From ranch to modern art repertory: Remodeling for better light, wall space

Art needs space. A house with low ceilings, dark rooms and expanses of windows and mirrors limits your options. Where can you hang a large canvas?

Ask architect Stephen Korbich that question and you may find yourself looking at a 1950s ranch-style house in northeast Portland that he transformed into a modern gallery-esque residence. Now the owner, a physician and lifelong art collector, can be in almost any room and see modern paintings on the walls.

Spotlighting art

True white paints are better than off whites if you want to create a clean gallery look.

That said, colored walls, both light and dark, could help set the mood of a piece of art. Dark backgrounds work well to draw attention to art.

Fir veneer panels with a clear oil stain are a type of tight-grain wood that adds warmth and complements artwork. Avoid complex patterns that distracts the eye from the art.

A simple color palette and restrained materials unstained fir wall panels and red oak floors serve as appropriate backdrops to the colorful paintings, prints, drawings and sculptures.

But that's not to say the house is dull.

Korbich installed dramatic architectural features that contribute to the overall sense of spaciousness. The once flat ceiling in the main living area has been remade into one that soars at an angle up to a 16-foot-high point.

A new fireplace is framed by black honed marble tile that rises to reach the ceiling's pitch.

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From ranch to modern art repertory: Remodeling for better light, wall space