Woodside Ranch Home Remodel + Restoration

Bend, Oregon.

Working in collaboration with the property’s owners, interior designer Kelsey Sikkema (founder of Studio Sikkema) and her husband, Life Design Build took on the task of renovating and remodeling this 1978-built Central Oregon classic.

Located in Bend, Oregon’s coveted southeast Woodside Ranch neighborhood on 2.3 acres of ponderosa pine forest, the existing house had sat empty, eventually welcoming squirrels and woodpeckers alike to take residence. Once purchased, the team worked quickly to maximize a modest budget to bring the home up to modern sensibilities, and create a comfortable abode and escape for the family with three young kids. The primary scope of work included overhauling the Primary Suite, creating a new Primary Bath (in what was previously a derelict laundry room), remodeling the home’s other bathroom, enlarging the kid’s bedroom, updating most of the finishes (flooring, drywall, paint, tile, doors, trim, etc.), and repairing all the damage caused from the prior long-term vacancy, including cracked plumbing pipes, and what we’ll call “critter vandalism”.

Before

After

Drawings

Q&A With Kelsey Sikkema (Owner + Designer)

Q: Why did you guys decide to move to Bend?

A: We have always loved bend and have long desired to move here full-time for years. We love the weather, outdoor lifestyle and speed of living in a smaller town.

Q: Why did you guys buy this house in Woodside Ranch/what were you looking for in a house in Bend?

A: We have kept an eye on the Bend housing market for years but have alway been very particular with the qualities we look for in a house. We did not know much about Woodside Ranch prior to looking at this house but we have fallen in love with the neighborhood. This quiet neighborhood is tucked away on the south side of town and each lot has a generous 2-5 acres. As far as the house, we are always drawn to fixer uppers that have tons of character and lots of potential. We love finding something that others have overlooked either because it seems like too much work or because they can't quite see the vision.

Q: What was your vision for upgrading the existing house?

A: We have some long term visions for this house and property that we hope to continue to develop in the future. As far as the first phase, our vision was to first and foremost, make the house livable and functional. We bought this house with no working heat, only one functional bathroom and a very bizarre floor plan. My first goal was to rework the layout to allow for a more functional and larger primary bedroom/bathroom, while creating a larger bedroom and functional bathroom for our children. Aside from reworking the layout, my hope was to infuse more character while honoring the style of the home.

Q: Were there any driving principles that guided your design/design approach?

A: As far as design principles, I typically strive to create a space that feels balanced, peaceful, and a little bit surprising. I played a lot with color and tones, and utilized richer colors to balance out the light wood flooring and sun drenched walls. Our next goal is to add wood T&G ceiling to create even further balance and character in the space.

Q: Any elements of the design/house you're particularly happy with the way it turned out?

A: I love the amount of handmade and natural materials I was able to use for this project. It really makes the space feel lived in and special to add pieces that will age beautifully with time alongside you. I am also really happy with how the primary bedroom and bathroom layout turned out.

Q: In the Primary Bedroom there's a brick-colored theme that appears to tie into the arrows. Is there a story there? And/or the arrows are a really cool feature of the bedroom, what's the background on those?

A: No particular story with the brick color in the bedroom. Just simply designing until it feels good in the gut.

The arrows are very special though. They actually belong to my brother. He works for National Geographic and he was gifted the arrows from a tribe in the Amazon forest after he stayed with them for a period of time conducting research on their people group.