Family-Friendly Addition Opens a House to the Backyard
A design-build firm expands a kitchen and adds a family room, screened-in porch and master suite
After this couple bought their Colonial-style home in Chevy Chase, Maryland, their family grew. And they quickly found that their house was less than ideal for raising two children. “The flow wasn’t good, they didn’t have a family room and they wanted to be able to keep an eye on their kids while working in the kitchen,” architect Kate Donahue says. The solution was an addition that includes a new family room, screened-in porch and bedroom suite for the couple. They also added on to the kitchen and reconfigured it to open up to the family room and accommodate a new butler’s pantry and powder room.
After: Everything across the back is new — the portion under the gabled roof on the left is the extended kitchen with the homeowners’ new bedroom suite stacked on top of it. The center is the new family room, and the new screened-in porch is on the right.
The new roof over the family room and porch is standing-seam metal. The siding is painted stucco, chosen to complement the existing brick exterior on the first floor.
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The new roof over the family room and porch is standing-seam metal. The siding is painted stucco, chosen to complement the existing brick exterior on the first floor.
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“Our clients wanted to do some landscaping work and were having some drainage issues. But the large grassy area was working well for their boys and they wanted to keep it intact,” Donahue says.
The way the backyard sloped required the builders to dig out around the back of the house and hold back the earth with a retaining wall. This created room for a path and a patio.
The way the backyard sloped required the builders to dig out around the back of the house and hold back the earth with a retaining wall. This created room for a path and a patio.
The new family room space receives a lot of light thanks to large windows, glass doors and skylights. Shiplap and false beams add architectural interest on the ceiling.
On the left, Donahue preserved what used to be the exterior wall’s brick. “It was really important to our clients to keep the brick,” she says. This posed a design challenge because the second story of the house had siding on the exterior, and a few feet of that was exposed between the top of the brick wall and the ceiling. “We had to get creative with that,” Donahue says. “We extended the shiplap from the ceiling down the wall to meet the brick.”
The new screened-in porch is behind the fireplace wall. Transoms over the door and window maximize the natural light.
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On the left, Donahue preserved what used to be the exterior wall’s brick. “It was really important to our clients to keep the brick,” she says. This posed a design challenge because the second story of the house had siding on the exterior, and a few feet of that was exposed between the top of the brick wall and the ceiling. “We had to get creative with that,” Donahue says. “We extended the shiplap from the ceiling down the wall to meet the brick.”
The new screened-in porch is behind the fireplace wall. Transoms over the door and window maximize the natural light.
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Before starting the project, the couple had removed a diseased ash tree from the backyard. “The husband had the foresight to save a healthy slab. He wanted to use it but wasn’t sure how,” Donahue says. She helped the couple find a great use for it: The wood serves as mantels over the addition’s two new fireplaces.
She also designed the interesting millwork over the fireplace. “They knew they wanted to place a Samsung Frame TV over the fireplace and wanted a statement piece around it,” she says. “They showed us some photos on Houzz with details like this.” She used it to inspire the millwork. Lines in the millwork line up with the trim around the door and window. This design element and the shiplap ceiling added hints of midcentury modern style.
She also designed the interesting millwork over the fireplace. “They knew they wanted to place a Samsung Frame TV over the fireplace and wanted a statement piece around it,” she says. “They showed us some photos on Houzz with details like this.” She used it to inspire the millwork. Lines in the millwork line up with the trim around the door and window. This design element and the shiplap ceiling added hints of midcentury modern style.
The new fireplace is two-sided. Out on the porch, the team kept the live edge on the slab from the ash tree. It adds a more rustic, outdoorsy look. The surround is gray stucco, which plays off the stucco on the exterior of the home.
The fireplace helps the family stretch porch season into late fall and early winter. In addition to the fireplace materials, the ceramic tile floor and a beadboard ceiling add texture to the space. Square details on the screen’s frames are another nod to midcentury modern style and play off the transom windows on the interior.
“These clients were very involved in the interior design — they have great taste and knew what they liked. And they loved going out and looking for it,” Donahue says.
“These clients were very involved in the interior design — they have great taste and knew what they liked. And they loved going out and looking for it,” Donahue says.
The couple wanted to preserve their existing deck, so the new porch design accommodates it. A door on the right leads out to the deck. On the left, the new grading left room for a small patio.
Opening up the kitchen to the family room was a key part of the plan. This makes it easy for the couple to keep an eye on the kids while working in the kitchen.
The new floors are white oak. The team was able to preserve the existing flooring in the house and match up old and new floorboards with stain.
The new floors are white oak. The team was able to preserve the existing flooring in the house and match up old and new floorboards with stain.
