OUR GORGE : HOME + GARDEN
Kitchen Makeover
A long-awaited remodel exceeds expectations STORY BY JANET COOK • PHOTOS BY DARIUS KUZMICKAS / KUDA PHOTOGRAPHY
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oug and Michele Beaman moved into their house on Hood River’s Westside in 2003, with their young son and another baby to come. The home was spacious and its location ideal, but it had some quirks in the way of many 1980s-era homes. Among them, the kitchen had angled walls, and a pocket door was the only thing joining the kitchen to the dining room. There was fluorescent lighting and a lot of ‘80s oak. But they knew the time wasn’t right for a remodel. “When you have little kids and a dog, remodeling isn’t on the top of your list of things to get done,” said Michele, a pediatric emergency room doctor
Courtesy of Neil Kelly
24 SPRING 2019 : THE GORGE MAGAZINE
at Randall Children’s Hospital in Portland. “Plus, you don’t necessarily want new things.” Over the years, they’d tossed around ideas for a kitchen remodel, but never got much further than that. Finally, last year, as some of their appliances were beginning to fail — including their refrigerator — they knew the time was right. They contacted Neil Kelly, a Portland-based design/build remodeling and home improvement company. The Beamans had hired the company years ago to replace windows in a previous home they’d owned, and were impressed by the quality and service they’d received. They began working with Neil Kelly designer Karen Richmond. Michele outlined her family’s main goals for the kitchen, which were to open it