Before & After: A Couple Fix Up an Heirloom Cottage in the Town Where They First Met

Neskowin, a small village on the Oregon coast about 100 miles southwest of Portland, offers a magical mixture of natural wonders: a dune-covered beach to the west, and the protected Neskowin Creek watershed to the east.

Along tiny Hawk Street, where several homes were built in the mid-20th century, a multigenerational community of longtime homeowners often host neighbors or socialize on the little private lane connecting their houses. Many of these houses were designed by noted Portland architects, like Van Evera Bailey, who collectively created the Northwest modern style: pitched overhanging roofs, large expanses of glass, and extensive wood.

It’s no wonder Jamie Watson and Cleo Pahlmeyer weren’t going to let their heirloom little Neskowin beach house go—even though a restoration was perhaps overdue. 

The 1,400-square-foot home has been in Jamie’s family for three generations—it first belonged to his grandfather, a Portland physician. Jamie’s wife, Cleo, grew up visiting Neskowin as a child, too, staying at her uncle and aunt’s house nearby—and the couple actually first met on Hawk Street as 10-year-olds. "Jamie’s family would host Christmas Day dinner, and then our family or our neighbors would host New Year’s Eve," Cleo recalls.

Before: Exterior

After: Exterior