our look and goals,” says Carlson. “Finally, someone wasn’t showing us Northwest Contemporaries or gauche New Build ‘Old World’ styles. Instead we could talk high-end design using international design magazine references, and Ben was confident we could create our look if we found the right backdrop.” Remembers Carlson.
The vision really came together when Ben and Jeanie narrowed in on the 1957 home overlooking the Lake on Edgecliff Terrace, in Lake Oswego. But, vision was exactly what the home needed. Although the views were spectacular, and some of the original 1950’s were features in tact., a series of additions from the 80s and 90s presented the house as a maze of purposeless rooms. “ It really didn’t make any sense, and the amazing lake views were lost behind layers of non-architectural decking. “
Understanding the vision, however, Ben and Jeanie went to work planning the renovation and negotiating the sale. “The numbers had to work, and we also didn’t want something to feel new ” laments Chris, “ but Ben had a lot of confidence in a lean strategy to restore the home’s midcentury feel, repurpose the rooms into those needed for out of a high end luxury home for a growing family, and add a touch of world-class design.”
Central to the design goals, and emblematic to the home is Chris’s fine art collection he obtained through years of working in London. The valuable collection includes everything from ancient sculptures and architectural pieces, to large abstract canvas pieces and tradiontal French pointillism
One of the challenges was making natural homes for these large pieces that were very important to Chris, but also making the home feel clean,