My Houzz: Pursuing Their Life’s Work in Rural Oregon
This creative couple craft a live-work world all their own in the high country of eastern Oregon
Sarah Greenman
July 16, 2016
David and Tori Crawford of Halfway, Oregon, remind us that homes are like living organisms: imperfect, man-made and continually molding to the needs of their inhabitants. Both the Crawfords work from home, David as a sculptor and bronze artist and Tori as a textile artist. “We probably both would have been sturdy homesteaders in another time,” David says. “If we have any real theme about our style, it is utility. Function has its own aesthetic to me.”
The couple’s home exudes a cheery and grounded sense of purpose mingled with an edgy haphazard beauty that can only be curated in a rural setting. “Our lives are neither grand nor complicated. Home is a nest, where you raise your kids and you grow your garden,” David says. “In our case, it is also where we pursue our life’s work. A good bath, a good bed and a good meal, along with a sense of accomplishment when the sun sets, are the things we want out of our days.”
The couple’s home exudes a cheery and grounded sense of purpose mingled with an edgy haphazard beauty that can only be curated in a rural setting. “Our lives are neither grand nor complicated. Home is a nest, where you raise your kids and you grow your garden,” David says. “In our case, it is also where we pursue our life’s work. A good bath, a good bed and a good meal, along with a sense of accomplishment when the sun sets, are the things we want out of our days.”
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Victoria (Tori) and David Crawford and Brimley the cat
Location: Halfway, Oregon
Size: 2,000 square feet (186 square meters); three bedrooms, two bathrooms plus an outdoor tub for summer bathing
During their first year on the property, Tori and David Crawford lived on the upper floor of their storage cellar, a separate structure, so they could demo the house and begin work. They tore out the interior walls, chimney and floor, which had all been destroyed by powder post beetles and rot. The couple built a new foundation, joists and subfloor. “We had four exterior walls and a ceiling and a leaky roof. No plumbing or electricity,” David says.
During their second year, the Crawfords removed the roof and built a second story. “Nothing was finished, and nothing is finished still. But it is all useful and much of it is done enough to approximate the way most homes look all the time,” David says.
Who lives here: Victoria (Tori) and David Crawford and Brimley the cat
Location: Halfway, Oregon
Size: 2,000 square feet (186 square meters); three bedrooms, two bathrooms plus an outdoor tub for summer bathing
During their first year on the property, Tori and David Crawford lived on the upper floor of their storage cellar, a separate structure, so they could demo the house and begin work. They tore out the interior walls, chimney and floor, which had all been destroyed by powder post beetles and rot. The couple built a new foundation, joists and subfloor. “We had four exterior walls and a ceiling and a leaky roof. No plumbing or electricity,” David says.
During their second year, the Crawfords removed the roof and built a second story. “Nothing was finished, and nothing is finished still. But it is all useful and much of it is done enough to approximate the way most homes look all the time,” David says.
Tori, left, and David, right, both grew up in the Oregon high desert, but Tori longed for lush green growth. The town of Halfway, nestled along the Hell’s Canyon Scenic Byway, fulfilled her “lush and green” quotient. David admits that his way of interacting with greenery was usually with a chainsaw. “We have trees and shrubs because Tori wants them and I want to hang around where she is.”
There isn’t an inch of the house that hasn’t been ripped up and renovated. “For Tori and me, if it doesn’t work for us, it is out, and so that means walls, buildings, fences, even grades and trails,” David says. “We tear stuff up fast and get it working.”
There isn’t an inch of the house that hasn’t been ripped up and renovated. “For Tori and me, if it doesn’t work for us, it is out, and so that means walls, buildings, fences, even grades and trails,” David says. “We tear stuff up fast and get it working.”
The side door is tucked under the eaves of a metal roof and opens to a gravel drive. A functional circular whetstone greets visitors and also serves as garden art.
The couple’s greatest challenge with the home-building process was finding the money and freedom to work at the same time. “We had zero inclination to hire anything out,” David says, so they had to start and finish projects on a graduated time line. “We’re really good at starting things, but finish at a snail’s pace,” he says.
The couple’s greatest challenge with the home-building process was finding the money and freedom to work at the same time. “We had zero inclination to hire anything out,” David says, so they had to start and finish projects on a graduated time line. “We’re really good at starting things, but finish at a snail’s pace,” he says.
