Property Watch: A Portland Designer’s Remodeled Midcentury ‘Treehouse’

When Wendy Scott bought her 1967 house in the Hillsdale neighborhood 12 years ago, she was working full-time in the tech world and didn’t know quite where to start on a remodel. But Scott had long had an interest in interiors—was always that friend who was getting asked for design advice—so she forged ahead, “learning the hard way” as she went.

In the ensuing years, Scott collaborated with Outside Architecture and Akos Construction, overhauling much of her 3,431-square-foot home, just in time for the finished project to star in the 2022 Portland Modern Home Tour. Along the way, Scott swapped the tech world to design professionally, eventually joining up with fellow designer Teal Davison to start their own firm, Teal & Scott.

Now, Scott’s home, called the “Treehouse” for its extensive outdoor decks and tree-filled views throughout the interior, is on the market, so a new buyer can benefit from its ugly-duckling-to-swan transformation. In Scott’s hands, the previously disjointed home—imagine piecemeal flooring, random arched wall cutouts, and a fireplace with tacked-on colonial columns—has become beautifully streamlined, starting with the engineered hardwood floors throughout most of the upper level.

Take the living room, just across from the entry. Walnut built-ins anchor one end, while a custom slat accent wall separates it from the hallway, still allowing for sight lines. The overhauled fireplace features more midcentury-appropriate elongated brick, with a floating stone hearth, wood mantel, and an inset walnut shelf. The new composition draws the eye up to the preserved tongue-and-groove vaulted ceilings.

Around the corner of the two-sided fireplace is the dining room, with its own bespoke walnut storage and slat wall, and whimsical wallpaper accent. Those custom built-ins continue in the dedicated office, complete with glassed rectangular cutouts that call back to the home’s original era.

The main-floor primary suite is a scene stealer, thanks to a moody wallpaper on one wall, a large walk-in closet, access to the deck, and the gorgeous en-suite bathroom, the latter with walnut storage, and tile running seamlessly across the floor and up the wall of the skylit walk-in shower.

Downstairs, there’s a recreation room with another revamped fireplace and kitchenette, a refinished bathroom, and three more bedrooms, which include more wallpaper picks and walnut built-ins sprinkled throughout.

Both floors pour out into the backyard via glass doors, and the upgrades extend outside with a dog run, Ipe decks, and a sweet hot tub setup, complete with a pull-down projector screen. Talk about a custom package: Even the designer furnishings can be added to the sale at the buyer’s behest, taking turnkey to a whole new level.

• Address: 6422 SW Burlingame Pl, Portland, OR 97239
• Size: 3,431 square feet/5 bedroom/3 bath 
• List Date: 5/14/2025 
• List Price: $1,200,000
• Listing Agent: Virginia Barden, Think Real Estate

Melissa Dalton is a freelance writer who has focused on Pacific Northwest design and lifestyle since 2008. Contact Dalton here. 

Editor’s Note: Portland Monthly’s “Property Watch” column takes a weekly look at an interesting home in Portland’s real estate market (with periodic ventures to the burbs and points beyond, for good measure). Got a home you think would work for this column? Get in touch at [email protected].