4115 NE 17th Ave, Portland, OR 97211

Built in 1942 and attributed to Kenneth Birkemeier, this four-bedroom home reads as an early modern design with streamline details, rarer than the midcentury moderns that came after it. Horizontal lines run through the Roman brick facade and chimney, echoed in wide window casings, and corner windows let light in from two directions at once. The setting is part of what makes this place distinctive. Sunrise comes in soft through the trees on the east side. Basalt retaining walls terrace the garden toward the street, and the house perches above it. The kind of spot for morning coffee meditation or leaves stacking up in Autumn. The yard has settled into an organized wildness that is more wabi-sabi than manicured featuring select native plants, fruit trees and berries. The design bones inside match the exterior's intention. A curved hardwood trim band wraps the living room and connects to the original fireplace mantel, where ribbed ruby tile and radius shelving are still intact. Curved...