Kitchen remodel in Fairfax, VA: opened to the dining room, the powder room folded in, walnut cabinets to the ceiling and a green 48-inch range

They came back for the kitchen

When we finished their bathrooms, the homeowners were ready for the room they had planned all along. The kitchen had barely changed since the house was built: a closed galley, a walled-in half bath, a door to the garage on the wall where a range should go, and a dining area behind a wall, with wood paneling.

How we designed it: mid-century lines, warm walnut, one green star

Sena, our designer, measured the house, met with the homeowners, studied their ideas board and drew the kitchen in 3D, then refined it with them: the cabinet line, the island and the walls that would open. The design takes its cues from the 1950s and '60s: simple shapes, warm wood and a few strong colors.

3D design

Finished

The 3D design set the plan: walnut cabinets to the ceiling, a range centered under a wood hood, floating shelves on each side of a long window over the sink, and handmade tile on both walls. During the design, the homeowners found their range: a 48-inch AGA induction range in a custom green, which became the star of the room.

3D design

Finished

The island is walnut too, with a white quartz top, seats along one side, a microwave drawer and deep drawers. Two walnut pendants hang over it.

Opening the kitchen: the dining wall, the half bath and the soffits

We took down the walls between the kitchen and the dining room, took out the walls of the half bath and capped its plumbing, and removed the soffits and the old wall paneling. The structural design for the new opening came from our fabrication partners, under our supervision, and our crew built it. The sink, the dishwasher, the refrigerator and the hood duct all moved to the new plan.

Before

After

Where the half bath stood, the room now opens up around the range. The homeowners say they could not picture it at first; once the walls came down, the 48-inch range made sense.

A new door to the garage

We framed a new 36-inch opening for the door to the garage and rebuilt the step on the garage side, finished in patterned encaustic cement tile. Moving the door freed the whole wall for the range and balanced the room.

The dining nook

Before

After

The paneling came down, and the dining nook now shares the kitchen's white walls, green beams and white oak floor, with a mid-century pendant over the table.

The range wall: a green AGA under a walnut hood

The homeowners' AGA Elise is a 48-inch induction range in a custom green, and we ran a new dedicated line for it. They found the color just in time.

Above it, we built a walnut hood around a Zephyr insert and vented it outside. It looks simple, and it took real craftsmanship to make it that clean. Behind the range, Clé zellige tile runs up to the hood: handmade white octagons with small terracotta-colored squares between them, each tile a little different.

Walnut slab cabinets to the ceiling, with storage everywhere

The cabinets are Decora custom walnut with slab doors and drawers in a Wheatfield stain, running to the ceiling now that the soffits are gone. Inside: two appliance garages, a corner drawer, pull-outs for utensils, trays and cans, a spice pull-out beside the range, a microwave drawer base in the island and a tall utility cabinet.

Manzoni wood knobs and pulls, and carved wood wave pulls on the drawers, keep the hardware in the same warm wood as the doors. The dishwasher hides behind a walnut panel.

Two quartz tops, handmade tile and walnut shelves

The perimeter countertops are Silestone Charcoal Soapstone in a matte suede finish, a dark stone look against the walnut. The island is Silestone Eternal Desert Silver, a white marble look, to brighten the middle of the room.

The same Clé zellige tile wraps the sink wall, with walnut floating shelves on each side of the window and brass sconces the homeowners chose. Under the window, a 36-inch black undermount sink sits in the dark quartz.

Green beams, and a few pieces of 1959 kept

Faux wood beams now cross the ceiling. They were planned in wood; once they were up, Sena suggested green, and the window trim at the sink went green to match. The new white oak floor was woven into the existing hardwood, then sanded and stained in Jacobean so the old and new floors read as one.

Some of the old house stayed on purpose. The old radio and the control panel of the old wall oven are still on the kitchen wall, and before demolition the vintage oven doors were taken out whole, saved and framed as art.

Video: the Fairfax kitchen, with our designer, a chef and the homeowners (12 min)

Our designer walks through the finished kitchen: the walnut slab cabinets, the two quartz countertops, the handmade octagon tile, the lighting, the radio and wall-oven control panel kept from the old kitchen, the green 48-inch range, the walnut hood, the green beams and the storage. Then a chef cooks in the new kitchen, and the homeowners talk about the project.

Press the photo to play.

▶ 11:54

What happened in what order: the Fairfax kitchen, step by step

Every job sets its own schedule, and your contract gives you a written estimate for yours. How our process works →

1. Design: Sena measured the house and met with the homeowners; their ideas board; the first 3D design, then the walnut cabinet redesign and the island options; the contract, with the basement bath; the cabinets, tile, sink and hardware ordered; the homeowners chose and bought their appliances.
2. Demolition: the kitchen and dining walls, the half bath, the soffits and the paneling taken out; the old oven doors saved whole; the radio and the oven control panel kept.
3. Structure and framing: the new opening built to the engineered design; the new door opening to the garage framed.
4. Rough-in: plumbing for the moved sink and dishwasher; new wiring, recessed lights and dedicated lines for the appliances, including the induction range; the hood duct vented outside.
5. Walls closed: drywall, primer and paint.
6. Cabinets: the walnut cabinets installed; the countertops measured.
7. Floors and counters: the white oak woven into the existing floor, sanded and stained; the quartz countertops installed.
8. Finish: the zellige backsplash and the garage step tile, the walnut hood, the hardware and pendants, the dishwasher panel and the homeowners' appliances.

Who built it: designer Sena planned the kitchen with the homeowners, and our crew built it. Only the countertops and the structural engineering came from our fabrication partners, under our supervision.

Budget: about $180K–$190K for the kitchen; the appliances were bought separately by the homeowners.

What came up during the design and build, and how we solved it

• A range that needed a wall. The door to the garage stood where the range belonged, so we moved it to a new opening, and the range got the whole wall.
• A range sized to the new room. With the half bath and the dining wall gone, the space called for a 48-inch range, and the cabinets were planned around it.
• A hood worth the range. We built a custom walnut hood around the homeowners' insert, so the green range has a warm frame instead of steel.
• Beams that changed color. The faux beams were planned in wood; once they were up, they went green, and the sink window trim followed.
• Old and new floors as one. The new white oak was woven into the existing hardwood and stained to match.
• Keeping 1959. The radio and the oven control panel stayed on the wall, and the old oven doors were saved and framed as art.

Fairfax kitchen materials: walnut, Silestone and handmade zellige

The exact products in this kitchen, from our order records. "Homeowner's choice" marks what the homeowners chose and bought themselves.

More photos: the Fairfax kitchen

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