As with many of our clients, our main objective was to create a comfortable and highly efficient retreat. However, designing for two sisters, each with young families of their own, presented unique opportunities and challenges that reflected the changing paradigm of how we were all rethinking our spaces during the pandemic. Many of us narrowed our social circles, moved in with family (or had family move in with us), and had to adapt our spaces to serve multiple purposes—living, working, learning, and more. This situation compelled us to rethink how we organize our spaces and share them effectively.

The home's kitchen, which had a large but inefficient layout, was completely reworked. We knew the space needed to be opened up to accommodate two families cooking, serving, and eating together. We removed the large, separated butler’s pantry, downsized an adjacent bath to regain square footage, and redesigned the space into distinct zones. The range was placed in its own area and equipped with a prep sink in the expansive work table island, while a large custom stone sink was scaled to allow multiple users at once. The pantry was resized and organized for food storage, and a separate coffee and snack station was created to let guests and kids serve themselves without interrupting meal preparation.