For 40 years it was potential. Now it's master bedroom and study

Sunset, March, 1986

Like many builder houses of the 1920s through '40s, this one was marketed with an unfisnished half-story. Central stairs led up to planks across the exposed ceiling joists, where the seller proudly showed the original buyers a finish-it-yourself bedroom or dormitory.

When Portland architect Laurence Ferar and his wife, Maryvonne, bought their 40-year-old house, this built-in potential was untouched and offered a low-cost place to put a master bedroom, bath, and study.

Because the study and sleeping quarters share one big area, the spaces can borrow daylight from one another. Putting the new bath directly above the bath downstairs cut plumbing costs.

A generous sleeping niche off the bedroom end of the floor creates a spot segregated enough from the work area to allow Mrs. Ferar to sleep when her husband is burning midnight oil. Morning light floods the bedroom's French doors, which open to a deck for a warm-weather breakfasts, cooling summer breezes, and a view of the Cascades.

In the work area, large skylights illuminate the drawing board and can be opened for ventilation. Simple fir trim, light paint colors, and wall-to-wall industrial carpet help expand the space visually and are easy to clean.