Ugly Kitchen Contest
Yamhill Carlton Middle School Custodian Wins
Ugly Kitchen Contest, Earning a Free $10,000 Remodel
From Three Portland Businesses
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Kitchen Concepts, DeWhitt Appliance and the Flooring Depot & Surfaces provide the materials to create a wonderfully updated kitchen.
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When Patricia Howard, a school custodian at Yamhill Carlton middle school heard about a recent Ugly Kitchen Contest at Portland’s Home & Garden Expo Center co-sponsored by three Portland area businesses, she knew she had to enter.
Working hard and taking care of others for many years resulted in a kitchen that just was in desperate need of an update . She had also lost her husband five years ago so it was hard for her to do repairs on her own. Her oven hadn’t worked for the past three years and she had been cooking on a hot plate, in the toaster oven or in the microwave. Her bathroom had just been remodeled with the kind help from neighbor and friend Bob Nufer, a local business owner of Misty Mountain Mushrooms. He recently had hired local contractor Bill LaRue for her to fix the sinking bathroom floor. He also took her under his wing and set up a meeting at a bank to review the possibility of a home loan for her to help complete the updates. The application hit road blocks because of the lack of credit in her name and continues to be explored.
So, after bank road blocks and hearing about the Ugly Kitchen Contest, she snapped a few photos and entered to win, thinking she had a good chance.
The owners of — Kitchen Concept NW, DeWhitt Appliance and The Flooring Depot, and Surfaces– three local independent businesses located near Airport Way in Portland, worked together to create the contest, putting together $10,000 in products including new high quality cabinets, counters, floors, tile and a Frigidaire stainless refrigerator as the grand prize.
Sixty entries were received and carefully reviewed before Howard’s was selected among the top five finalists chosen by the contest sponsors.
Dave Warren, owner of Kitchen Concepts NW, personally visited the finalists to take room measurements, and draw up speculative floor plans in his rendering program. After further review
and careful consideration, Warren selected Howard‘s Ugly kitchen as the ultimate winner.
“Patricia’s kitchen was notably unattractive and in great need of an update,” smiled Warren.
But Warren and his crew took the grand prize even further. He and his team are opting to install the kitchen cabinets for Howard at no cost, other than home baked cookies and milk, which Howard eagerly volunteered to provide.
“After meeting with Patricia, we just wanted to help her out even more, “said Warren.
Installation will begin June 6th and everything should be installed and ready to enjoy by July 1.
“I’m so happy to have this project done, “said Howard.
The rest of the community is also eager to support her. In fact, the teachers and staff at Yamhill Carlton middle school where she works have decided to fete her further with a kitchen shower to provide new utensils and cooking tools when her kitchen update is complete. “We all watched her float down the
hall when she got the news” said Lin Hess at the school.
“We were so pleased with the response we received to our first Ugly Kitchen contest and are thrilled that we can help make Patricia’s dreams of a new kitchen come true,” said Warren.
It was a joy and a pleasure to be a part of the “Ugly Kitchen Contest” said Gayle Gibson
Ted Gibson owner of Flooring Depot with wife Gayle added “ Patricia was so excited and truly deserving of the grand prize. Thanks also to all who entered”
“We definitely will make this an annual event,” said Brian Newsom, owner of DeWhitt Appliance.
Ktichen Concepts has been helping our customers realize their remodeling dreams for over twenty years, with two locations, one in Gresham and another in the DeWhitt Appliance showroom, at 122nd and Airport Way. Since 1969, DeWhitt Appliance has been Portland’s Appliance Experts, providing home and commercial appliance. Floor Depot & Surfaces, located nearby, on 122nd and NE Whitaker Way, provide flooring, tile, carpet, vinyl and more.
