Before & After: Touring Midcentury Homes Was an Obsession. Then They Got to Revive One by Saul Zaik

A few years ago, Isabel and David Yahng had a regular weekend routine. "We’d check out a coffee shop and go to some open houses," recalls Isabel. She’s originally from Long Island, New York, he grew up in Hong Kong, and they moved to Portland, Oregon, in 2017. It was through their weekly excursions that they learned about Pacific Northwest modernism and the wealth of midcentury homes designed by notable local architects throughout the city. "Anytime a midcentury house would come up for sale, we would go check it out. We’d go listen to talks at Restore Oregon, and go on tours featuring midcentury architects," says Isabel. "I think we got a little addicted."

Isabel and David's dream was to find a midcentury in the woods, one that could be a retreat from the city and their jobs at Nike, but still be close to all of Portland’s amenities. "It was like, maybe one day that would be nice, if and when this needle in a haystack pops up," says Isabel. Then, just a month after they got married in 2020, they found it in the form of a Saul Zaik–designed house on three-quarters of an acre on the west side of town.

The beginning of Pacific Northwest modernism starts with the work of Pietro Belluschi and John Yeon in the 1930s, and the second generation, who worked from the 1950s onward, includes Saul Zaik, who designed until his passing in 2020. Zaik was referred to as the Dean of Portland Architects, and in a 2009 interview, summed up his approach: "I think it has to do with a Northwest lifestyle. Our clients were outdoor people who appreciated the landscape and wanted to be connected to it and to preserve it."

Before: Exterior