Set within Yamhill County, Oregon, in the Chehalem Mountains of wine country, Five Peaks Lookout is a modern home designed by Scott Edwards Architecture that takes full advantage of an extraordinary location. Perched high on a sloping site, the home enjoys expansive views of five mountain peaks, Jefferson, Hood, Adams, St. Helens, and Rainier.
Designing a home for a site like this comes with unique opportunities. The challenge was not simply capturing the scenery, but creating a home that could embrace those views while still feeling welcoming and comfortable. The result is a residence that celebrates the landscape through architecture, large expanses of glass, and a striking structural design that appears to float above the hillside.
A Home Shaped by the Landscape
The design is organized as a long bar stretching across the site, with covered outdoor spaces carved into the volume of the house. This arrangement helps break up the building’s form while creating sheltered places to spend time outdoors.
Throughout the home, floor-to-ceiling windows bring natural light deep into the interior. Sliding doors are used in every east-facing room, allowing many spaces to open directly to the outdoors. As the doors slide away, rooms extend toward the landscape, making the mountain views feel like part of the interior experience.
The Cantilever That Changes Everything
One of the home’s most memorable features is its cantilevered living and dining area. Projecting outward above a steep drop in the landscape, the structure creates the sensation of being suspended above the valley below…