Case Studies

A Family Space

Project background:

The home was built in the late 70s. The homeowners’ family has grown to include three teenagers, and they wanted a more livable space that would accommodate their lifestyle and new family requirements - a beautiful, updated, highly functional space with modern furnishings. They needed an open, flowing area where they can comfortably host gatherings of friends, yet which would also create opportunities for the family to spend time together in a more cozy setting.

The new space does all that and more. The completely updated kitchen area flows into a spacious family room with vaulted ceilings. This arrangement allows Mom to work in the kitchen while participating in the activities and conversations as family and friends congregate in the new family room. The kids love to bring their friends over and she feels as though she can be an unobtrusive part of their gathering.

The homeowner describes the finished project as “so open, with very nice flow!” The kitchen features an unusual and beautiful combination of painted cabinets with a stained-wood central island, this suggestion by our design coordinator created a striking contrast that added interest and depth to the kitchen, which the homeowner loved. The kids love this “cool” space and frequently come and sit at the island to chat with Mom as she prepares meals. Thus the new design creates perfect opportunities for quality time in the midst of hectic work and school schedules.

Challenges and Solutions:

The project scope included an addition to enlarge the kitchen and create an open space incorporating the kitchen, a new family room, half bath and mudroom. Challenges included the existing sewer which ran through the proposed footprint of the new addition. In order for the homeowners to continue to use their home during the work, the sewer had to be disconnected and reconnected, sometimes more than once daily. Eventually the sewer line was rerouted.

The home also had what appeared to be a ceiling soffit that we strongly suspected was hiding piping. Closer inspection revealed multiple pipes that could not feasibly be relocated, so had to incorporate the soffit line into the new design. We were able to solve this challenge by creating a visual break between the preparation area and the gathering area of the kitchen that worked well.

One of the kitchen walls removed in the redesign included a structural column which had to be maintained. The central island in the new plan is built around this column, which is now surrounded by beautiful raised paneled column.