The Story of Council Crest

Photo By Emily Kennedy

In March of 2023 clients reached out to us about remodeling their existing home, or possibly finding a new home that could meet the needs of their big extended family. They found a 1956 mid-century home with great bones, a gorgeous view, adjacent to a park that was just perfect- except it had almost no insulation, only horsehair wrapped around the hot water lines and 1” of blown in insulation in the attic. The plumbing fixtures and the wiring were worn out, and asbestos was detected in the drywall. Guided by their architect and brother/ brother-in-law, Juan Carlos Loyo, the homeowners seized the opportunity to create a home that merged their Latin roots with the dwellings existing Mid-Century Modern architecture. In mid-April the owners closed on the house and by late May we were deconstructing the entire interior down to the studs, all while JC worked on building plans that would add strategic square footage to the kitchen, dining, primary bedroom and basement to accommodate their frequent visits from family abroad.

 Juan Carlos was our primary point of contact throughout the project. He made all the design decisions and finish selections while living in a remote part of Mexico where he is working with the program he founded, Programa Vaca, working to build sustainable housing in collaboration with Indigenous communities. Bob and I quickly learned how to communicate through WhatsApp (with many assists from JC). We sent thousands of frenzied messages with marked up photos and voice memos between the 3 of us, sorting out all the details about building codes and what we would need to include in our plans to get the city's approval.

JC visited Portland every six months or so and we would go on epic tours, in my minivan, searching for the perfect tile and the most beautiful stone slabs and spent endless hours standing in the skeleton of the house “feeling” the spaces and trying countless samples of paint to see how they would interact with the quartzite, granite, marble, wood, terrazzo and stucco. He would pair things I would never dream of, and selected bright colors I would scoff at. No one loves shades of white more than I! But I trusted him; I believed in his vision and wanted to help bring it to fruition. 

When JC was back in Mexico he would send the most spectacular paintings of his finish concepts for various rooms. I was embarrassed to send him back my sketches on graph paper that felt like chicken scratch next to his works of art- but those scribbles helped start the conversation about HOW these beautiful details would actually be built. He would send drawings and Pinterest images and I would send back scaled and dimensioned sketches or photos from the actual building site and we would go back and forth until JC was satisfied with the look and feel of the detail and Bob (and our incredible team) knew we could actually bring it to life. I felt a little like a translator - not just of American building nomenclature, but a translator of design from architect to builder. 

Juan Carlos is brimming with creative energy. He is foremost an artist and it was awe inspiring to see the world through his eyes. He often pushed the boundaries of materials and wondered, “What if we did it this way instead?”. We were always seeking to find the balance between form, function and cost. We learned from each other about the building practices in Mexico versus Oregon- did you know that in Mexico JC chooses his own plywood veneers for his cabinetry? The stone fabricators bring the ACTUAL SLABS to his sites and lay them out for selection rather than having computer generated options. Mexico's labor market is so inexpensive that he can hire someone to hand chisel the edges of his stone countertops- it would be absolutely cost prohibitive here. We had a lot of discussions about water management for heavy Oregon rains and general dampness as considerations for material selections for this home that faces due East and has no barrier from the vicious East winds that roll up the Gorge.

For lighting, Juan Carlos selected Nora Lightings 1” recessed cans in bronze to minimize the clutter on the ceiling and maximize the light output. The bullnose on the lighting trim was so tiny, it didn’t quite cover the hole cut by the drywallers. We took sections of pool noodles and stuffed them into the Nora housings so that the drywall crews could mud to the very edge of the fixture housings. Juan Carlos specified curving the Noras following the line of walnut built-ins. They curve all the way from the dining room fireplace to the center of the stucco wall in the living room.

The sconces were selected by JC from First Dibs and he had them shipped over from Europe. Our blessed Electrician, Jesse, recommended GKA Lighting to rewire and UL list them to US electrical standards. GKA also provided us with brackets and any missing hardware so that we could actually hang the sconces. We had the primary sconces converted to wet rate LED tape so that they would meet code around the bathtub. My family had a major celebration when the last sconce was installed and we could finally recycle all the boxes that had inhabited my entryway for so many months!

Details that differ from the norm often take a lot of patience and creative problem solving, and our team persevered through some frustrating moments and exciting breakthroughs. This project would not have been possible without our crew who braved roofing in the snow, high winds, framing in frigid temperatures, and hauling thousands of pounds of bathtubs and stone up 19 stairs. Paula, from The Marble Center, in Salem, built us over 50 bids as we decided which stones to select. Emily, from Globe Lighting, eventually relented and gave me her cell number because I called so often. By the end of the project I started all my conversations with, “I’m so grateful you still answer the phone when I call…”. We had an Open House when the project was complete and it was so incredible to watch all the people that had worked on the house, in various stages get to see the finished product and see how meaningful it was for them to have been a part of this collaboration.

This is the largest project Bob and I have worked on together. He was always on-site bright and early, sweating and freezing, along with the guys who were digging in the mud and framing the roof. When big storms were coming, he was the first person on the roof to secure the tarps and after the storms, he was the first person on site with his saw and shovel to clean up all the debris. He was also the resident photographer who captured construction progress and so many amazing sunrises, clear mountain days and icy winter winds with his camera. He’s the one you ask before installing towel hooks or cabinets- because he’s the one who remembers and documents where every plumbing line is located. Bob knows every neighbor (and their dog!) that walked by and frequently celebrated Taco Tuesday and gifted boxes of Voodoo donuts to our crews. He brought his decades of building expertise to this project and kept it rolling. 

The Council Crest house is an amalgamation of all the hard work of many craftsmen, tradespeople and vendors and thousands of communications back and forth (and countless spreadsheets!) until we got it just right. Getting to work along Juan Carlos and his wonderful family was a life changing experience. It has been one of the greatest feats and honors of my career to be able to contribute to this work of art that our clients now get to inhabit.