Kitchen of the Week: A Wonder in Walnut
A designer opens up a family’s kitchen to the dining room and a screened-in porch
Not only did these homeowners want to update their traditional brick Colonial home, they desperately needed to. “Everything seemed to be breaking right about the same time. And right after they hired us, a basement ceiling collapsed due to a leak,” says architect Sondra Zabroske of Four Brothers Design + Build. In the kitchen, their priority was to create a space that would be conducive to entertaining family and friends outdoors. Zabroske flipped the dining room and kitchen to create a pass-through window from the kitchen to a new bar on the screened-in porch.
Before Photo
After: Comparing this photo with the previous one, the new kitchen might seem like it’s in the same spot, but it’s not. (See before-and-after plans below.) “My clients had a formal dining room next to the kitchen that they never used. The table just wound up collecting papers,” Zabroske says. So she opened up the wall between the two rooms, moved the kitchen into the dining room space and created a new dining area where the kitchen used to be. (It’s just out of frame on the right.) Now the dining room is casual and open to the kitchen, and the family uses it daily for meals as well as doing homework.
“They have a beautiful wooded valley behind the house and we wanted to open up the views to it,” Zabroske says. Just past the fridge on the right, she added large double sliding glass doors to maximize the natural light.
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“They have a beautiful wooded valley behind the house and we wanted to open up the views to it,” Zabroske says. Just past the fridge on the right, she added large double sliding glass doors to maximize the natural light.
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The kitchen sink is a 32-inch workstation with inserts that help with prep work. The large matte black faucet has a built-in sprayer.
A major goal of the design was to make it easier for the family to entertain on the screened-in porch. This involved maximizing the functionality of the porch and creating a connection to it. The kitchen’s new location has direct access to the porch through the awning window above the sink. “The window allows them to engage with the porch from the kitchen,” Zabroske says.
AL62-GS gas strut window: ActivWall; cabinets: Elmwood; sink: Kraus 32-inch workstation; faucet: Purist single-handle semiprofessional, Kohler
A major goal of the design was to make it easier for the family to entertain on the screened-in porch. This involved maximizing the functionality of the porch and creating a connection to it. The kitchen’s new location has direct access to the porch through the awning window above the sink. “The window allows them to engage with the porch from the kitchen,” Zabroske says.
AL62-GS gas strut window: ActivWall; cabinets: Elmwood; sink: Kraus 32-inch workstation; faucet: Purist single-handle semiprofessional, Kohler
Guests can belly up to the bar on the porch and be served through the awning window. Zabroske recommended Pure White quartz countertops from Caesarstone’s outdoor-rated Solaris line. This allowed her to match the porch bar to the kitchen countertops.
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One feature of the renovation that was important to the family was a large central island for gathering. “They can prep dinner here, the kids can do homework here and they wanted to make pizzas here,” Zabroske says. The island measures 8 by 4½ feet. Zabroske worked the kitchen layout around the island, with the sink just out of frame to the right, the range within easy reach and extensive pantry cabinets on the left. The cabinets are full of rollout shelves for easy access.
Also seen in this photo are new double pocket doors that lead to the living room.
Pantry cabinet paint: Knight’s Armor, PPG Paints
Also seen in this photo are new double pocket doors that lead to the living room.
Pantry cabinet paint: Knight’s Armor, PPG Paints
As for style, the homeowners were drawn to midcentury modern color palettes. They shared Houzz ideabooks full of kitchen photos they liked with the architect. “They loved the warm look of walnut in midcentury modern designs,” Zabroske says. The frameless cabinetry shows off the bookmatched wood. They were also set on Via Lactea granite. “I knew that if we used it on all the countertops it would make the room too dark, so using it on the island was a good solution,” Zabroske says. She also advised them to use a leathered finish, which is more forgiving than a polished finish. “The leathered finish also makes it look warm and inviting,” she says.
Light green pendant lights add a playful pop of color overhead. Other layers of light include recessed LED ceiling lights on dimmers, undercabinet lighting and sconces.
Not sure where to start on your home project? Learn the basics
Light green pendant lights add a playful pop of color overhead. Other layers of light include recessed LED ceiling lights on dimmers, undercabinet lighting and sconces.
Not sure where to start on your home project? Learn the basics
The range is a 48-inch model from Wolf. Zabroske went through many iterations of the range hood design before landing on this simple form. “They knew they wanted a minimalist look,” she says. The hood is plaster, and the walnut floating shelves meet it on either side. The homeowners have a large collection of colorful baskets from all over the world that they didn’t have a chance to fully display before the photo shoot, but the shelves will provide a good opportunity to do so.
The countertop cabinets on the right contain an appliance garage for items such as the coffeemaker and blender. There’s also a cabinet with slats for baking sheets and cutting boards.
Tile: Origin, 10½ by 2½ inches, in Ash, Akdo
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The countertop cabinets on the right contain an appliance garage for items such as the coffeemaker and blender. There’s also a cabinet with slats for baking sheets and cutting boards.
Tile: Origin, 10½ by 2½ inches, in Ash, Akdo
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While the dining room has a casual eat-in-kitchen feel, Zabroske wanted to delineate it a bit. She used two wing walls — the one on this side forms the edge of the bar. She repeated walnut on the bar to tie the two spaces together. The white cabinets on the left have sleek touch-latch hardware. The homeowners use the cabinets to store serving platters and other tabletop items for the dining room.
The original flooring was white oak. The team was able to save most of it, weaving in new boards where necessary. Then it sanded and stained all the floors to match.
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The original flooring was white oak. The team was able to save most of it, weaving in new boards where necessary. Then it sanded and stained all the floors to match.
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Before: The dining room can be seen on the left, and the closed-off kitchen is in the middle. There was only a small opening between the two. The screened-in porch is the box at the top left corner of the plan.
After: Now the kitchen occupies the space on the left and the dining room is open to it in the center.
“These clients were so kind and patient about supply chain delays. It was such a pleasure to work with them,” Zabroske says. The project included renovating most of the home, including a powder room with a vanity in one of the homeowners’ favorite colors, orange.
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“These clients were so kind and patient about supply chain delays. It was such a pleasure to work with them,” Zabroske says. The project included renovating most of the home, including a powder room with a vanity in one of the homeowners’ favorite colors, orange.
See more of this home
More on Houzz
Read more kitchen stories
Browse kitchen photos
Hire a kitchen remodeler
Shop for kitchen products
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Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: Two anthropology professors and their two children
Location: Rockville, Maryland
Size: 250 square feet (23 square meters)
Architect: Sondra Zabroske of Four Brothers Design + Build
Before: The existing kitchen was dark and everything seemed to be falling apart at once. “Their house was very traditional, and their style is much more funky and modern,” Zabroske says. “They are both anthropology professors and had amazing collections of objects from all over the world. They wanted to create a space that felt like who they are as a family and where they could safely entertain.”