This house is easy to overlook from the street. After all, it’s tucked below Hillcrest Drive in West Linn, with a simple fence and curving band of shrubbery lining either side of the entrance to the sloping driveway. But don’t let its lack of street presence fool you. The home’s abundant charm comes into view, starting with the row of sky-blue exterior panels lining the façade.

"Northwest Regional" might be a term thrown around in real estate write-ups, but this house is the real deal: a variant of the International style, popular between 1935 and 1960, utilizing a low-slung roofline, regional materials, minimal decoration, asymmetrical floor plans, and a connection to the natural environment thanks to a lot of floor-to-ceiling glass. This home is a textbook execution of all of the above, thanks to architect Ralph Olson, who designed this as his personal residence in 1954.

This starts with how the house is sited, not with the front door facing the street, but rather with a consideration of how the many windows will frame the views of the 0.43-acre lot. The front door—sky blue to match the siding, naturally—sits to the side, paired with a glass panel beside it and glass above, all the better to expose how the wood-clad ceilings extend to the deep roof overhangs outside.

The door opens to a small foyer that, is filled with natural light (thanks to a dividing wall that doesn’t meet the vaulted ceiling) and a sense that the spaces are about to unfold slowly. Indeed, to the right is the large living room, anchored by a prominent, chunky stone fireplace, and wrapped in more tongue-and-groove wood covering both the ceiling and one wall. Windows are crisply delineated by the home’s exposed wooden framework, from the clerestory units that face the street to the entire back wall of glass, which lines all of the main living areas and overlooks the backyard and deck.

The main floor layout deftly hooks around that central stone chimney, with the dining room having access to the deck via a sliding door. The kitchen is stepped back so it’s not in full view of the living room, and smart built-ins connect rooms, with a bank of cabinets lining the dining room wall and forming the peninsula that divides the kitchen from the rest.

In addition to the wood and stone we might expect with this style, there’s lots of period materials intact, like the cork flooring and sky blue laminate counters. The other half of the main-level floor plan has two bedrooms, one and a half baths, and an enviable office complete with blue built-ins and a floor-to-ceiling window framing a close-up of a massive Douglas fir tree. The primary bedroom’s wall of glass offers another lovely prospect, as well as a door to the deck.

Downstairs, true to the era, there’s a daylight basement, so the views outside are generous everywhere. There, find the third bathroom and a large family room, the latter with built-in desks tucked under the large windows, so there’s truly an abundance of pleasant spots to linger.

Listing Fast Facts 

• Address: 2045 Hillcrest Dr, West Linn, OR 97068
• Size: 2,380 square feet/3 bedroom/2.5 bath 
• List Date: 10/11/2023 
• List Price: $1,075,000
• Listing Agent: Marisa Swenson, Modern Homes Collective
• Staging: Jica Interiors

Melissa Dalton is a freelance writer who has focused on Pacific Northwest design and lifestyle since 2008. She is based in Portland, Oregon. Contact Dalton here. 

Editor’s Note: Portland Monthly’s “Property Watch” column takes a weekly look at an interesting home in Portland’s real estate market (with periodic ventures to the burbs and points beyond, for good measure). Got a home you think would work for this column? Get in touch at [email protected].