Kitchen of the Week: Expansion Creates a Family Hub
A breakfast room addition, a large island and an enlarged mudroom transform a Virginia family’s living area
Terry and Christina Murphy had three kids under age 12, and their kitchen in McLean, Virginia, was bursting at the seams. “The kitchen was not open and it had a hallway right through it. It felt congested,” Terry says. “We wanted to open it up and have more space.” They looked to Houzz for inspiration, saving photos of kitchens that had the look and functional features they wanted. They hired Evolution Design + Build to help them put together their ideas and complete the renovations.
After: This is the view of the new kitchen from the family room. The opening on the right leads to the expanded mudroom space and pantry. The new breakfast room addition starts on the left past the peninsula.
A large island was the biggest item on Terry and Christina’s wish lists. The countertop is walnut. “I loved an island I saw on Houzz with a dark wood top,” Terry says.
Christina knew she wanted a white kitchen but thought that some contrast would be nice. “I love the wood. It keeps the family room and the kitchen from blending together. And it gives the island more of a furniture look,” she says.
The island measures 4 feet by 8 feet, and the Murphys are thrilled with how it functions for their family. “It’s exactly the right size and it’s where we do our food prep,” Terry says. “Our three kids sit here for breakfast. And we’re always on the go with sports, so sometimes they’ll sit here for dinner. It’s easy to heat things up in the microwave and serve it at the island.”
Browse counter stools in the Houzz Shop
A large island was the biggest item on Terry and Christina’s wish lists. The countertop is walnut. “I loved an island I saw on Houzz with a dark wood top,” Terry says.
Christina knew she wanted a white kitchen but thought that some contrast would be nice. “I love the wood. It keeps the family room and the kitchen from blending together. And it gives the island more of a furniture look,” she says.
The island measures 4 feet by 8 feet, and the Murphys are thrilled with how it functions for their family. “It’s exactly the right size and it’s where we do our food prep,” Terry says. “Our three kids sit here for breakfast. And we’re always on the go with sports, so sometimes they’ll sit here for dinner. It’s easy to heat things up in the microwave and serve it at the island.”
Browse counter stools in the Houzz Shop
“I always knew I had to get some marble in here somewhere,” Christina says. The backsplash tile is Calacatta Gold marble. The gold veining adds elegant warmth to the room. The range backsplash tile is also Calacatta Gold marble in a mini brick size. The perimeter countertops are white quartz.
Turner installed lighting and plugmold outlets underneath the upper cabinets. “This kept the backsplash from being interrupted by outlets,” he says.
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Turner installed lighting and plugmold outlets underneath the upper cabinets. “This kept the backsplash from being interrupted by outlets,” he says.
Hire a local kitchen designer
A custom vent hood with corbels finishes off the range wall in a beautiful way. Large drawers provide space for pots and pans.
The kitchen sink looks out to the new breakfast room, which measures 264 square feet. The farmhouse sink, Shaker-style cabinetry and details like the feet under some of the cabinets lend a traditional feel to the room. Inset cabinetry and a modern faucet and hardware update the look.
“Having so much cabinet space has made such a big difference,” Terry says. “The other side of the perimeter has cabinets so the kids can keep their arts and crafts supplies there and bring them over to the table.”
Browse white farmhouse sinks in the Houzz Shop
“Having so much cabinet space has made such a big difference,” Terry says. “The other side of the perimeter has cabinets so the kids can keep their arts and crafts supplies there and bring them over to the table.”
Browse white farmhouse sinks in the Houzz Shop
The addition has a vaulted ceiling that lends an airy feel. Tan walls, a candle chandelier and red oak ceiling beams give the room a cozy feel. “We played around with mockups to get the proportions of the box beams just right,” Turner says. He finished them with Rubio Monocoat Fumed, a product that brings out the gray tones in wood.
The expansive casement windows on three sides of the addition fill the room with light and also help the couple keep an eye on the kids when they’re playing in the backyard. To get windows with proportions that fit the space just right, they had them custom made by Windsor Windows & Doors.
The flooring is red oak that matches the existing hardwoods in the rest of the home. Turner had all of the hardwoods on the first floor sanded and refinished.
The expansive casement windows on three sides of the addition fill the room with light and also help the couple keep an eye on the kids when they’re playing in the backyard. To get windows with proportions that fit the space just right, they had them custom made by Windsor Windows & Doors.
The flooring is red oak that matches the existing hardwoods in the rest of the home. Turner had all of the hardwoods on the first floor sanded and refinished.
A coffee bar between the wall ovens and the panel-front refrigerator lightens up the appliance wall. “We got the idea to do a coffee bar from Houzz,” Terry says. “The glass doors offset the solid wood doors nicely.”