The front porch faces a courtyard filled with ferns, hostas and other shade-loving plants. The space is enclosed by a stone wall that separates the house from the dirt driveway.
The couple now wish that there were 20 to 30 more feet between the house and the road. “We balked at losing an old pear tree that would have had to come out to move our house further west,” David says. “So we owe our location to the love of a tree. My grandmother offered to forgive us for moving further away from her if we would bring her a box of those pears every year.”
The couple now wish that there were 20 to 30 more feet between the house and the road. “We balked at losing an old pear tree that would have had to come out to move our house further west,” David says. “So we owe our location to the love of a tree. My grandmother offered to forgive us for moving further away from her if we would bring her a box of those pears every year.”
A beautiful cellar door is embellished with the tops of old tin cans. “The first thing we did is tear down an old rat- and mouse-infested cellar and built a solid one in its place,” David says. “It eventually has been covered in stone, but it worked right away. We could store our garden and fruit produce and it stayed cool and dark.”
The spacious living room enjoys views of greenery inside and out, with huge houseplants that overlook the backyard. When they’re not outside, the Crawfords spend most of their time in the living room.
A double arched breezeway connects the living room to the dining and kitchen areas. “Our living room has a leather corner couch that is cool to the touch in the summer, and the wood stove is there for winter, so it’s a favorite place,” David says.
David works in bronze, as well as wood and other materials. He crafted the table to the left. “As a sculptor, I’ve been inspired by derelict and deteriorated textures, and rural themes, but not the quaint things that would define ‘country living.’ ” he says. “More the things that those looking for country charm would pay someone to get rid of.”
A downstairs bathroom boasts a claw-foot tub and a beautiful blue mosaic ceiling. Houseplants occupy many spaces in the house. “Our decorating philosophy is really nonexistent,” David says. “Neither of us feel we have a sense for decor. We like things to be sort of out of the way of our foot traffic, and that mostly sums up our decorating.”
Furnishing styles run the gamut, with utilitarian and beautiful hand-carved pieces sharing the home.
Tori’s second-level textile studio is a light-filled space with wonderful bric-a-brac tossed in every direction. Dress forms, sewing machines, ironing boards, boxes of fabric and more are tucked in every corner.
“My shop has my mess and Tori’s space has hers,” David says. “She lost shop privileges to my things when she put my drill bits in a bucket with my nails, because they were of similar shape. I lost my sewing room privileges when I cut what I wanted out of the middle of a piece of fabric.”
“My shop has my mess and Tori’s space has hers,” David says. “She lost shop privileges to my things when she put my drill bits in a bucket with my nails, because they were of similar shape. I lost my sewing room privileges when I cut what I wanted out of the middle of a piece of fabric.”
A functional vintage singer sewing machine is Tori’s crown jewel. “It’s a workhorse,” she says, “the only machine I have that is able to get through multiple layers of leather. I love this thing.”
While they certainly enjoy their home and handiwork, the Crawfords live for being outdoors. Their backyard boasts a beautiful enclosed vegetable garden. The couple’s latest household steal was 60 cubic yards of nicely composted manure, given to them by friends.
When asked about living in Halfway’s Pine Valley, the Crawfords perk up. “We love the seasons, the mushrooms and huckleberries in the mountains, and the people,” David says. “We can walk into the store and grab what we want and wave the price tag past whoever is working the counter and say, ‘Thanks!’ They write it down and send us a bill at the end of the month. No credit cards or checks or ID. The scenery is spectacular in these parts and almost goes unnoticed, but at times, the sun laying low in the early evening shines through the green of the grass and trees and it just takes your breath away.”
When asked about living in Halfway’s Pine Valley, the Crawfords perk up. “We love the seasons, the mushrooms and huckleberries in the mountains, and the people,” David says. “We can walk into the store and grab what we want and wave the price tag past whoever is working the counter and say, ‘Thanks!’ They write it down and send us a bill at the end of the month. No credit cards or checks or ID. The scenery is spectacular in these parts and almost goes unnoticed, but at times, the sun laying low in the early evening shines through the green of the grass and trees and it just takes your breath away.”
David and Tori built a chicken coop alongside their vegetable garden.
In addition to building a house, workshop and various outbuildings, raising kids and nursing pear trees, the Crawfords use some of their 40 acres to pasture cattle. Much of their property maintenance is devoted to irrigation and fence work.
