Crafted Subtlety
Pleasingly understated design and fine woodworking belie the expert engineering that went into this new house on the Oregon coast.
Built to fit the Cannon Beach neighborhood, this cozy shingled cottage filled with handcrafted details replaced a 1940s building with a failing foundation and a pronounced list. Contractor Rich Elstrom was first on board, and brought in architect Jay Raskin, interior designer Nan Ryder, and fine woodworker Edward Overbay. For 40 years, Overbay has been crafting sumptuous works of art, ranging from fine furniture to spiral staircases, mantelpieces, and whole houses.
“Oregon red cedar shingles were secured with stainless steel nails and flashing and fasteners, to withstand the corrosive environment,” Overbay says of Elstrom’s ability to build in a challenging marine environment. For the handcrafted entry door, Overbay echoed the architect’s choice of a copper-sheathed garage door, adding copper inlays with a hammered texture, which “will weather to a warm cedar color.”
Elstrom knew that Overbay should build the staircase, calling him a visionary. “I wanted to come up with a beach theme that wasn’t overplayed,” says Overbay, “so I suggested we have the main newel posts subtly evoke a lighthouse, while marrying the materials to the entry door and the basic bones of the house.” Overbay chose African sapele mahogany, a very stable wood that doesn’t need stain to bring out its color. Highlights are in western maple burl. “With its sensuous grab rail and 180-degree turn,” says Elstrom, “you don’t need to remove your thumb from the groove either going up or down; it’s fluid, continuous, with a very nice hand to it.”
When the bright color on a neighbor’s house and its proximity intruded upon the privacy of the kitchen, the team came up with the idea of using art glass by Portland stained glass artist David Schlicker, another A&C touch. “Nan [Ryder] chose the blue paint color for the island,” notes Overbay, “which adds a casual splash of color in an otherwise neutral area…and speaks of the sea.”
“We all worked on the transition between the kitchen and the adjacent living room,” recalls Elstrom. “We’d be in Jay [Raskin’s] office, modeling on his CAD program, one way, and then the other way. Since the house was framed, roof on, I said, ‘The hell with CAD, let’s get everything in context.’” So off they went with plywood and cardboard boxes to develop the space on site.
The house is built over a creek ravine, requiring pilings set 35' down into ancient beach sand. Both its engineering and its fine details are the result of a gratifying collaboration. The homeowners, who have built six custom homes, are pleased.
Donna Pizzi is a writer and producer for film and print, and co-owner of Blackstone Edge Studios with her husband, photographer Philip Clayton–Thompson. Over three decades, Pizzi has scouted out and written countless articles about home restoration for Arts & Crafts Homes and Old House Journal.
