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My Houzz: A Rock 'n' Roll Dad's Pad Gets a Tune-up
Small additions and renovations bring casual style to a spacious midcentury ranch home
Portland photographer and freelance writer.
Portland photographer and freelance writer. More »
Single dad Dave Hepler spent the '90s as a drummer in the rock band Inch, but after doing the Lollapalooza tour and having a song featured in a Ben Stiller flick, he's traded in his drumsticks for a briefcase to practice law in Portland, Oregon.
Now the proud owner of a midcentury ranch, Hepler has made small additions and renovations to update his house. Corrugated steel siding, a clean layout and a spacious backyard turned this simple space into a modern home that's perfectly suited to kids, rock stars and lawyers alike.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Dave Hepler, daughters Lela and Sydney, and cat Red
Location: Portland, Oregon
Size: 2,400 square feet; 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms
That's interesting: Dave grows his own hops for home beer brewing.
Now the proud owner of a midcentury ranch, Hepler has made small additions and renovations to update his house. Corrugated steel siding, a clean layout and a spacious backyard turned this simple space into a modern home that's perfectly suited to kids, rock stars and lawyers alike.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Dave Hepler, daughters Lela and Sydney, and cat Red
Location: Portland, Oregon
Size: 2,400 square feet; 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms
That's interesting: Dave grows his own hops for home beer brewing.
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by John Prindle
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| The ranch home exterior shines with corrugated steel panels. Still, the house blends into the landscape, which Hepler is steering toward a native planting scheme. He added tall native grasses; the English ivy and blackberry are about to be removed. |
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| Hepler removed the home's original teal columns and rebuilt the entrance with the corrugated steel finish and open windows. "People either love [the steel] or hate it," he says. "I've gotten a lot of strong reactions. People don't quite know what to make of it." |
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| A retro-cool Natuzzi leather couch, burl redwood coffee table and shag rug offset enormous windows in the understated living room. Repainted dark ceiling beams contrast a white ceiling. Cedar wall paneling creates spaces for recessed lighting. |
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| The house was built in 1946 by an architect who lived there for more than 30 years. Thin glass originally filled the home's large, wood-framed windows. Hepler had thicker panes installed, as well as aluminum frames and an elegant sliding curtain. This piece of glass alone weighs 700 pounds! |
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| Hepler found this entertainment center in a thrift store in San Diego. The reel-to-reel setup and the LP turntable take priority over modern electronics, and the Gibson SG guitar shows that Hepler has not fully abandoned rock 'n' roll. He's teaching one of his daughters to play. |
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| An antique dining room table expands to double in size for easy entertaining. Like panes in a fish tank, the pieces of the home's original L-shape corner window join invisibly. Dining room chairs: Urban Chair, Ikea |
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| The kitchen's stainless steel countertop and electric range came with the house. Hepler added a dual-fuel with two electric ovens and a gas range from Basco Applicances. He also updated the flooring with environmentally friendly and inexpensive cork. Flooring: Lumber Liquidators |
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Deep skylights illuminate a long hallway leading to the garage. "I love negative space and have no plans to hang anything in the hall," says Hepler. "I love that it is simply a bright, clean passageway."
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| The home office has a lot of the books you'd expect to find in a writer's room, including works by Poe, Hawthorne and Tolstoy. "While I majored in literature, now I only write legal documents," Hepler says. You'll find musical instruments in almost every room. An acoustic guitar hangs on the accent wall here, and an African doumbek drum sits on the bottom shelf of the bookcase. |
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| Hepler built this small freestanding, soundproof drum room in a corner of the 1,000-square-foot garage. He and his daughter painted the cheerful green stripes. He eventually wants to set up a small recording studio. |
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| The backyard is spacious and private. One side borders a quiet park, and on the other, the nearest neighboring house hides behind thick trees and shrubs. The patio and the barbecue area provide lots of room for outdoor entertaining. Table: Cost Plus World Market |
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| A natural gas line in the new slate outdoor entertaining area feeds the stainless steel grill. An electric smoker and a charcoal grill pit give Hepler all the barbecue options he could ever need. Electric smoker: CookShack |
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| The steel siding on the front of the house flows to sections of the back exterior as well. The firewood is from a hazardous tree that Hepler had to cut down last year. It's just about done curing and will be used to heat the house this winter. |
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| Portland is known for its artisan beer and coffee, and Hepler enjoys both. These strands of hops grow from the ground all the way to the roof. He has some brewing gear in the garage but plans to use this year's hops crop at Portland's U-Brew and Pub. "They have much better equipment than I do, enabling me to roll in with a bag of hops and a few friends for a social brewing session on their premises." Hepler also has a small coffee-roasting company called Bean Boy, and he roasts almost daily for friends, family and himself. Houzz call: Do you have a creative, music-friendly home? Share it with us! |
Ideabook updated on Sept. 4, 2012.
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Owner, Hepler, needs a Landscaper--may I suggest Aspen Creek Landscaping? (Located on Hwy99, between Sherwood and Newberg)Scott Picker is the best! *He has natural talent! (I envision a water feature outside the living room window)
BTW--I LOVE the corrugated alum as siding!