31 S Gibbs St, Portland

The Victorians saw bluebirds as symbols of virtue, romance, and happiness. From poet Mary Coleridge: “The lake lay blue below the hill / O’er it, as I looked, there flew / Across the waters, cold and still / A bird whose wings were palest blue.” This 1888 specimen in a line of Lair Hill beauties is 31 S Gibbs, a confident bluebird with three beds, two baths, and 1750 square feet offering you a nesting place with views both green and city, a warm patch of fir floors standing in as twin to a bluebird’s amber chest. Here, what's elder has been enhanced: impeccable three-tone exterior paint, a heat pump addition, steel posts in a spruced crawl space, marmoleum flooring, and more. This is a solid creature on a petite lot facing an enchanting community garden, and the double-paned wood windows allow playful light streams while holding most outdoor noises at bay (pun intended). Above, delight in a soaking tub with a skylight view of OHSU's aerial tram flight, just down from a massive flex space with creative whims; below, find the convenience of a main floor bedroom and bathroom just off the home’s expanded, playful kitchen. Features that soar: French doors leading to a backyard deck with built-in seating, insect-themed entryway wallpaper by local company Makelike, the clean comfort of a dining room gas fireplace, characteristic high ceilings beckoning art and texture, the strength of a paneled stairwell overseen by a Craftsman-style light, an original pocket door with siblings throughout. An impressive 2011 remodel fluffed the feathers of the following: stainless steel appliances, ductwork, PEX plumbing, a tankless water heater, a 200 amp electrical panel, and ample insulation. True to the Walk Score of 85, Lair Hill sings a song for its park, Ross Island Grocery & Café, proximity to downtown. “The sky above was blue at last / The sky beneath me blue in blue / A moment, ere the bird had passed / It caught his image as he flew.”