Name: Jessica Engeman & Erik Hovmiller
Profession: Historic Preservation Specialist & Social Worker
Location: Portland, Oregon
Size: 1500 sq. ft.
Years lived in: 5 months, owned
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When they began their house hunt, Jessica and Erik, like so many first-time home buyers, found that most of the houses in their budget were old and needed a lot of work. But for a young couple with the creativity, vision, and unstoppable work ethic of these two, a fixer-upper can be a blessing in disguise. Their three-bedroom 1924 bungalow near downtown Portland is a beautiful example of how with a good dose of DIY ingenuity, an historic home can be made modern without losing its original charm.
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Jessica and Erik launched their litany of projects back in February, as soon as they moved in. (Check out some before and in-progress photos here.) To give you a taste of what the renovations entailed, here's Jessica:
We had a lot to deal with—popcorn-textured walls in the living room, stick-on leather wainscoting in the dining room, a totally pink kitchen, plenty of late-80s vinyl wallpaper, uninspiring brown bathroom floors and tub surround, a dark and dingy finished attic, and a yard that had gone to seed… just to name a few. Erik and I spent our evenings and weekends for almost five months straight with hammer or paintbrush in hand, finally getting to a point where we walk in the door and feel content that this is our home.
What's amazing is that even after all that work, the house doesn't have the sterile, too-perfect feel that seems to plague so many modern renovations. Instead, because Jessica and Erik were so careful to preserve original details, collecting antiques and salvage pieces that would resonate with the home's historic character, it feels like a well-loved, cozy retreat.
AT Survey:
Our Style: Vintage eclectic, with a few modern pieces to keep it fresh and practical.
Inspiration: All of the women in Jessica’s family are very artistic and have great design eyes, so they are a big part of her inspiration. Favorite decorating books: Flea Market Style (Emily Chalmers), Decorating with Vintage Fabric (Lucinda Ganderton), and Nest for Two (Allison Serrell). Being in Portland is also a big part of our combined inspiration. There are so many creative, resourceful people here. We’ve really fed off that DIY spirit as we’ve transformed our house.
Favorite Element: It’s a tie between the front porch and the upstairs studio. When the weather’s good, we spend as much time outside as possible. The flower baskets and vintage Japanese paper lanterns make it such a wonderful place to relax. For an indoor retreat, it’s hard to beat our finished attic. The all-white interior keeps it bright and light—a great place for making art, doing yoga, or working on our latest landscaping plan.
Biggest Challenge: Not being overwhelmed by it all. In the beginning we were faced with so many projects, it was nearly paralyzing. It was important to just keep moving and not allow ourselves to stop and think too much. That’s when we’d lose momentum.
What Friends Say: Even the ones who didn’t see the house in its “before” state seem to sense how much work we’ve done and are amazed.
Biggest Embarrassment: House-wise it’s our stairs. They are so steep! We installed handles to make going down safer, but we’ll definitely have to build a new staircase if this is the house we want to grow old in. Décor-wise, we still have a few pieces of furniture that seem out of place… like our 80s Aztec-print couch, which is currently covered in about six linen sheets. I’m on the hunt for something simple, stylish, and comfy.
Proudest DIY: The kitchen. It was pretty atrocious when we bought the house. The layout was funky and made for a lot of dark, unusable spaces. It was also almost entirely pink. We knocked down some walls, took the doors off the upper cabinets, uncovered the original fir floors, and painted everything white except for the vintage Formica countertops. It’s the perfect kitchen for us now.
Biggest Indulgence: Inside, our biggest indulgence was the bathroom tile. We completely redid the floor and tub surround in hex and subway tile. Outside it was the new two-tiered retaining wall in the front yard, which completely changed the look of the house from the street.
Best Advice: If you’ve got a lot of work to do and don’t want the projects to drag on ad infinitum, set a realistic target completion day. Then schedule a party or an open house. We committed ourselves to a completion date even more by having family from the East Coast come visit.
Dream Source: European flea markets, Aurora Mills Architectural Salvage, anything from Noun, art by Hadley Hutton and Elizabeth Soule, bird cages from Flutter.
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Resources:
Living Room: All the furniture is second-hand. Favorite finds were the gray mid-century end tables at Stars Antiques (Portland) and the roll-top desk, which I scored off of Craigslist. Curtains are IKEA with vintage trim. I used the post-hemming curtain remnants to make the chair slipcover. Lamps and sconces are from Hippo Hardware (Portland). Bicycle prints are from an ’08 calendar and the black frames from IKEA. Huge Paris map was the ultimate estate sale find. Most the objets d’art throughout the house are from thrift stores or estate sales.
