Open Concept Main Floor Kitchen Remodel in Arlington, VA

Remodeling Need

This home built in 1958 felt cramped with its compartmentalized rooms on the first floor creating small, tight, dark spaces. Walls surrounding the staircase to the lower-level impeded views of the outdoors and the kitchen felt boxed in. The flooring varied from room to room and the kitchen felt dated. The homeowners wanted a fresh, new look and came to Schroeder Design Build for help.

Design Solution

Our architectural team redesigned the first floor to give the clients the open concept they desired. When designing with space and function in mind, we rearranged the floor plan to relocate the kitchen to the front of the home. This gave the homeowners a dining room and a living area with a large bay window overlooking their green backyard.

In the kitchen, Cambria countertops, tiled walls, pendant lamps, plenty of electrical outlets and a stunning glass backsplash create a kitchen worthy of a magazine spread. An enormous island offers plenty of seating, storage and a built-in wine cooler. And the kitchen window opens outwards to serve as an awning when opened. Several of the upper cabinets feature glass fronts, a feature which also adds to the open, airy feel of the new design.

Design features:

A number of additional design elements enhance this home and the homeowners’ enjoyment.

• Beautiful tray ceilings were added in the living and kitchen areas adding a unique three-dimensional effect to the room.
• A new stone fireplace, surrounded by open shelving, replaces the old, dated one and creates a showcase wall in the living room. The outside wall features a huge, 3-paneled bay window to bring outside views inside.
• Walls surrounding the staircase that lies between the entrance and the living area were opened up, and half walls were added to surround its entrance. This enables open views completely through the home, from the front door to the backyard.
• Hardwood floors flow throughout the first floor, creating beauty while unifying the spaces.

Challenges

Since the home is of brick construction, we had the challenge of closing off a second entrance to the house. In order to maintain the aesthetics of the home’s exterior, we had to match the brick and seamlessly fill in the space, artfully blending it into the existing structure.

We discovered that the kitchen wall was load-bearing, so to remove it we had to install a steel beam in the attic space to support the existing ceiling joist. That beam needed to sit on the carport door opening—another challenge.

Without the interior walls, the clients’ furnace exhaust Type B vent, located in the basement, had to be relocated. It was hidden in a cabinet near the front door.

Normally clients work with our own in-house designers. These clients had their own trusted interior designer. We needed to incorporate that designer’s vision, as well as our own, into the planning for the remodel.

Result

As a result of the remodel, the Arlington homeowners are excited about their new open concept design and are enjoying the lifestyle they dreamed about.

Project Location