www.pollytootal.com - Polly Tootal

Sean Costello

Red birch cabinets in classic Shaker wide style; glass upper cabinets and custom built-in cherry breakfast nook; white granite counters, marble and glass backsplash; Thermador appliances

Gordon Gregory

We stole 2' of space from the adjacent living room to give enough room for a generously sized island. Raising the center of the ceiling with a coffered detail adds to the expanded volume of the room.

Complete interior renovation of a 1980s split level house in the Virginia suburbs. Main level includes reading room, dining, kitchen, living and master bedroom suite. New front elevation at entry, new rear deck and complete re-cladding of the house. Interior: The prototypical layout of the split level home tends to separate the entrance, and any other associated space, from the rest of the living spaces one half level up. In this home the lower level "living" room off the entry was physically isolated from the dining, kitchen and family rooms above, and was only connected visually by a railing at dining room level. The owner desired a stronger integration of the lower and upper levels, in addition to an open flow between the major spaces on the upper level where they spend most of their time. ExteriorThe exterior entry of the house was a fragmented composition of disparate elements. The rear of the home was blocked off from views due to small windows, and had a difficult to use multi leveled deck. The owners requested an updated treatment of the entry, a more uniform exterior cladding, and an integration between the interior and exterior spaces. SOLUTIONS The overriding strategy was to create a spatial sequence allowing a seamless flow from the front of the house through the living spaces and to the exterior, in addition to unifying the upper and lower spaces. This was accomplished by creating a "reading room" at the entry level that responds to the front garden with a series of interior contours that are both steps as well as seating zones, while the orthogonal layout of the main level and deck reflects the pragmatic daily activities of cooking, eating and relaxing. The stairs between levels were moved so that the visitor could enter the new reading room, experiencing it as a place, before moving up to the main level. The upper level dining room floor was "pushed" out into the reading room space, thus creating a balcony over and into the space below. At the entry, the second floor landing was opened up to create a double height space, with enlarged windows. The rear wall of the house was opened up with continuous glass windows and doors to maximize the views and light. A new simplified single level deck replaced the old one.

© Irvin Serrano photography, Bowley Builders, JDPhotostyling

Cuisine par Laurent Passe Crédit photo Virginie Ovessian

Newport 653

Faith Allen

•Designed by Liz Schupanitz while at Casa Verde Design. •2011 NKBA Awards: 1st Place Medium Kitchens •2011 NKBA Awards: MSP magazine Editor's Choice Award for Best Kitchen •2011 NKBA Awards: NKBA Student's Choice Award for Best Kitchen Photography by Andrea Rugg

Rachel Kate Design

A clean contemporary kitchen by PoggenPohl US, Inc. with custom taupe glass backsplash by Nar Fine Carpentry, Inc. of Sacramento. Perimeter cabinets are in Teak Quartz Textured Melamine, and island is pebble grey finish. White quartz counter tops complete the contemporary look. Photo Credit: PhotographerLink

Photo: Louise de Miranda © 2014 Houzz Design: Bricks Amsterdam