An Authentic & Updated 1971 Oregon Ranch House

A custom 1971 ranch house in Oregon gets a handmade restoration that’s a mix between authentic and modern mid-century styles.

Most mid-century enthusiasts fall into one of two camps: You’re either a purist who loves authenticity in every aspect of architecture, design and furnishings, or you prefer a more contemporary twist on the original look. For married couple Scott Cochran and Bethann Prettie, both visions came together for a gorgeous finished aesthetic in their 1971 Oregon ranch style home that combines authentic and updated elements. “She likes Mid Century Modern, but I’m more a traditional purist,” Scott says.

rock wall and exterior fireplace in covered outdoor kitchen and living area — Scott built the outdoor kitchen himself to complement the new pool area. “We thought of what type of party we wanted to have and we designed it around that,” Bethann says. “We have kids and entertain a lot. Adults can be sitting by the fireplace and the kids can be in the pool. We 100% nailed it—it’s the dreamiest backyard.”

pool outside split level Oregon 1971 ranch home — The outdoor pool area is a new addition to the house. The property is on a slope and the house originally overlooked the property’s fruit orchard. “We leveled it up so you could get views from the pool,” Bethann says. “We wanted to see the whole aspect from the pool.” They added a pool house on the far side as well. “There’s also going to be a sauna in there that’s in progress,” she says.

The couple is not new to mid century home design. Bethann is a John L Scott realtor and specializes in mid century homes in the Portland, Oregon, area, while Scott is a Renaissance man who has skills in everything from sheet-metal working to construction and woodworking. Between the two of them, they’ve restored three different mid century homes. This latest, a 1971 custom ranch house in Happy Valley, Oregon, needed a lot of work, so it was the perfect candidate for a handmade restoration.

The Oregon 1971 Ranch House History

The origins of the house are a bit murky. “The house wasn’t done by a famous architect,” Bethann says. “It was finished in ’71, but we don’t know how long [the original homeowner] was building it. A lot of the brick elements are from the ’50s.” Scott has access to the original blueprints, which were drawn up by a local architectural firm. “I don’t know that there was anything special about it,” he says. “It was an early ’70s custom-built ranch house.” We do know that the original homeowner was a pilot in World War II and Korea, and built the house a year after he retired from military service. Bethann speculates that he might have used inspiration from some of his travels to build his dream home.

circular entryway into family room with fireplace and teal sofas in renovated 1971 Oregon home — The downstairs family room is part of the walkout basement that was originally unfinished. Even though the home has a ranch style, from the back, the two-story structure becomes clear. But the original owner never finished it. “The whole downstairs was an unfinished daylight basement,” Bethann says. The couple divided up the open space into several rooms, including this family room, which retains its original fireplace but with a new stone finish. The space has become one of Scott’s favorite rooms in the house. “We get a lot of use out of that room,” he says.

A central part of the original design is the view outside. “The front room goes to a ‘V’ and frames in two mountains: Mount Hood and Saint Helens,” Bethann says. “The whole house is built around those views.” The property is on a slope and the house overlooks the fruit orchard that is also original to the house. “Some of the land was sold off, but we bought it as an acre and we still have at least 12 fruit trees,” Bethann says.

Restoration Ready

When the original homeowner died, a neighbor bought the house. “They spray-painted over everything and didn’t put a lot of care into it,” Bethann says. By the time Scott and Bethann bought the property seven years ago, it needed a lot of work. “It was very much in disrepair,” Bethann recalls. “It needed a new roof, new siding. The backyard was so bad with mole tunnels that you couldn’t walk without your feet collapsing into mole holes.”

floating staircase between levels in renovated 1971 Oregon ranch house — The stairwell is a statement design element that Scott made himself. “He made the metal frame, a skeleton that goes into the wall,” Bethann says. “The wood steps are hollow wooden sleeves I slid over the skeleton,” Scott adds. “It only has a railing on it because we have kids and I forced him to add it,” Bethann says. Scott’s vision was no handrail, but Beth had safety concerns regarding the kids and guests.

