There are some extremely unique homes found in Portland which you can take inspiration from:
The ultra simplistic/ultra modern home: This can be found in both the Watzek House and the Sutor House. The homes have a barn-like look, but include column details and large windows on the outside. The inside of the home features open spaces and clean lines.
The Queen Anne Victorian: You can see examples of this kind of home in a place like the unfortunately demolished Knapp House (you can still find pictures of this home online) or the Pittock Mansion. This is the kind of incredible home which features high style and grandeur. Towers and turrets give this kind of home major personality. This sort of home gives you an excellent opportunity to do something really fun with roofing.
Richardsonian Romanesque homes: This sort of home is featured by stone construction, medieval-inspired stone arches, cone-topped turrets, and wrought-iron details. An excellent example of this is the Mackenzie House in NW Portland.
The Arts and Crafts home: J.S. Bradley Home is an excellent example of the Arts and Crafts home. Portland’s first Arts and Crafts home was in NE Portland.
Finally…
The Mash-Up: Portland features a ton of homes with no distinct style. They are a mash-up between the Arts and Crafts Home, the Victorian, and more. Or, on the ultra simplistic home side of life, there are Japanese style homes which are mashed up with ultra-modern, ultra-simplistic homes.
Here’s hoping you are able to get inspired by Portland’s historic homes, and make your own home uniquely “you”.