Slide Show: You’ve Never Seen Houseboats Like These Before

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Higgs towed two decks to the slip—one for herself, the other for her sister, who promptly carved a sunken seating area into hers, inspiring Higgs to quickly follow suit.

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Upon first encounter, Diane Hall described her future home as a “floating trailer.”

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Upon first encounter, Diane Hall described her future home as a “floating trailer.”

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The studio’s cozy kitchen

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Now living, sleeping, and eating zones blend into Hall’s exquisitely appointed 750-square-foot studio.

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Now living, sleeping, and eating zones blend into Hall’s exquisitely appointed 750-square-foot studio.

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The studio’s cozy kitchen

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Higgs’s years as a shop owner honed her eye for eclecticism.

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Higgs’s years as a shop owner honed her eye for eclecticism.

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Hall’s exterior is fitted with numerous antique panels.

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Hall’s exterior is fitted with numerous antique panels.

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With the pull of a curtain, Hall’s studio transforms. Hall’s own floral painting hangs above the bed.

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The two sisters brought daylight and flora into their tiny bathrooms in unique ways: Higgs with clear glass and a small enclosed garden (here); Hall with frosted glass (next slide).

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The two sisters brought daylight and flora into their tiny bathrooms in unique ways: Higgs with clear glass and a small enclosed garden (here); Hall with frosted glass (next slide).

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The two sisters brought daylight and flora into their tiny bathrooms in unique ways: Higgs with clear glass and a small enclosed garden (previous slide); Hall with frosted glass (here).

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The two sisters brought daylight and flora into their tiny bathrooms in unique ways: Higgs with clear glass and a small enclosed garden (previous slide); Hall with frosted glass (here).

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With the pull of a curtain, Hall’s studio transforms. Hall’s own floral painting hangs above the bed.

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Hall’s Tibetan wheel that holds 100,000 possible prayers

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Higgs’s Chinese glass-bead curtains

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Hall’s closet of colorful clothes can seem like just another piece of art within the carefully curated environs

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Higgs’s Venetian glass pieces

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Hall’s closet of colorful clothes can seem like just another piece of art within the carefully curated environs

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Higg’s Jøtul wood-burning stove

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Higgs’s Venetian glass pieces

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A custom-made bar in Higg’s home

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Higg’s Jøtul wood-burning stove

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Verdant ferns and succulents throughout Hall’s outdoor spaces

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Hall’s Tibetan wheel that holds 100,000 possible prayers

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Higgs’s Chinese glass-bead curtains

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A custom-made bar in Higg’s home

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Hall’s sculpture by the late Aaron Macy

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Hall’s sculpture by the late Aaron Macy

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Higgs towed two decks to the slip—one for herself, the other for her sister, who promptly carved a sunken seating area into hers, inspiring Higgs to quickly follow suit.

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Verdant ferns and succulents throughout Hall’s outdoor spaces

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Two houseboats gently bobbing in adjacent Hayden Island slips share a long lineage signaled by their gently sloping roofs: they are 1920s-era shanties designed by legendary boatbuilder Ed Hargraves. Sitting atop thick, indestructible old-growth logs, they were constructed for fishing, the ceilings kept low so that nets could be easily tossed on top to dry.
The boats’ current inhabitants reflect a shared lineage of their own, their jet-black but graying hair and copper skin giving away their Algonquin-Irish heritage. Physical resemblance aside, Diane Hall and Julie Higgs have their differences. “We have a lot of crossovers: we both cook and entertain a lot,” says Hall. “But Julie is…just bigger and bolder and a little louder. She loves to party, wants a lot of people around. She’s a decorator. She collects things.”
Higgs paints their differences in colors: “Diane likes blue and purple; I like green and orange.”
But just as the sisters have grown together and apart, so too have their floating homes. Houseboating was Higgs’s idea. After many a happy hour at Island Café, Hayden Island’s charming floating eatery, she began to crave a life on the water. She researched slips from Oregon City to Sauvie Island, eventually discovering her 1,100-square-foot Hargraves in Sellwood and hauling it up to Hayden Island. Hall remembers her sister calling with a suggestion: “There’s a little house next door with your name on it.”