Historical Home Remodel
Kitchen & Powder Bathroom in Portland
Design • Organize • Remodel
Our client has an INCREDIBLE 1913 home with such charm and charisma. She wanted an update to her kitchen that made the small and dark space feel brighter and larger. Our main goal was to modernize while preserving the original charm and architecture wherever possible. We also prioritized reusing and repurposing materials as much as possible. We kept and repainted her previous cabinets, removed the old peninsula, and recut and installed it in the basement brewery.
ABOUT THE CLIENT
Our client is a mother of 2 and a very successful business owner of multiple dermatology clinics here in Portland. She loves to cook and entertain. They love to travel and have a love for wine and making their own beer. Over the years her kitchen space had become overwhelmingly cluttered and full due to a lack of organizational systems in place.
PROJECT GOALS
The space was dark, cavernous, and dated. She wanted it to be brighter, lighter, and more enjoyable for herself and her family. The floor plan needed to stay relatively the same but wanted ideas on how to open things up and make the floor plan a little better. We HAD to keep the charm of the 1914 home. Updating and modernizing the design wasn't an option for us or the client. We needed something elegant while repurposing a lot of the items she already had like the cabinets, sink, hardware, etc. Organizational systems were a must and were a top priority for this project.
AKL’S APPROACH
We used our organizational mindset to design and create a functionally beautiful space for our client. We knew we needed to repurpose as many of the materials as possible and would be removing a large amount of built in storage near the end of the kitchen where a peninsula sat jetting into the kitchen space. We added in some high end custom carpentry pieces to elevate and match the current and existing cabinetry. A dining room bench seat with hidden storage, and a new custom cabinet next to the range for more pots and pans storage. Previously there was nothing there other than a 2-tier rolling cart.
“There was a reason I looked to hire a female general contractor, and everything I thought would be true, came to be. Ashley is a consummate businesswoman, who doesn’t shy away from discussing price and money, but has an eye for the little details as well.”
You get what you pay for! She listened to what I said I thought I needed and didn’t force opinions, she problem solved in a seamless manner, and she has surrounded herself with an amazing team who compliment her business savvy and design sense. When you enter a contractual relationship for a big pile of cash, we customers can have unrealistic expectations and the team at Ashley Kiely Living allowed me to have my “Karen” moments without making me feel bad. Ashley and her design, construction and organizing teams took wonderful care of us. Shannon designed my kitchen with a timeless, elegant style that opened my eyes to options I didn’t even know existed. After listening to how I like to use my space, Ashley, Jen and the rest of the organizing team gave me that OMGoodness eye-popping moment we all see on TV. We are positively thrilled with the final product and would do it again, but only if it was with Ashley and her team at the helm.
