Ladd’s Foursquare

When our clients pondered a cross-country move from New York to Portland, they initially reached out to architecture firms for guidance on selecting a home they could make their own. After being selected, THESIS provided insights about what to expect from the large craftsman style homes of the Ladd’s Addition neighborhood in SE Portland the clients were drawn to. As a Historic District, the Ladd’s Neighborhood has strict preservation standards around the renovation of its historic resources, and THESIS was well-versed in navigating that. The clients fell in love with a large foursquare-style craftsman with Prairie influences – most notably large eaves which project nearly 6’ from the unique roofline in all directions. Once keys were in hand, a very thoughtful and intentional planning process began. Every aspect of the house was desired to be carefully opened up, inspected, and updated, so the team elected to take the unusual step of launching a whole house demolition down to the studs during the design phase, to illuminate any discoveries and help guide the overall scoping of in-wall plumbing, electrical, insulation etc. The first big move in planning came in the form of “flipping” the kitchen and dining spaces. In doing so, both benefited from better spatial configurations and access to natural light. As is often the case, a move like this set up a domino effect on the rest of the floor plan and the result felt both natural and original. On the second floor, 4 large bedrooms rooms were updated, and an ensuite bathroom introduced and accessed via a custom dressing room washed in soft natural light. A hallway laundry and playful but elegant children’s bathroom completed the program. Capping the home both literally and figuratively, an expansive attic was structurally retrofitted and made accessible by an updated staircase, providing the perfect setting for a cozy kid’s playroom in wall to wall wool carpet with new window benches and a custom cove light detail wrapping a new ridge beam. Outside, the home was updated (to the delight of the local Historic neighborhood association) with a covered front porch and steps which was thought to be original to the house but stripped away sometime in the mid-century years, taking precedent from other examples of the original architect’s work throughout the neighborhood.

photos: chris dibble
construction: otis construction

main floor before

main floor after

upper floor before

upper floor after