The U.S. Navy brings many people to the shores of Kitsap Peninsula. Some of them come and go. Some recognize the beauty of the peninsula as the home of their heart. When Kimbra Wells Metz and her children first disembarked here, they had lived in Spain for three years and landed in the conglomeration of […]
Suzanne O'Clair
Gardening in Poulsbo, Suzanne O'Clair is a freelance writer and columnist for Kitsap Week Magazine. She was an ASID interior designer for many years in Denver. She holds a master's degree in applied communication. Semi-retired, she owns and operates O Stars Above and delights in creating beaded and embroidered jewelry.
Posted inHome
A Dream Home Remodel
Joyce and Brian Boettcher lived in their split-level home for 27 years, working and raising two children. Keeping up with the day’s demand was their main focus — even as a myriad of home inefficiencies piled up that they had no time to remedy. As Joyce says, “When you have time, you dream.” Their dream […]
Posted inHome
Considering Dream Homes
When is a dream home not a dream home? This sounds like a rhetorical question but in the case of Bob and Heyjin Disney, it’s relevant. Their company, Disney and Associates, builds approximately 25 luxurious, semicustom houses a year. So for Bob Disney, this project could be another day at the office. But perhaps the […]
Posted inHome
Living in Harmony
No one builds a house without a set of plans. Carol and Sonny Loidhamer, high school sweethearts, knew their life plan started with being together. After that, they had a plan — for the moment. Sonny Loidhamer got right on his, opening United Moving and Storage Co. in Bremerton in 1966 after graduating from college. […]
Posted inHome
The Fruit of Their Labor
Dana Boys had a problem. His expensive, two-year-old wine cooler broke, leaving costly bottles at risk. Brenda, his wife, had had a kitchen crisis for years. Their teeny-tiny kitchen allowed no more than one person to operate in it at a time. They had talked about remodeling, but hadn’t quite taken steps in that direction […]
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Remodeling — A Home and a Career
Frank Tweten calls his years at Tweten’s Lighthouse Restaurant his inherited position. His father established the restaurant and Frank grew up in the business, eventually taking it over and building it into a fine-dining establishment. But when retirement came a few years ago, Tweten felt free to pursue his first love — carpentry. Life Magazine […]
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A Welcoming Home of Security and Comfort
This story starts like an Indiana Jones movie. Before they could build their dream home, Kate and David Beal had to find their property. Find is the operative word here. Arriving at the location marked on the map, they faced a 25-foot-high wall of blackberry vines. Kate remembers they hacked tunnels through the vines and […]
Posted inPeople & Places
The Curious Workshop Beneath the Cedars
Stepping into Diane Haddon’s studio is a tumble down a rabbit hole. The walls, countertops and dozens of small and large drawers spill over with vintage bits of this and that: an assortment of sieves and strainers, metal stamped hands, suns and moons, Japanese umbrellas, rusted roller skates, wooden cobbler’s lasts, baby dolls and their […]
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Living High on Art and the Hi-Fi Spectrum
The Animals sang, “We gotta get out of this place” — and years later, Scott and Lyn Scherer resonated with their angst. After living in Carnation for 15 years, the couple sprung into action due to the increasingly dreadful traffic situation. Thus began their search for a new place. Maybe waterfront. Definitely acreage for their […]