Kitchen Remodeling
This project was originally scoped as a kitchen remodel. By the time the design phase was done, the clients had decided to roll the powder room into the same project — which honestly was the right call. The powder room sat right off the kitchen, and the original layout had outdated finishes that would have looked even more out of place once the new kitchen was done. Doing them together meant one design language across both spaces, one project manager, and one set of disruptions instead of two.
The kitchen itself was a more significant transformation than the photos let on. The original layout had a wall separating the kitchen from the dining room, a narrow opening, and an awkward fridge wall that ate up usable space. We took the wall down, tightened the dining room opening to a clean 66 inches, extended the wall next to the old fridge location by 25 inches into the kitchen to create a proper pantry run, and gave the room the open, breathing-room layout it always wanted.
Cherry Wood Cabinetry — Medallion Sonoma Cappuccino
The cabinetry decision drove every other material choice in the kitchen. The clients didn’t want white. They didn’t want navy. They wanted something with real wood character — the kind of finish that ages well and looks more like furniture than a stock kitchen. Cherry wood was the answer.
We used Medallion Gold Line custom cabinetry in Sonoma Cappuccino — 100% US-made, lifetime warranty, all-plywood box construction with solid wood frames, doors, and drawer fronts. The Sonoma Cappuccino is a stained finish on cherry, which gives that warm honey-amber tone that catches light differently throughout the day. Pantry bottom rollouts (four of them) keep the deep storage actually usable rather than a black hole you forget about.
Hardware is Top Knobs Riverside Pulls in flat black — 40 pulls across drawers and doors, plus three slightly longer pulls on the 36″ base drawers. The black hardware was a deliberate decision. With cherry wood and stainless appliances already in the room, a warm metal like brass would have been one warm tone too many. Black grounds everything and gives the kitchen a more architectural feel.
Calacatta Miraggio Gold Countertops and Waterfall Island
MSI Calacatta Miraggio Gold quartz runs across all the perimeter counters and the island. It’s the same family as the Calacatta Miraggio quartz we use often, but the Gold variant has subtle warm veining that pairs better with the cherry cabinets — cooler whites would have fought the wood tone.
The island gets a waterfall edge, which is the move that really makes the island read as a single architectural piece instead of just a counter sitting on cabinets. Pencil edge on the perimeter, smooth fabrication, sink cutout. The waterfall is a significant fabrication choice — slabs have to be book-matched, the miter has to be perfect, and the finished edge has to feel seamless. Done right, it elevates the entire kitchen.
The island also incorporates a black undermount farmhouse-style sink — which is unusual but works because the black ties back to the hardware throughout the rest of the kitchen.
The Backsplash
This is the visual signature of the kitchen. MSI Metro Gold full-height backsplash — small format white and gold tiles in a herringbone-adjacent pattern with intermittent gold accent inserts. The pattern catches light and gives the wall behind the open shelving real movement.
The detail that took the most planning: a 3″ countertop ledge runs along the wall, and then the backsplash starts. From there, we installed four custom floating shelves, stained to match the cabinets (Sonoma Cappuccino), spaced 18″ between countertop and first shelf, then 9″ gaps between shelves. The backsplash continues all the way up behind the shelves and behind the hood — so when you look at the wall, the tile reads as a continuous textured surface that the shelves and hood just float in front of.
The Range, Hood, and Appliances
This is a serious cooking kitchen. The clients went with a 48″ Wolf professional induction range — the kind of range that signals this is a household where someone actually cooks. To handle the ventilation, we installed a 1200 CFM hood (also vented out the side of the house through new ducting we ran through the siding) and a make-up air system to balance the negative pressure that hood pulls.
A 1200 CFM hood is overkill for most kitchens. For a 48″ Wolf range that someone will actually use for high-heat cooking, it’s exactly right.
Other appliances integrated into the kitchen: a Sub-Zero built-in refrigerator (the tall stainless unit you see on the right side of the island shot), a Wolf microwave drawer in the island base, a dishwasher, and a Brizo faucet package the clients sourced themselves.
Herringbone Hardwood Flooring
MSI engineered hardwood throughout the entire main level — approximately 800 square feet — installed in a Bramlett herringbone pattern. Herringbone flooring is having a real moment, and for good reason. It feels more European and considered than standard plank, it reads as more luxurious, and it makes a kitchen look like a kitchen someone designed rather than one someone assembled.
The pattern adds about 15-20% to material and labor costs because of the cuts and waste factor — every other plank is essentially a custom angle. The result is worth it. It’s the floor people notice first when they walk in.