Dining Room: Counter-height table is from Whittier Wood Products… we did the finishing. IKEA was our source for the chairs, the curtains, and the big white houseplant pot. Chandelier is vintage… I’ve had it forever.
Kitchen: The butcher block came from IKEA and the stainless steel range is from Peerless Premier. Jadite knobs and light fixture are from Rejuvenation.
Bathroom: Tile is from Dal-Tile. Knobs, soap dish, light fixture are from Rejuvenation. Narrow white shelf is IKEA. Old medicine cabinet door mirror is from Stars Antiques. Curtains are handmade, but the wire and clips are from IKEA.
Master Bedroom: Wallpaper is original to the house—we debated as to whether it should be kept. Unbelievably comfy bed was purchased from Foamorder.com. William & Mary matelasse bedspread came from Maggie’s Bedding Warehouse. Bird art was from an estate sale… now in an IKEA frame. Little white tables were from Stars. Erik made the coat rack with a piece of beadboard and vintage hooks.
Upstairs Bedroom (Guest Room): It’s all second-hand… estate sales and antique shops.
Studio: IKEA (shelves, table, drawers). I had the white magnet board made by a local sheet metal fabricator. My sewing chair was thrifted at Village Merchants (Portland). Dress form was my grandmother’s.
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(Thanks, Jessica and Erik!)
Charming - I love that the dining room changes colors from brown to mauve depending on the light...
...and that the kitchen has it's 1950's pink laminate countertops.
view bepsf's profile
Great job, congratulations.
view hrhprincessfiona's profile
Funny, I just saw this home on Flickr recently and added it to my faves. I luuuurve the kitchen! It actually makes me WANT pink laminate countertops! The Rejuvenation knobs look gorgeous as well.
view HeyNowTex's profile
I really appreciate how they kept the vintage character of the kitchen and bath. The painted floors in the studio and guest room are a nice touch, too.
view FiatLex's profile
Excellence.
view rosenatti's profile
What a beautiful house, great updates and creating a airy, homey feel.
view LoriSF's profile
Excellent use of pinks!
view home body's profile
I second the notion on the pinks. I'm not a pink kind of girl but this is gorgeous. It's sweet without being stifling or sickly... a far cry from the Hello Kitty House :D haha. But yes, this is just beautiful.
view thehalfie's profile
This is fabulous but not everyone can pull this off without a social worker's salary... um, er.
Never mind.
view carter76's profile
I'm totally in love with this house!
view Idril's profile
Super cute! It reminds me so much of New Orleans; I was surprised to see it's in Oregon. Lovely home.
view Lisa (Montreal)'s profile
Do you know the living room color name? Beige always seems difficult to me and that one is perfect.
view chrisciever's profile
I like this house. It is very similar to the houses in my neighborhood. My kitchen has almost the exact same layout as this one. And I love the color on the dining room walls!
view Midwestdiva's profile
Love the porch - full of color!
view Deidre88's profile
amazing how much they completed in 5 months. i love it.
and i love portland.
view jasminerose's profile
The secretary/desk area is my favorite spot, but the whole place is pretty nicely put together.
view Volvoguy's profile
It's pretty without being frilly or girly. That's one heck of an achievement.
view Blandwagon's profile
Could you share the beige color in the LR and the grey in the hallway? Pleeeeease!
I love your house -- everything just comes together so well.
view palindrome's profile
This house is so cool! What a commendable job on your renovation work. Picking an end date and sticking to it? Can I introduce you to my contractor? :o Congrats!
view hiwelder's profile
Impressive how you both have created a well apointed home that's both charming and warm. Love it!
view Seaside's profile
Wonderful. I love the many period details, but I can also imagine how much "period" stuff had to be deleted. It works wonderfully in a functional sense, but looks very comfortable with its age. Perfect.
view wrenx's profile
Thanks for all your kind comments about our house. As far as paint colors go, the living room beige is "cinnamon cake" (Behr), the hallway is "sandlot gray" (Benjamin Moore), and the dining room is "hickory stick" (Behr).
view Jessica E.'s profile
wow, everything is so beautiful! makes me want to cry!
view clancyslover's profile
what a lovely house!! congratulations :-)
view maike's profile
Your home is beautiful and at first sight it has wonderful bones. But after seeing your before shots...wow....you really had to work to uncover all that beauty!!
view sassydo's profile
I just commented on their kitchen on Flickr the other day. Such a great job with the home. It looks warm and inviting. Paint color choices are dead on and flow nicely.