The renovation and restoration process took four years, in part because Scott did so much of the work himself. “He did 90% of the work,” Bethann says. “We only hired out if we needed an engineer.” The renovation included pushing out the exterior walls in the kitchen, knocking down several walls to join small rooms into a larger living space, renovating the bathrooms and finishing the unfinished basement. The couple also put in a pool and built an outdoor kitchen and a new carport.

circular entryway framing rock wall and potted houseplant in renovated 1971 home — The round archway in the basement is one of the standout features of the house. The inspiration came from an episode of American Woman, which featured a Beverly Hills home in the 1950s with a round archway. Scott designed and made it by hand. “Everyone comes over and takes photos in that entryway,” Bethann says.

A few of the standout design elements include the staircase and downstairs circular archway. “The stairwell was bare concrete around the staircase shaft,” Scott says. “I built a metal skeleton and anchored it to the concrete foundation.” He then added hollow wood sleeves for the treads.

exposed wood beams and floor to ceiling windows make the open living room especially inviting — The front room is the centerpiece of the original architecture, looking out over the fruit trees on the slope below and capturing the views of the local mountains. “The front room goes out to a ‘V.’ It frames in Mount Hood and Saint Helens,” Bethann says. “The fireplace is original but the couple added a stone finish. “It was painted-over brick, so we removed all of that and put in rock,” Bethann says. The room has become her favorite in the house. “I love sitting in there with the views and when we have a fire going it’s very cozy.”

Not far from the staircase is another star element: the round archway leading to the family room in the walkout basement. Scott handmade this archway himself from inspiration in an episode of American Woman. “The episode took place in the 1950s and had a house in Beverly Hills with an entryway like that,” Bethann says. “I turned to Scott and asked, ‘Can you make that?’ And he said, ‘I think I can.’ And he did.”

Authentically Modern

When it came to the home’s design vision, Scott and Bethann were united on the idea of mid-century style but divided on a specific concept. “Beth and I over the years have had differences in style and we’ve slowly started morphing into one,” Scott says. “Our last house was ’60s and I really went crazy on that place. I had everything within a three-year [design] window. So when it came to this house, I figured Beth had suffered enough; she didn’t like using old appliances and such. So we did modern appliances and the updated modern style she’s into.”

wood accent wall, shaggy carpet and MCM style piano in front room of 1971 Oregon home — The front room showcases stunning materials, including rock and a shellac wood finishing. “There was no rock originally; we added it,” Bethann says. The couple also vaulted the ceilings to leave the beams visible. The flooring in the entryway is slate, which Scott installed himself, including the built-in planter box in the floor. On the edge of the carpet area is a vintage Acrosonic piano from the 1960s. “We tried to find one for 10 years,” Bethann says. “And then I was showing a home that had one. I made an offer and they took it.”

orange barstools and Blenko glass collection add color in otherwise neutral kitchen dining area — The original kitchen was much smaller than this updated version. “We bumped out the house five feet; half the kitchen wasn’t originally there,” Bethann says. The couple knocked down several walls to make the main living space more roomy and Scott got to work on the cabinets. “He built the walnut cabinets in the kitchen from scratch,” Bethann says. “We couldn’t find any we wanted and I found inspiration from an original mid-century house in Florida and he built them from that.”

Even though the structure of this house was finished in 1971, some of the design elements were from the ’50s and ’60s. “This house has a mid- to late-’60s inspiration,” Scott says. Some of the furnishings are new, like the curved sofa in the front room, while others are vintage, like the 1960s piano. For the walls, the couple sought out wood, stone and wallpaper. “Scott was on a mission to have no drywall in the house,” Bethann says. “Only the kids’ rooms and bathrooms have drywall. Everything else is wallpaper, rock or wood paneling.” Other hardscape elements are authentic to the time period, such as the shellac finish on the vaulted ceiling in the front room, the shag carpeting in the primary bedroom and Corlon vinyl flooring throughout the house.