We finished with 4.5″ white wood baseboards throughout, which keeps the floor reading as the focal point and lets the cabinetry sit cleanly on top.
The Powder Room
A small room with a big personality. The clients wanted something that would feel like a moment when guests stepped in — not just a functional space. The answer was a scallop pattern wallpaper in deep blues and teals (client-sourced, we handled installation), which they paired with the same Sonoma Cappuccino cherry vanity to tie back to the kitchen.
The powder room countertop is the same MSI Calacatta Miraggio Gold quartz from the kitchen — material consistency across the project — with a rectangle white undermount sink and pencil edging. Hardware on the powder room vanity is Top Knobs Riverside in honey bronze (rather than the kitchen’s flat black), which works against the warm wallpaper and pulls the brass faucet tones into the millwork.
We added a new sconce, kept the existing toilet (refinishing or replacing a working toilet is wasted money in a powder room remodel), and installed a Panasonic Whisper Green exhaust fan — quiet, efficient, the kind of fan you don’t notice running.
Behind the Scenes
A project this size involves a lot of work the finished photos don’t show. On this one, that included:
- Removing the wall between kitchen and dining room (confirmed non-load-bearing before quoting)
- Building a new structural opening at 66″ for the dining room entrance
- Extending the fridge wall 25″ into the kitchen for pantry depth
- Running a dedicated electrical line for the microwave drawer, hood, and range
- Possible electrical panel upgrade (project manager confirmed at final measurement)
- Installing 10 new 6″ LED recessed lights with new switch
- Three new pendant lights above the island (client-sourced fixtures)
- Eight new tamper-resistant outlets, one GFCI, two in the hutch area
- Replacing three recessed lights in the bay window area
- Relocating the gas line for the new range position
- Relocating sink drain in the island for the farmhouse sink
- Relocating dishwasher and refrigerator water lines
- New ventilation cutout through exterior siding for the 1200 CFM hood
- Make-up air system installation
The cabinetry, counters, and tile are what people see. The plumbing, electrical, ventilation, and structural work are what make a kitchen actually function as a kitchen.
The Project Specs
- Cabinetry: Medallion Gold Line Sonoma Cappuccino cherry wood, all-plywood construction, lifetime warranty
- Powder room cabinetry: Same Medallion Gold Line Sonoma Cappuccino cherry
- Cabinet hardware (kitchen): Top Knobs Riverside Pulls in flat black (TK1014BLK and TK1017BLK)
- Cabinet hardware (powder room): Top Knobs Riverside Pulls in honey bronze (TK1012HB)
- Countertops: MSI Calacatta Miraggio Gold Quartz, pencil edge, waterfall island
- Kitchen backsplash: MSI Metro Gold tile, full height
- Floating shelves: 48″ x 9″ custom, stained to match cabinets (x4)
- Range: 48″ Wolf gas range
- Refrigerator: Sub-Zero built-in
- Microwave: Wolf drawer
- Hood: 1200 CFM with make-up air system
- Sink (kitchen): Kohler farmhouse, 36″ base
- Faucet (kitchen): Brizo (homeowner-supplied)
- Flooring: MSI engineered hardwood in Bramlett Herringbone pattern, approximately 800 sq ft
- Baseboards: 4.5″ white wood throughout
- Powder room wallpaper: Client-supplied, scallop pattern in blues and teals
- Powder room exhaust fan: Panasonic Whisper Green
- Walls and ceiling: Benjamin Moore paint
Thinking About a Kitchen Remodel in Herndon?
We’ve been designing and building kitchens across Herndon, Reston, Ashburn, and the broader Northern Virginia area for over 30 years. Most of our Herndon projects come out of our Herndon showroom at 285 Sunset Park Drive — minutes from downtown Herndon, Reston, and the rest of the Dulles corridor.
This was a higher-end project given the Wolf and Sub-Zero appliance package, the waterfall island, the custom cabinet line, and the herringbone hardwood throughout. Kitchens at this scope typically run in the $130K-$200K+ range depending on appliance brands, cabinet selections, and structural work.
→ Schedule a free consultation or stop by the Herndon showroom — 285 Sunset Park Drive, Herndon, VA 20170.
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- Date: June 24, 2026
- Layout Island Kitchen
- Design Code: #2234565789
- Created By: Jesica Kelly
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We specialize in custom kitchen remodels across Northern Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. If you’re thinking about updating your space, we’d love to hear your ideas.
