Godfrey New Home

This new home project is up the McKenzie, east of Blue River and is a Holiday Farm Fire rebuild. The clients, who lost virtually everything in the fire, wanted to honor their original house but also make the new home more connected to its surroundings and more responsive to their lifestyle. They are longtime fixtures in the Upper McKenzie River community who have lots of gatherings, so they wanted the new home to have plenty of space to entertain indoors and out. They also have a fair number of out-of-town guests, so they wanted a guest suite, and one of the clients is a painter so wanted a detached space to work. The home sits on a beautiful site with great views and the clients wanted lots of visual and physical connections to the outdoors, and they wanted the house to feel settled in the landscape.

The new home follows the original house’s footprint around a small pond that is fed from a spring in the hills above. The circulation through the house is meant to mimic the nearby McKenzie River and the roofline is meant to reference the ridgeline to the south. The main part of the home has two beds and two baths and the detached art studio doubles as a guest suite with a Murphy bed and a bath. The large great room has a wall of windows looking out towards the ridge south of the river and a large wall of windows and doors facing the pond that open up to a large, covered patio. There are also smaller, more intimate spaces both indoors and out meant to accommodate small groups including a small south-facing sitting area and porch designed as quiet getaway spots.

The kitchen has a large island with a natural stone top that looks like it could have been pulled from the site and a black wood base that references the charred wood left by the fire. Two yew trees salvaged from the site were used for columns at the front porch and studio, the burnt bark peeled away to reveal the yellow ochre wood below. Widows and skylights throughout the home provide not only views but an abundance of natural light, and a covered walk on the north side connects the covered porch, bedrooms, guest bath and studio.