View from breakfast zone
RELOCATE THE LAUNDRY, ELIMINATE THE PANTRY, LET IN THE SUN
Michael Nash kitchen Is COTY winner
By John Byrd special thanks to Fairfax County Times
A kitchen enlargement and reconfiguration in a 4,000 square foot home in McLean has won a “Contractor of the Year” (COTY) award for Michael Nash Design Build and Homes.
The makeover to the residence of Hashim and Neda Hamandi was named metro Washington’s best kitchen within a prescribed budget range by the National Association of Remodeling Contractors (NARI) Metro DC Chapter.
Among key space enhancements, the remodeler expanded the kitchen’s footprint over 500 square feet by relocating a laundry room, removing interior walls to enlarge the formal breakfast zone, introducing a 10’ x 4’ food prep island and dining counter which seats four, installing an 8’ x 4’ triple casement style window on the south-facing rear elevation and generating the wall surface needed for floor-to-ceiling glass-facing cabinetry.
The 1,300 square foot kitchen now accommodates a 48” professional caliber cooktop range, a 4’ x 8’ refrigerator freezer, a butler’s pantry complete with wine refrigerator, a stainless steel farm sink and many other amenities. The interior design is articulated in a brightly warm “transitional-style” that balances traditional detailing with far-ranging views and a bold indoor-outdoor visual continuum.
Taken as a whole, the makeover transforms a dated 20-year old builder-grade kitchen into a generous suite of kitchen-centric rooms that segues directly to a spacious backyard deck ideal for family gatherings.
In accepting the “Best Kitchen” honors, Michael Nash founder and president Sonny Nazemian praised his company’s design team and their cost-sensitive approach to helping homeowners make effective home improvement decisions.
PHOTOS BY JUNE STANICH
BEFORE The space-restricted breakfast zone abutted a knee wall-- now deleted-- which had delineated an unnecessary sitting room.
“Since most of our projects are executed by Michael Nash employees, we’re able to offer fixed-price contracts,” Nazemian discloses. “Customers can select finishwork materials from our show room at cost. These are among those components of our business model that allows us to consistently outperform our client’s budget.”
In the case of the recent “Best Kitchen” winner, grappling with a space-restricted floorplan ill-suited to the homeowner’s emerging needs was the principal challenge.
“The owners were looking for functional and aesthetic improvements,” recalls Michael Nash president and CEO Sonny Nazemian. “They had decided that the pantry and laundry room adjacent to the kitchen consumed too much useful floor space. By relocating the laundry room, the kitchen gained 300 square feet.”
Other problems: a dated interior clad in cherry wood cabinetfacings; dark ceramic tile flooring; pink countertops; a cook top island that didn’t provide an adequate meal preparation surface.
But executing the envisioned space-expansion was the real challenge from the outset.
“Sonny proposed a working solution on his first visit,” Hashim Hamandi recalls. “He pointed to an upstairs guest room closet adjacent to a hall linen closet and calculated that this would meet the laundry room square footage requirements. He then explained that he could re-route plumbing to the new location.”
Along these lines, a pantry wall encased with air return vents was equally vexing.
What to do? In short order, Michael Nash engineers re-routed the HVAC, plumbing and electrical conduits to critical second floor junctures. The plumbing to the new laundry room was completed in about a week. An 800 square foot kitchen was now reconfigured into 1,300 square feet brimming with possibilities.
With the infrastructure and square footage issues resolved, attention now turned to improving available light.
A small kitchen window over the sink was replaced with an eight foot by four foot casement window that includes two divided light components.
The cooktop was moved to an eastside interior wall positioned under a decorative arched hood, which is the kitchen’s new focal point. This revision, in turn, allowed designers to delete the existing island, replacing it with a forty square foot dining counter that features four leather backed stools.
The island component is perfectly integrated into a series of cleverly conceived work triangles that simplify kitchen circulation and work flow.
The island is also the essential pivot between the new farm sink, the ProRange cooktop and double door refrigerator/freezer.
The butler’s pantry and wine refrigerator is within an easy reach.
The reconfiguration, in fact, facilitates every aspect of family entertainment. Even the breakfast table functions as serving station to the backyard grilling deck as needed.
A 48’ Pro-Range cooktop situated on an interior wall under a decorative arched hood is a primary focal point
“Ironically, we had first spoken with other contractors…who gave us advice that turned out to be wrong,” Hashim reflects. “We had even considered moving. Fortunately, Sonny had both the vision, and the capacity to execute efficiently.”
On the design front, Hashim notes that he and his wife, Neda, spent many hours in the Michael Nash showroom on Lee Highway exploring finishwork options with designer Oliver Nazemian.
“The art direction and guidance provided were superb throughout,” Hashim says.
Among the stand-out interior design features: decorative crystal chandeliers; a forty square foot ebony dining island surfaced in Everest white quartzite; an arch mantel cooktop hood with shelf & corbels; stacked and back-lighted glass-facing cabinets; a running Travertine backsplash.
In short: a crisp and clean look in all directions.
What results is an “open” plan with clearly defined activity zones within a visual continuum. The spacious new interior allows all to enjoy private pursuits while maintaining eye-contact with other parts of the suite.
“A family kitchen is always a fulfilling assignment,” Nazemian says. “It really keeps us in touch with how families interact– it’s an arena where our skills are especially well-applied.”
For more information, call: 703-641-9800 or visit www. michaelnashkitchens.com.