Before: “This kitchen was on its last legs,” Donahue says. The addition pushed out beyond the bay seen here, doubling the size of the room. The door on the left led to an uncomfortably small powder room. Donahue relocated it in order to open up the kitchen and give them a beautiful, more spacious powder room in a better location.
After: A pretty blue island with a trio of pendant lights creates a nice view from the family room. A herringbone backsplash behind the range also enhances the view. Using glass on the top cabinets lightens up the room and gives the couple space to display favorite items.
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The island countertop is quartz and the perimeter countertops are Virginia Mist granite in a leathered finish.
“They had an eat-in nook in their existing kitchen and wanted to keep that,” Donahue says. A cozy corner of the kitchen provided just the right space. A recess under the nook’s built-in bench provides a spot for dog bowls.
After: The team built new shelving with closed storage along the bottom. Donahue left a larger space in the center for a painting the homeowners wanted to display.
On the left, a countertop cabinet has a china-cabinet-inspired look. Glass doors provide more display space, while an appliance garage with a pullout tray keeps the coffeemaker hidden. Behind it is a new pass-through space that contains the new butler’s pantry and powder room.
On the left, a countertop cabinet has a china-cabinet-inspired look. Glass doors provide more display space, while an appliance garage with a pullout tray keeps the coffeemaker hidden. Behind it is a new pass-through space that contains the new butler’s pantry and powder room.
This floor plan shows the screened-in porch on the left, the family room in the center and the kitchen on the right. Donahue used some of the existing kitchen space to create the butler’s pantry pass-through between the new kitchen and the existing dining room. She also carved out space for the powder room off the butler’s pantry.
The cabinetry and countertops in the butler’s pantry match the kitchen, creating a cohesive look.
The original powder room opened directly into the kitchen. The new location off the butler’s pantry provides some distance. “Their existing powder room was very small with a low ceiling. One of the homeowners is tall and it really didn’t work for him,” Donahue says.
Colorful wallpaper chosen by the homeowners makes a splash in the space. The dragons in the print remind them of time they spent living in Hong Kong. Tile wainscoting extends from the floor to backsplash height. The flooring is a Grecian white marble mosaic.
Colorful wallpaper chosen by the homeowners makes a splash in the space. The dragons in the print remind them of time they spent living in Hong Kong. Tile wainscoting extends from the floor to backsplash height. The flooring is a Grecian white marble mosaic.
Upstairs, the gabled roof of the addition provides an airy vaulted ceiling in the homeowners’ new bedroom. “The homeowners didn’t care about having a huge bedroom. But the ceiling makes it feel much bigger than it is,” Donahue says. “They loved the height that we were able to give them in here.” The height of the bed works well with the scale of the soaring ceiling.
In their new en suite bathroom, the homeowners knew they wanted blue floor tiles, a walnut vanity and brass accents. Other must-haves included a soaking tub, a separate shower stall and a double vanity. “After living in Asia, they also knew they wanted a very specific Toto toilet,” Donahue says.
The couple wanted a high pony wall to provide some privacy around said toilet. “This worked out well because at this height we were able to add a towel ring on that wall,” the architect says. She capped the wall with the same quartz they chose for the vanity’s countertop.
The couple wanted a high pony wall to provide some privacy around said toilet. “This worked out well because at this height we were able to add a towel ring on that wall,” the architect says. She capped the wall with the same quartz they chose for the vanity’s countertop.
The clients wanted deck-mounted faucets for the tub, so the team built a deck to accommodate that. This bump-out doubles as a handy ledge for bath items.
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The first blue floor tile the couple chose was quite expensive. “When we all saw the estimate for that tile we had sticker shock,” Donahue says. “We were very pleased to help them find something very similar at a much more reasonable price.”
The shower is curbless, allowing the floor tile to continue seamlessly into the stall. The water runs down to a linear drain under the shower heads. The shower walls are large-format marble tile, and the bench and shower niche lining are the same quartz as the vanity countertop.
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The shower is curbless, allowing the floor tile to continue seamlessly into the stall. The water runs down to a linear drain under the shower heads. The shower walls are large-format marble tile, and the bench and shower niche lining are the same quartz as the vanity countertop.
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Addition at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple, their two young sons and a dog
Location: Chevy Chase, Maryland
Size: The addition is 890 square feet (83 square meters)
Designer and builder: Kate Donahue of Four Brothers Design + Build
Before: The homeowners wanted the addition to respect the original 1923 architecture of the home. Inside they also wanted to mix in some midcentury modern style. But the most important thing was making sure it was comfortable for the whole family. They shared Houzz ideabooks to give Donahue a sense of their personal style. She came up with a design for an addition off the back. “Their backyard gets amazing natural light and we all wanted to take advantage of that,” she says.