Once inside the multigenerational home in Bend’s Westgate development, it’s clear why the glass, steel and cedar structure that seemingly floats above the rugged high desert landscape earned the moniker The Expanse.
“You can see Bachelor, the Three Sisters, Broken Top, Mount Washington, Three Fingered Jack, Mount Jefferson and Mount Hood. The view has it all,” said Rick Berry, a principal designer at Portland-based Scott Edwards Architecture.
Berry and architect Ryan Yoshida began working with the owners in 2020 to create a home on the westernmost edge of the custom-design neighborhood, perfectly positioned to capture the views while minimizing environmental impact. When the shades are up, it’s possible to see through the house to the view that lies beyond.
The 4.5-acre site has a cross slope, and Berry and Yoshida seized the opportunity to do something different. They suggested a rectangular structure with a cantilever at one end. A great room fireplace, made of blackened steel and board-formed concrete, is the heart of the home and the house’s literal anchor, contributing to its appearance of weightlessness.
“Our clients are minimalists. They wanted something simple, clean and timeless,” said Yoshida.
Human-Scaled Design
A part-time residence for multiple families, including a brother and sister and their parents, it was important that the home was a comfortable place for two people or 10. With four bedrooms and three and a half bathrooms, the home feels spacious but not sprawling.
The homeowners chose FQ Designs Group in San Francisco to work on the interiors. Designer Kathy Vuong chose minimal, refined furniture and finishes. “We were captivated by the beauty of the high desert,” said Vuong.
“The Expanse home is a reflection of the clients’ love for thoughtful simplicity,” she added.
The grand entry foyer is two stories high and clad in cedar siding that discreetly conceals doors to closets, the powder room and the bedrooms. The large Bomma Tim pendants make a statement, in contrast to the more understated Apparatus Lantern sconces that flank a sculptural console.
The great room has an open floor plan and a 40-foot-long sliding glass door, blurring the line between indoors and out, and opening onto a back patio with a firepit, hot tub, outdoor shower and swimming pool. The 36-foot-long pool juts out toward the mountains. The western facade includes a deep overhang to mitigate harsh sunlight and provide shade. A porch made of thermally modified wood wraps around the end of the cantilever and serves as a viewing platform to see herds of elk and deer wander by in the afternoon.
Artful Ease
Award-winning PLACE, a Portland landscape architecture firm, which has worked on notable projects such as the Nike headquarters in Beaverton, was hired to make outdoor improvements. “How you move from the house into the landscape, that whole sequence and story, it’s important to us,” said PLACE Principal Charles Brucker.
The climate-adaptive landscaping includes native Idaho fescue and bitterbrush, as well as amur maple trees, a tough, drought-tolerant tree with beautiful fall color. A gravel band around the building helps meet firewise requirements and softens the transition from the angular architecture to the natural landscape, a patchwork quilt of scrub-shrub habitat and grasses. Low walls are made of Deschutes Basin local black basalt. “The landscape will weather the hot and the cold and still look beautiful,” said Brucker.
A balance between beauty and functionality is the goal inside. The primary bedroom features a custom bed with a headboard covered in a fade-resistant, easy-to-maintain material. The adjoining bathroom is a spa-like space coated in earthy artisan-applied plaster. In the kitchen—which features Carrara extra-white marble countertops, white oak cabinets and Miele appliances—a sliding backsplash reveals a shallow cabinet where homeowners can access kitchen items.
The B&B Italia Oskar table is a fun gathering space for meals and game nights. The Vibia Cosmos cluster pendants resemble an array of planets, and the custom wool Peshawar rug, hand-woven in Pakistan, features soft, muted tones reminiscent of the surrounding landscape.
Due to the great room’s orientation, the homeowners can sit on the soft gray sectional and enjoy the sunrise in the morning and the sunset in the evening. The expansive views are endless.
“You really feel like you are part of the landscape,” said Berry.
Architect: Scott Edwards Architecture | Builder: KN Visions | Interior Designer: FQ Designs Group | Landscape Architect: PLACE
