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  Instant Bond Pat Tippett left what others wished for -- a spacious Old Portland-style house in the heart of Northeast Portland's Irvington neighborhood -- for a small cottage in North Portland."I was looking at bigger houses," Tippett says, "but I stopped and thought: 'I don't want a house to own me.'"Downsizing made sense for the single woman whose three boys were grown and moving out on their own. Her new house near the rim of the University Park neighborhood would also be closer to her business, Flaming Carrot Catering.Little did she know at the time that this 960-square-foot house -- along with some one-step-at-a-time remodeling to expand into the unfinished basement -- would accommodate the transitions her life would take over the next decade.Plus, she felt an instant bond with the house built in 1913."The things I loved most were the giant willow tree in the backyard and the kitchen," says Tippett, who started in the catering business in the early '80s. "The kitchen didn't need much."The kitchen's salvaged-hardwood counters were a big draw.In fact, the kitchen had been beautifully remodeled and featured counters made from salvaged -- Tippett repeats salvaged -- Brazilian hardwood. In the bedroom, rose, coral and teal linoleum paints a vintage picture on the floor.She decided to get comfortable -- and not do a thing -- in the home's two bedrooms, one bath and a large unfinished basement.Initially, it felt plenty big for one person. She converted one of the bedrooms into a home office, which doubles as her workout room. An informal breakfast bar, which she created by opening the wall between kitchen and living room, provided just enough room to eat. A small mudroom and a cozy family room in the back of the house seemed like a bonus.It wasn't until her three sons came to visit that Tippett realized just how cramped the house could feel. "When they come, they bring significant others," she says. "It's cozy."Finishing the basement added 750 square feet to the house, giving Tippett plenty of space and a guest room.Six months after moving in, she partially finished the basement, adding a guest room and a media room with plenty of pullout sleeping space.The remodeling continued to unfold from there, thanks to the able assists of a friend who's retired and a contractor whose wedding she'd catered.She finished the rest of the basement, adding a spacious full bath that doubles as a laundry room.Then she opened up the two tiny rooms at the back of the house, which gave her a small combined dining area and family room. She added a gas fireplace and bought a sofa that works as an extra bed for guests."This is where I sleep when all of my sons are here," she says. To expand the area visually, she cut out a pass-through in the wall of the basement stairs that opens to a window."I love being able to see the trees," she says.This also gave her room for a formal dining table that expands to seat 10."I was so excited about the table," she says. "Before, this was always an eat-in-your-lap kind of house if there were more than a couple of people."Tippett added a combination bath and laundry room in her basement.Finally, Tippett says, the house felt done."I enjoyed coming home in the evenings. I'd do some office work, make dinner, come in here and read," she says of the new family room.Then, late last year, Tippett decided to close Flaming Carrot. What she didn't sell from the commercial kitchen housed in the North Star Ballroom, she packed up to bring home. She knew that food would still be part of her professional life.But that meant the kitchen, one of the few untouched rooms in her house, would need some tweaking to make room for barware, plates, bowls and items she might need close by. The small appliances and other things could go elsewhere.The chef long known for her creativeness went to work.Tippett created the breakfast bar when she opened up the wall between the living room and kitchen.She found a row of floor-to-ceiling cabinets at an outlet store that matched her existing cabinets and offered oodles of storage. For the basement, she bought a clothes wardrobe that fit in nicely in the family room. In its drawers and shelves, she stores catering equipment and bakeware.Tippett's new career materialized more quickly than she thought it would.No sooner had she unpacked her equipment than she was putting it to work as a food stylist for the movie "Twilight," being filmed in the Portland area.She's now looking ahead to working as a private chef."I'm so busy," she says. "When I'm home, I really enjoy my house."