The suite life

By Nicole DeCosta

The Lake Oswego Review, Feb 19, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (1 Reader comment)

Vern Uyetake / Lake Oswego Review

Jonathan Markt with Markt & Company Construction in West Linn operates the new elevator within Kay Wheeler’s home. The elevator allows Wheeler’s mother and mother-in-law to easily travel between floors at the home.

ADVERTISEMENTS

Don and Kay Wheeler of Lake Oswego spend a lot of time with their mothers, Doris Wheeler, 83, and Beth Epping, 84. Between appointments and visits, the couple was often driving across town to visit them at their separate homes.

One day they had an idea: What if their mothers moved in with them? Was there enough space? Would they be able to get up and down the stairs? Was this a good idea?

Markt & Company Construction in West Linn assured them that the transition could be done. Not only have they reconfigured local homes for years, accessibility building hits close to their own home.

“My brother got in a car wreck in 1996 and was paralyzed, so my dad, who owned the company (at the time), thought that there are probably a lot of people with accessibility issues,” said Jonathan Markt, a project manager and co-owner of his family company. “(He) realized that there are other people out there who also need this work done.”

Within five months time, Markt and his crew – along with architect Keith Abel and designer Judy McNeil – created a lower level dedicated to their mothers with a kitchenette, laundry room, separate bedrooms and bathrooms and TV area. And in the process, the homeowners updated the floor plan of their kitchen, living and dining rooms and created a new master suite.

And then there’s the new elevator to transport the moms between the two levels.

“It doesn’t have elevator music,” Kay said. “But I can sing if you want.”

The couple is already singing the praises of all key players involved with transforming their home into a safe, fashionable and comfortable place for their moms to age in place.

Making room

“We have a new appreciation for the house,” Don said.

The upper floor of their 1970s “compartmentalized home,” as they refer to it because of many walls dividing rooms blocking their view of Oswego Lake, now has a slick, and modern, open floor plan.

A sunken living room is now level with the kitchen. Walls were removed in the kitchen and dining room to create a common space. The back of the home was extended “as far back as it could be,” Don said, to provide for a master suite above and their mother’s suites below. The new elevator connects both levels, while the winding staircase in the front of the home was left intact.

Kay said that before her father passed away she told him, “I’ll take care of mom as long as I’m able to.”

And at this time, Don’s mother could also benefit from being closer to home. Now, the two smiling women are having a blast in their new living quarters, they said.

“It’s like a personal assisted living facility,” Markt said.

1 | 2 Next Page >>