A Silver Spring family recreates the home’s hub.
The design team revamped the kitchen’s layout and added a row of windows
THE PROJECT
A young suburban Maryland family of four needed to add style and functionality to their kitchen. The homeowners also wanted to enlarge this critical space for food prep, entertaining and homework. Another challenge: adding a mudroom and a powder room.
THE TEAM
The couple selected Laura Hur, founder of Lorla Studio (lorlastudio.com), for the project. Hur, whose style is organic, eclectic and fresh, says she spends a lot of time with clients in the discovery phase as she learns about their likes and dislikes and how they live. “During the discovery phase, we establish a visual language that guides the design throughout the project,” she says. “We hone in on colors, textures, materials and a concept that ties the design into the existing architecture.”
The kitchen boasts quartz countertops and Rejuvenation sconces.
THE STRATEGY
Hur says the couple didn’t want to increase the home’s footprint, so her team revamped the kitchen’s layout to carve out a small mudroom from the existing long and narrow living room. “Adding the mudroom makes a difference in how the family lives daily, giving them storage space for coats and backpacks while the living room is still a nice size,” she says. The new powder room was originally located in the kitchen’s current space. “We relocated it to the mudroom, allowing us to gain some square footage in the kitchen that we put to good use as a pantry,” she says.
As part of the reconfigured kitchen, Hur’s team moved an exterior door into the adjacent dining room, installed an island that houses storage and appliances and introduced a row of windows to add brilliant light. “These changes are small but impactful, resulting in a kitchen that now feels double the size of the original,” says Hur.
Designer Laura Hur ensured the family would have a new powder room adjacent to the kitchen
THE MATERIALS
“For the kitchen, we used a neutral palette of warm tans, creams and gold, contrasted with dark woods and black pendant lights,” says Hur, who selected Taj Mahal quartz countertops, Palefire (palefirestudio.com) pendants, Pella (pella.com) windows, RH (rh.com) bar stools, Rejuvenation (rejuvenation.com) wall sconces and National Lumber (nationallumber.biz) cabinets.
The family makes great use of the new mudroom, which offers plenty of storage
The powder room features a mirror from Elsie Green (elsiegreen.com), sconces and a pendant from Visual Comfort (visualcomfort.com), wallpaper from Rebecca Atwood (rebeccaatwood.com) and beadboard paint in Newburg Green from Benjamin Moore (benjaminmoore.com). Selections for the mudroom include a Passerine Vintage (passerinehome.com) rug, Visual Comfort lighting and National Lumber millwork.
The changes to the kitchen make it now feel like it’s twice the size of the original.
HOW THE NEW SPACES SHINE
“The couple couldn’t be happier with their new kitchen and first floor,” says Hur. “They love cooking and entertaining and have hosted several large gatherings since the project wrapped. They’re fully living in and loving their ‘new’ home.”
Photography by: KEYANNA BOWEN, EAST & LANE PHOTOGRAPHY
