See How 2 Families Make Life Work Under 1 Roof

Sisters and their husbands hire a kitchen designer and remodel a New York dream home for a shared life

Mitchell Parker August 22, 2018

Houzz Editorial Staff. Home design journalist writing about cool spaces, innovative trends, breaking news, industry analysis and humor.

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Sisters Cathy Surianello and Debbie Scofield spend a lot of time together, which means their husbands and kids spend a lot of time together. So after years of joint vacations, holidays and weekends, the two families thought that living in separate houses was a bit inefficient. “All of a sudden you say, ‘We’re always together — why are we going to separate houses with cars at night? We could just go to separate bedrooms,’” says Debbie’s husband, Douglas.

That realization sparked an idea to have Cathy and her husband, Frank, and Debbie and Douglas and two of their kids live under one roof. The Scofields’ oldest child is in college and comes home for holidays and weekends, as do the Surianellos’ three kids. In 2017, the couples pooled their money and found a property in Buffalo, New York, and spent about eight months remodeling to make the home more cohesive and functional for what often ends up being 10 people living in one house.

Our Houzz: 2 Families Remodel to Live Under 1 Roof

House at a Glance
Who lives here: Cathy and Frank Surianello and Debbie and Douglas Scofield and the Scofields’ two younger kids. The Scofields have an older child and the Surianellos have three grown children, all of whom often stay for weekends and holidays.
Location: Buffalo, New York
Size: 5,800 square feet (539 square meters), plus a finished basement of 700 square feet (65 square meters); six bedrooms, four bathrooms
Designer: Julie Deuble

Watch now: See how these two families make it work under one roof

Every Sunday night, the two families gather in the kitchen to make dinner. This picture shows them on a recent Sunday.

The families used Houzz to find and hire kitchen designer Julie Deuble, gather design ideas, and order five pallets of Carrara marble, which is used in several areas of the home.

Kitchen See How 2 Families Make Life Work Under 1 Roof

Deuble took inspiration from the photos of kitchens gathered in the families’ Houzz ideabooks to transform the kitchen into a brighter, more functional room. She replaced the original dark cabinets and countertops with white cabinets and a marble backsplash and island countertop. There are two large refrigerators, two dishwashers, a big range and lots of seating as well. “Having up to 10 people in the kitchen at once, you think, ‘Oh that’s crowded. You’re going to have people bumping over each other,’” Douglas says. “But the way our kitchen is designed, it becomes a fluid place of enjoyment.”

To get the custom drawer organization just right, the cabinetmaker took the family’s silverware, measured it and created appropriately sized wood inserts for each collection.

Bathroom Our Houzz: 2 Families Remodel to Live Under 1 Roof

More marble elegantly graces the bathrooms throughout the house. Cathy says her installer thought she was crazy to order five pallets of marble online, but it was exactly what she had been searching for. “My installer came back and said, ‘You were right,’” Cathy says. “It’s probably the best marble he’s ever worked with.”

Cathy and Frank’s spa-like bathroom, pictured, includes a steam shower and a large soaking tub.

Frank and Douglas didn’t have brothers growing up, and they’ve come to enjoy each other’s brotherly friendship over the years. And while it made sense for the two families to share a home, what really sold the idea on the husbands was the billiards room, which you can see in the video.

Carrara marble: The Builder Depot; Borghese mirrored desk: Bassett Mirror Co.; Audrey vanity in white: Ancerre Designs; Christoforo tub in aged chrome: The Tub Studio; Rosendal vanity lights: Savoy House

Bedroom Our Houzz: 2 Families Remodel to Live Under 1 Roof

The second floor of the home has enough retreat space for each family, including separate master bedroom suites. “Upstairs is like living in a boutique hotel,” designer Deuble says.

See How 2 Families Make Life Work Under 1 Roof

Debbie, left, and Cathy share a laugh and a cup of coffee on Cathy’s balcony off her master suite.

“The combined family works fantastic,” Frank says.

Watch now: See what life’s like for this joint household

Your turn: See how to create and use Houzz ideabooks for your own home project