It All Started With the Kitchen
A whole-home renovation in Summit, NJ
Before
Architectural Planning, Selections, Finishes and the Furnishings that Bring a Home to Life
The Kitchen
The room the project is named for. Construction drawings and finish selections were developed together, so the finished room reads as considered rather than assembled.
Planning, selections & finishesThe room rendered, with the cabinetry color, counter, brass and stools chosen beside it — construction and finishes settled together rather than in sequence. CompletionBuilt. The island, the pendants and the slab exactly where the drawings put them.
The Powder Room
Planning, selections & finishesA powder room packed with design drama to impress the most discerning guest. Here is the plan, the vanity drawn to its 84-inch wall, and the stone, taps, oak and sconce picked to suit it.
The Laundry Room
Planning, selections & finishesDrying racks, a hanging rod with a shelf above and the washer and dryer bays, drawn to the inch — with the pattern tile, oak counter and honey bronze chosen against them.
The home office
Planning and completing the home office
The office combines custom storage with a desk area and a separate seating area. The millwork elevation shows the cabinetry arrangement before construction; the finishes sheet and completed room show how the detail decisions carry through. Furnishings complete the seating area within the same overall plan.
Millwork elevation. 
Millwork and finish selections. 
Completed workspace. 
Completed seating area.
Explore architectural planningExplore construction and interiors with MRCxEMD
The Home
An approximately 9,000-square-foot house in Summit, New Jersey. It functioned, but room to room it did not hang together, and the kitchen was the space the family kept running into.
Client Goal
The brief was a kitchen renovation. As planning began the homeowners recognized a larger opportunity: a more cohesive, more functional house from room to room. They wanted function and warmth, and a home with unmistakable personality rather than a neutral envelope.
Solution
The scope expanded from the kitchen to nearly the whole house — mudroom, butler's pantry, theater, bar, two laundry rooms, library and living room, guest suite, gym, home offices, primary bedroom, closets, powder rooms and five further bathrooms. Treating it as one connected project is what made it work: architecture, construction, finishes, furnishings, storage and lighting were coordinated across every space at once rather than room by room.
Construction
Custom built-ins run throughout, providing real storage while reinforcing the architectural character. Hidden storage, tailored cabinetry and integrated organization make each room work harder. The mudroom, kitchen, butler's pantry, laundry rooms, closets and food-prep areas were planned around daily routines, with multiple storage zones and workspaces. The gym gained custom glass and metal doors.
Design
Colorful tile, tailored wall and ceiling treatments, layered textiles and collected furnishings give each space a distinct point of view while the whole stays cohesive. Every selection was made collaboratively with the client, so the interiors read as the family's own rather than as a scheme applied to them. The theater is the clearest example — a moody, lounge-inspired room with a boutique-hotel feel.
Result
The house now supports a busy family and real entertaining in the same footprint. Cooking, school schedules, sports equipment and hosting all have somewhere to go, and the bar, theater, library, guest suite, gym and gathering spaces suit a quiet night or a large celebration. Two home offices and a reimagined primary suite balance the lively shared rooms with places to retreat.