Parade of Homes takes modern turn

It’s impossible not to notice that the home called The Hyfield at this year’s NW Natural Parade of Homes is a home unlike any other in Clark County.

Designed and built by Modern Home Design & Build owner John Taylor, the home offers almost 2,700 square feet of living space on a single floor, without a single stair into a room or even a shower. Its wide-open great room is filled with light. Fireplaces of matching design in the great room and in an outdoor living space, separated by a glass wall, help blur the line between outdoor and indoor living. The silk-smooth walls with little wood trim evoke minimalist modernism.

Taylor says the home’s bright contemporary design evokes the midcentury architecture of Palm Springs, Calif., and the work of renowned California midcentury architects William Krisel and Joseph Eichler. “Those those two guys my biggest heroes,” says Taylor, who extends the Southern California theme to California plants grown at a Sauvie Island nursery to adapt to the Northwest climate.

Taylor’s home, with the made-up name of The Hyfield, is one of five featured in this year’s NW Natural Parade of Homes, which opens Friday and runs through Sept. 20. The Parade of Homes features four other homes: Whipple Creek, by Bella Villa Homes, a 3,711-square-foot, four-bedroom home selling for $749,900; Sylvan Rest, by Tuscany Homes, a 2,649-square-foot home with three-plus bedrooms offered at $749,000; the Brahmin, a 4,257-square-foot, five-bedroom home by Cascade West Development that is already sold; and the Debonair, a 3,571-square-foot, three-bedroom home by Cascade West that also is sold.

With a list price of $639,000, the four-bedroom Modern Home Design & Build home is the lowest-priced of the homes still for sale, although Taylor expects it to sell for more than its asking price.

The home’s low exterior profile separates it from the peaked-roof design of the other homes in the Parade or the Meadows and 179th subdivision now under construction. The home’s garage appears smaller than the three-car garage that it is because one space is tucked in front of another. The aluminum garage doors with frosted glass, and the locally quarried stone on the home’s front facade, all contribute to the home’s unique appearance.

Taylor and his wife, Julie Wilcox, who live in a home overlooking Vancouver Lake, fill their newly built homes with personal touches. Taylor designed and created the steel sculpture in the front yard. He and Wilcox painted the artworks displayed inside. The home has a wine cellar just because Taylor thinks each of his homes should have one.

Taylor, who turns 54 next week, said he builds only about four custom luxury homes a year. He said he accepted a request to participate in the Parade of Homes even though he has no interest in expanding his volume and no shortage of clients. In fact, he vets prospective buyers for compatibility with his personality and his ideas before ever agreeing to build a home for them.

“I got into the Parade to show people what they can’t have,” he says bluntly. “I work with people I like, and I don’t really like most people.”

With the Hyfield, Taylor said he aimed to build a home that would be suitable for those who are heading into retirement years as well as families. In addition to the single-floor, stair-free layout, the home has 3-foot-wide doors throughout and bedrooms or office space on each side of the great room, providing separation and privacy for either guests or children. One room can easily be converted into an office.

Taylor’s professional work under the company name Classic Home Design & Build has been wide-ranging, from house-flipping remodels and in-fill housing to construction in 2000 of a $1.4 million French chateau. For that project, Taylor shipped building materials from France.

Over time he says he evolved to his current interest of minimalist modern design, borrowing from homes built in Palm Springs during a golden era of midcentury architecture from 1945 to 1962. His firm Modern Home Design & Build reflects his passion for “super modern flowing places with an open concept,” he said.

“This is my art, and I do absolutely my very best,” he said.