built in nightstand frosted window and elevated platform for bed in renovated 1971 home — The primary bedroom is a mix of old and new, handmade and bought. “Scott built the step [up to the bed] and he built the floating headboard,” Bethann says. “The shag carpet is new, but with the old style, they reproduce it.” Scott’s vote was for orange shag carpet, but Bethann overruled him. “She shot me down on that one,” Scott says. “I always want to go traditional purist, but she’s a realtor and knows what more people will like now.”

mirrored closet wall in bedroom with yellow bedding and teal walls — The primary bedroom has a bold color palette that matches some of the bright, retro colors in the rest of the house. “The color palette is oranges and turquoises; I’m always drawn to those,” Bethann says. Off the base of the bed is the room’s closet, to which the couple added mirrored doors that close into a mirrored wall. “The doors open individually,” Bethann says.

With Bethann’s career as a realtor and Scott’s in construction, they make a good team. “With construction stuff, I do the design and I see what’s possible,” Scott says. “But then Beth has complete control over furniture and furniture placement. We both stay in our lane and sometimes we butt heads a little bit, but I realize what she’s good at and she knows what I’m good at.” The result is a seamless blend of authentic and modern mid-century style.

primary bathroom with floating wood vanity teal grasscloth wallpaper and rounded mirrors — The primary bathroom was originally a smaller space. “We changed the whole footprint,” Bethann says. “In that space was a small bathroom with a small shower and closet. We moved the closet and we put in a soaking tub.” The floating vanity is a custom piece by Scott with newer mirrors to complement the wood on the vanity.

wood paneled accent wall with natural stone walls surrounding shower and tub in 1971 Oregon ranch home — The primary bathroom features some of the same textured wallpaper as the bedroom. “Scott was on a mission to have no drywall in the house,” Bethann says. All the walls in the house are either wood paneling, wallpaper or rock, all of which are present in the primary bathroom. The rock throughout the house is from a local quarry.

“We made it a 1960s dream home for us,” Bethann says.

Total Tiki

Tour the tiki bar in this 1971 custom ranch with 1960s Hawaiian vibes.

The home of Scott Cochran and Bethann Prettie has a walkout basement that was completely unfinished when they bought the property. “It didn’t have flooring or walls—nothing,” Bethann says. The couple had to figure out how to divide up the space, and one of the rooms they wanted was a bar. “We’ve always had a bar in every house we’ve had,” Scott says. “This was toward the ending stages of the remodel and we were tired. I’ve always liked tiki bars, so I sold that to [Bethann] as a lot cheaper than wood finishes. Tiki bars are basically just yard debris stapled onto the wall.”

The tiki bar is part of the downstairs basement, which was originally unfinished. “If you go right off the staircase, you get to the tiki bar,” Bethann says. “That whole basement was blank,” Scott adds. “0 finishes. It was an empty canvas. We were trying to figure out what to go with and toward the ending stages of the remodel we were tired.” They decided on a tiki bar that opens up onto the pool area.

The couple had just taken their daughter to Hawaii for the first time and she returned wanting a Hawaiian-themed birthday party, so it was the perfect fit. “I wanted to do it traditional,” Scott says. He decked out the space from floor to ceiling, including installing a vintage booth that may have come from one of the oldest tiki bars in the country. The Alibi Tiki Bar is in Portland and opened in 1947. “We’re not positive it’s from there, but that’s what the seller said,” Bethann says. The multicolored lights in the bar area are custom pieces that Scott made himself from fishing-float glass. “I drilled holes in the glass, fogged it and added the lights,” he explains.

Since the couple loves to entertain and the pool is just outside the tiki bar, it has become the perfect place for guests to congregate.

If you love the mix of authenticity and updates in this 1971 Oregon ranch style house, we think you’ll also love these house tours: A 1950s Wisconsin Home Balances Authenticity and Updates and Balancing Authenticity + Freshness in a Sacramento Eichler. And of course, don’t forget to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube for more Atomic Ranch articles, house tours, and ideas!