view DawnMarie04's profile
I love the studio!! I think every studio should have a sewing machine. :)
view Fire Wife Katie's profile
i love bright and airy it looks but still has a good warm feeling about it. love it!
view madsommer's profile
P E R F E C T bathroom!
view maryman's profile
this must be a wonderful place to live. so warm, so cozy, so beautiful.
view ccs's profile
This home is just the kind I want. Cozy, full of original details and charm, and takes advantage of natural light. What an accomplishment!
view jessicawrites's profile
Fabulous house - can't believe they did it all in 5 months! Makes me feel like a slacker...
view waxyhearts's profile
i LOOOVE this home!! and you did the work yourselves! impressive... i think you need to adopt me.....
view formosagirl's profile
i just saw the before/during photos.... OMG!!!!!!!!! you guys deserve a standing ovation and some champagne!!!!!!!
view formosagirl's profile
i loooove that plant growing in a vase in your dining room. can you tell me what kind it is? I have a big hurricane vase/lamp that would be a perfect home for the same plant.
view StephM's profile
Is it just me or does the loo roll look a long good stretch from the loo?
view Mel265's profile
Charming, bright kitchen!
view bejeweled's profile
magic.
view kacran's profile
I'm amazed you have only lived there 5 mont! You have done a lot in the time you have lived there. It's taken us 5 years for our house to look the way we wanted. And were still not done. Your house looks light and airy, really comfortable. Nice.
view shaunon's profile
Hey, you should be proud! That's a seriously cute place.
view kristen verity's profile
Motivating! Thanks for the lift.
view MomlovesMod's profile
Lovely home. Everything just seems to fall into place! Congrats!
view pechocha's profile
Thank you for not featuring a television as a focal point! I love this home!
view marybethjoy's profile
Can I live in your studio please? I'll just throw a sleeping bag under the desk.
view J Dandy's profile
This couple kept it simple, and it worked. One of the few places to pull off a loose throw on the couch. When I looked at the couch throw a second time, it looked even more charming than the first. I, too, loved the pink in the kitchen and the old-fashioned vibe of the kitchen itself.
Good work, people, and I know that it was honest, hard work with a strong aesthetic sense and a commitment to the project.
view AustinSarah's profile
I love that the house is charming and does not look "done" -- it looks as though everything was added over time and goes together without endy up matchy-matchy or that you're trying too hard. I could walk in and feel at home immediately (if I win the Lottery and you feel like selling!). Best wishes in you lovely new/old home!
view citipearl's profile
ok. I meant "your" ... home. :D
view citipearl's profile
This is just great! The only thing I might want to change is the fireplace, maybe paint the bricks or plaster them.
view Gerard NL's profile
LOVED this. And in 5 months - WOW!
view teamaldrich's profile
Love, love, love your house!! I'm normally not a fan of pink either, as another person commented, but boy do I have kitchen envy. I also love the wallpaper in the bedroom. It is beautiful. I looked at the renovations pics & what you've done is amazing. You mentioned possibly reusing bricks in your garden, but they had mortar on them. In '74 my parents bought 80,000 bricks from a Coca-Cola plant that was torn down to brick the house we were building. My dad took lawnmower blades & cut them in half & then wrapped the narrow ends really well & I spent many of my afternoons & weekends the first three years of elementary school at the brick pile "slinging mortar" off of bricks with my folks, bro & sis. This method works really well. As creative as y'all are, you may come up with a better blade to remove the mortar. Thank you so much for sharing your pics & home with us. I am inspired.
view sheba92766's profile
Well done, you should be very very proud. Makes me want to befriend you and come stay in the guestroom!
view firespitter's profile
It's so nice to see a kitchen that hasn't had every trace of it's vintage kitsch removed and sent to a landfill! The house is a clean, fresh breath of air - with some great spaces and pieces. I'm in Portland too, and I hope to someday have a little bungalow of my own. Thanks for sharing your space!
view tgoly's profile
your house is fantastic, i'm totally jealous however....
don't you have any stuff? i got the feeling that everything, like the books stacked precariously underneath a small framed picture, is there to be looked at and not used. which struck me as not being practical if you were planning on reading a book there, for example. i dont know, that was just my feeling but still awesome house!!! love the last picture too!
view rmhct's profile
Cute, cute home. This is a random question though. I noticed an elephants ear plant in the dining room that appears to be a new shoot. Can you explain to me how you get a cutting from an elephants plant to grow a new plant?
Random, I know. :)
view gatoreater3's profile
In the photograph with the small desk and 4 pictures on the wall above it, what is the paint color in that room? Any information you might have on the brand and color name would be greatly appreciated. What a beautiful house!
view ferr09's profile