This is where the Murphys open wine bottles to serve their guests, and it’s also where Christina keeps her Nespresso machine (which was moved around during the photo shoot). “Now that we have a pantry, it’s the only appliance we keep out on the counters,” she says.
This is where the Murphys open wine bottles to serve their guests, and it’s also where Christina keeps her Nespresso machine (which was moved around during the photo shoot). “Now that we have a pantry, it’s the only appliance we keep out on the counters,” she says.
Speaking of the pantry, it’s one of Christina’s favorite things about the new kitchen. “At first I wasn’t sure about putting in a pantry off the mudroom, but I absolutely love it now,” she says. “We can store all our small appliances in here and keep them off the counters.”
The renovations included making over and expanding the existing mudroom-laundry room. The Murphys wanted it to serve as an organized landing zone where they could store their outerwear and their kids’ sports equipment. They also wanted it to serve as a home office space.
The new mudroom has custom built-ins, including a bench, coat hooks and cubbies. A sink and surrounding cabinets offer a good spot to work on stains, hand-wash delicate items and arrange flowers. Cabinets provide space for detergents and other cleaning supplies. The flooring is durable large-format porcelain tiles. The door on the left leads to the pantry.
The new mudroom has custom built-ins, including a bench, coat hooks and cubbies. A sink and surrounding cabinets offer a good spot to work on stains, hand-wash delicate items and arrange flowers. Cabinets provide space for detergents and other cleaning supplies. The flooring is durable large-format porcelain tiles. The door on the left leads to the pantry.
Before: The mudroom-laundry room also was bursting at the seams. The couple needed more space to accommodate everything they wanted to keep in here.
After: Stackable appliances at the end of the room are a space saver that allowed for a built-in office area. A handy wall-mounted drying rack also save space.
Before: The home had a gazebo off the kitchen. The patio was no longer in good shape, and the family had to use an awkward step off the family room doors (to the right to the planters) to get to the patio.
After: The breakfast nook addition replaced the gazebo. The existing patio was replaced with an elevated deck and a new patio. The higher deck makes it easy to step out from the family room. The door that leads to the patio was at a lower grade than the door that leads to the deck — the change in grade from the deck to the patio accommodates this. The renovations also included digging a basement beneath the breakfast nook addition and connecting it to the rest of the basement. That space serves as a storage room.
The Murphys lived in their house during construction, which took five months. Turner set up a temporary kitchen before demolition began by moving their appliances and some counter space into a corner of the family room, which already had a sink. “We also set up dust walls and a negative air machine to keep it dust-free,” he says. “The only time they had to leave the house was when we refinished the floors — they took a five-day vacation.”
How to Survive a Kitchen Remodel
The Murphys lived in their house during construction, which took five months. Turner set up a temporary kitchen before demolition began by moving their appliances and some counter space into a corner of the family room, which already had a sink. “We also set up dust walls and a negative air machine to keep it dust-free,” he says. “The only time they had to leave the house was when we refinished the floors — they took a five-day vacation.”
How to Survive a Kitchen Remodel
After: The breakfast room addition is where the gazebo used to be. Turner pushed the kitchen forward into the former eat-in area. This lined it up nicely with the new breakfast room and made room for the pantry and built-ins in the mudroom.
“We are so happy with it. Everyone who comes in loves it too,” Terry says. They look forward to hosting many big family gatherings when it’s safe to do so.
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“We are so happy with it. Everyone who comes in loves it too,” Terry says. They look forward to hosting many big family gatherings when it’s safe to do so.
More on Houzz
Read more kitchen stories
Browse kitchen photos
Hire a kitchen remodeler
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Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: Terry and Christina Murphy and their three children
Location: McLean, Virginia
Size: 466 square feet (43 square meters) plus a pantry
Designer-builder: Dean Turner of Evolution Design + Build
Architect: James Finn
Before: The 1980s center-hall Colonial had closed-off rooms with a boxy feel. The right side of the kitchen, above, served as a hallway leading to the mudroom and garage.
The Murphys wanted to open things up and have a kitchen that could serve as the hub of their busy home. “I’m from a big family and we have a lot of big family gatherings,” Terry says. “No matter the layout of the house we’re in, we all wind up gathering in the kitchen. We wanted an extra large island to put out large spreads of food and to gather around.”
Evolution Design + Build owner Dean Turner listened carefully to what the family wanted from its new kitchen. Then he brought in architect James Finn to collaborate on the redesign and a breakfast room addition. The renovations also included remodeling the mudroom-laundry room to incorporate a high-functioning landing zone, a new pantry and a workstation.
Expanding the mudroom took over the area of the kitchen from the window to the range, pushing the new kitchen into the eat-in area.
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