In addition to building a house, workshop and various outbuildings, raising kids and nursing pear trees, the Crawfords use some of their 40 acres to pasture cattle. Much of their property maintenance is devoted to irrigation and fence work.
Mature trees pepper the landscape and make for an idyllic stroll. The couple’s greatest design obstacle turns out to be the pear tree they preserved at the beginning of the renovation. “We have continued to work around our pear tree, though my grandmother has passed on,” David says. “It has been in the way of several key ideas that would have really been better directions.”
The property is also dotted with whimsical, rusting metal structures. The front end of this vintage truck sits alongside a pergola shade structure just outside David’s bronze foundry. “I just can’t seem to get rid of all the junk that we didn’t need in the making of our place, but we ‘might just need’ in the future,” he says.
This unique solar-heated metal tub encircled by a handmade stone wall is one of the couple’s favorite features. “We captured a small spring that comes up about 900 feet from our house, and it has enough vertical fall to provide decent pressure for a bath,” David says. “We ran the water through a solar collection array made of plastic pipe and guardrails like are used on the highway. The corrugation of the guardrails act a little bit like parabolic troughs, heating the water in the pipes. We can focus the angle to catch the best sun, and we can collect the hot water in a 50-gallon hot water tank that is plumbed in a convection loop with the system.”
The system easily heats enough water for two leisurely baths from late spring through fall. “We start bathing outdoors in May and will take our last bath in October,” David says. “No indoor bath ever comes close to the comfort and feel of this daily ritual. Because your body dries within seconds outdoors, you barely need a towel, unlike the steamy inside of a bathroom after a shower. We mourn the day we have to go inside to clean up.”
The system easily heats enough water for two leisurely baths from late spring through fall. “We start bathing outdoors in May and will take our last bath in October,” David says. “No indoor bath ever comes close to the comfort and feel of this daily ritual. Because your body dries within seconds outdoors, you barely need a towel, unlike the steamy inside of a bathroom after a shower. We mourn the day we have to go inside to clean up.”
David’s metalworking studio is a cavernous space filled with tools, power cords, molds, Kevlar, face masks, scrap metal, clamps, levers, leather aprons and more.
“We work more or less regular work hours,” he says. “I learned early that I had to structure my work so it got done. As an artist, people often ask questions that suggest that they think I must be on a 40-year lark, sculpting to the tune Two Cats in the Yard, but in reality, though I like what I do for a living, it is work and easily distinguishable from knocking a golf ball around or playing volleyball. We try to get five eight-hour days a week toward making a living.”
“My sculpting studio and foundry spills into the house, and Tori’s sewing and felt-making spills out of doors,” David says. “If it does something that we want to do, like make a good stitch or weigh something accurately, we probably have it where we can get to it. A well-planned work area feels right to work in and looks functional and welcoming.”
David’s sculptures are installed all over the country. Flipping through his portfolio reveals a wide range of subject matter. “It feels strange sometimes, as a sculptor, to be asked by clients about placement of the works that I make. I know how high off the floor it should be and the kind of light it should have, but as far as what it should be near, well,” David says lightheartedly, “it shouldn’t interfere with the refrigerator door opening.”
In a small room off the studio, the heat is fierce as David melts down bars of bronze. Here, he and Tori are pouring molds for a commission. Protective gear is a must in the studio.
David stops for a quick photo in his studio. When asked about his definition of home, he says with a smile: “The dirt, the plants, the woodwork, the tools, the roof over us. We’ve been up to our elbows and eyeballs in all of it. It is where we live when we are home, and the only place we really are at home.”
My Houzz is a series in which we visit and photograph creative, personality-filled homes and the people who inhabit them. Share your home with us and see more projects.
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Apartments | Barn Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Floating Homes | Guesthouses | Homes Around the World | Lofts | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Small Homes | Townhouses | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | Vacation Homes
My Houzz is a series in which we visit and photograph creative, personality-filled homes and the people who inhabit them. Share your home with us and see more projects.
Browse more homes by style:
Apartments | Barn Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Floating Homes | Guesthouses | Homes Around the World | Lofts | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Small Homes | Townhouses | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | Vacation Homes
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Wow! What a truly enchanting home!
Great vibes here that I haven't seen in a long time; earthy, relaxed, unpretentious, genuine, comforting, enduring, complete. Love it.
How wonderful to show a home that is truly a home, that doesn't need the latest and greatest to be complete. I have a feeling we could be friends.