Wide open spaces

By Nicole DeCosta

The West Linn Tidings, Mar 18, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009

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Elaine and Rick Davis reside on six acres off Petes Mountain Road in West Linn. With views of Mount Hood, plenty of goats and rolling hills, their property is spacious, peaceful – simple.

The interior of their 1980s contemporary home, however, felt cramped and compartmentalized. With a small, dated kitchen and walls dividing all rooms on the first floor, the home’s floorplan was more of a maze than amazing.

So they hired Mitch and Arlene Stanley with Stanley Home Renovation & Design, Inc. (SHRD) to breathe life back into the house they’ve lived in for 14 years by updating the kitchen, adding hardwood floors and removing walls to open the space up.

The home – along with dozens of others spread throughout the Portland-metro area – was on display on the 2009 Tour of Remodeled Homes March 14 and 15. The 10th annual home tour presented by the Home Builders Association of Metropolitan Portland’s Remodelers Council featured examples of whole house remodels, additions, kitchen and basement remodels.

The Davis’ remodel all started with the need for a larger kitchen.

“It really wasn’t functional for more than one person. Then (the homeowners) thought, ‘wouldn’t it be nice if it was one big open great room?’” said Mitch Stanley, who is also on the Tour Executive Committee for the Remodelors Council and president and co-founder of SHRD.

Before, the main-level living space wasn’t being utilized to its full potential. One wall separated the kitchen from the family room, while another wall also separated it from the dining room.

“We wanted to open it up to get more light to the dining room,” Mitch said. “Now it doesn’t feel like you’re walking into a cave.”

All three rooms are good sized and by removing the wall between the kitchen and family room and creating a large pass through in the wall attached to the formal dining room, the Stanleys created one-large area for casual entertaining.

“The kitchen is the hub (of a home),” said Arlene, co-founder and vice president of SHRD. “Everyone wants to be in there.”

And now they can, or at least are close-by.

Walnut-stained kitchen cabinets with white knobs were replaced with lighter, contemporary maple cabinets in a new configuration. White tile was replaced by neutral-toned granite. A backsplash incorporating painted glass tiles gives the kitchen a sophisticated, yet calm, appearance.

Hardwood floors were installed to tie the entryway, living, family and nook areas together.

Before, carpeting in each room separated by hardwood floors in the entryway and kitchen, made the family, dining and living rooms feel like separate spaces.

“More so than carpeting, I think (the hardwoods) warm everything up considerably. It makes it feel so much more inviting,” Mitch said.

Elaine Davis said she wanted her floors, “a little bit darker (than the kitchen cabinets.)” They used a process that allowed the pigment of the wood to open up so it can absorb more color before it was sealed. The result is natural, rich and seamless. New wood planks were integrated with the existing wood to create a cohesive floor covering that stretches between all rooms.

Also creating a nice flow between rooms is the built-in cabinetry with glass doors and lighting that illuminates Davis’ teapot and dish collection. Before, the desk between the kitchen and nook area “collected clutter,” Elaine said. Now it’s a conversation piece.

“We didn’t want to use glass shelves. It would feel a little too contemporary,” Mitch said of using wood shelving, behind glass doors. “We’re in a rural setting. This just feels casual.”

Each shelf is illuminated using low-voltage lighting. The room feels light and airy.

A large, flatscreen TV was mounted next to the fireplace and can be pulled out and swiveled to accommodate TV watching in the family room or kitchen.

“I like watching cooking shows when I’m in the kitchen,” Davis said.

And she can compete with gourmet chefs all over with her new open galley style kitchen that includes an island with a preparation sink, stainless steel appliances and cabinets that open from multiple directions so all items are within easy reach.

“We made use of every little space,” Mitch said, demonstrating a skinny cabinet that rolls out to reveal spices. “We also moved the sink down (so it’s centered within the window) and relocated the dishwasher.”

A KitchenAid mixer swings up from within a cabinet in the island on a platform and secures for the ability to start mixing within seconds, and without having a countertop cluttered with appliances. Notice the granite from Crowley’s Granite Concepts in Tualatin.

“We got the dragon tail to come right up to the sink,” Mitch said of a distinct pattern in the stone.

“All the (granite) I liked had a flow to them,” Davis said.

Crowley’s Web site notes that “granite is hard; having it installed shouldn’t be.” They use special computer software to template each kitchen, guaranteeing a six-day turnaround from initial measurements to installed countertops.

And choosing the correct slab of granite is a process Mitch feels strongly about.

“Don’t pick slab granite from samples. I take clients to the warehouse and we walk (and look at the slabs),” he said. “That’s the best way.”

“Even with the same type of granite,” Arlene added, “each slab is a little different.”

The same granite was extended to the countertops in a powder bathroom just off the kitchen.

“We do what we do because it’s our profession and we enjoy it, but it’s working with clients like Elaine that make it so much more fun,” said Mitch, whose company was honored as the 2007 Remodeler of the Year by the Home Builders Association of Metropolitan Portland.

The Stanleys said they’re excited to be on the Tour of Remodeled Homes for the first time. Arlene noted that typically when a design and build project is completed they enjoy the satisfaction and appreciation from the homeowners, but being able to share their work in front of hundreds of tour-goers is exciting.

“I’m looking forward to displaying the fruit of all our hard work,” Mitch said. “It’s a good feeling.”

He continued, “If you’re thinking about doing anything (to your home), it’s one thing to go out to showrooms and see little bits and pieces (of how a project could look), but it’s another thing to go through a project that has been completed, furnished and decorated with people living there,” Mitch said.

Different from other popular home shows such as the Street of Dreams, the Tour of Remodeled Homes features projects designed and built with people already living within the home and on budgets.

“It’s real people,” Davis said, “living in real houses.”

To contact Stanley Home Renovation & Design, Inc., visit www.stanleyhomerenovation.com, e-mail info@stanleyhomerenovation.com or call 503-631-2400.