Small kitchens can be stylish and beautiful as well as functional and efficient.

Urban living doesn't mean you can't have space to cook and entertain in style.  The design solution for this Northern VA kitchen was to place the cabinets you see against a formerly empty wall.  This realignment allowed for the seating at the island as well as an additional  seating area with a sleek sofa and coffee table. 

Brian J. McGarry Interiors offers innovative and inspirational solutions to both cramped and uncramped quarters. This Washington, DC condominium kitchen opens onto the living room.  The refrigerator and freezer are both undercounter in the island to keep the sleek openess of the space and a custom designed countertop support hides the view into the kitchen.

Our low operating costs mean that you will have a professionally designed space you will want to show off to your friends with an affordable investment.  This Northern Virginia condominium owner is retired and couldn't overpay for her new efficient kitchen.

Our personal service will make the redesign planning convenient and educational.  A great deal of time went into the final layout of this Alexandria,  VA kitchen; the camera is placed where the range used to be in the original configuration.

In Arlington, VA space was not such an issue for this bathroom but the changes made in it were extraordinary.  The closet space was redesigned and we changed from one single sink vanity to two vanities.  A rarely used soaking tub was removed as well as a wall.

This Fairlakes condominium kitchen is now bright and open.

IT CAN BE DIFFERENT

Builders are not designers.  Whatever stock fixtures, appliances, cabinets, plumbing, lighting, etc. were installed in your home were not placed there to optimize your lives, they were installed to optimize the builder's construction schedule.  Sadly, the economics of new construction limits the quality of products used and the imagination put forward to apply their installation properly.  A great deal of construction has taken place in Northern Virginia in the last 50 years, much of it in need of intelligent, insightful  renovation.  Proper application of space saving ideas, thorough planning backed with inspirational design can rescue any Northern VA and Washington, DC home whether large or small.

When you understand the full scope of products available today even the most luxurious construction often misses the point ( and aren't all new townhomes and condominiums "Luxury").   

A great deal of residential remodeling has also taken place in Northern VA. The majority of renovations done on those homes have followed the model of the contractor working with trading partners. When the contractor will capably install your job but is admittedly, not a designer.  He sends you to his trading partners: one stop for cabinets, one stop for counter tops, one stop for flooring, one stop for tile, one stop for plumbing, one stop for lighting; all over Nothern Virginia.  As if you have lots of time to fit these meetings in your already busy schedule, and, let's face it, you're probably not a professional designer either.  No one, who really understands the whole design/function picture is overseeing your project. When the job is completed the design features are often not quite integrated and all too often something appears not as fully planned or functional as it could be.

Some architects are also to blame as much of their training stresses symmetry to a fault.  Balance is more important in design than rote symmetry and architects too often carry their vision so far that they don't really use the space efficiently.

If the previous tenants renovated the space they likely did not get the proper professional help to maximize the usefulness of the space either.  Likely much of the work they had done was entirely budget driven.  Stock products will not allow proper redesign when space is limited;  a few small custom cabinet adjustments are typically necessary to allow maximum storage and design benefits.

Some residence owners become so adapted to a poor design out of necessity that they can't even envision how well the space might be redesigned with good inspirational planning.

We can help.  Spatial vision applied with experience and thorough product knowledge provides design solutions to even the most difficult make overs.  Contact us with your redesign challenge.

A built in refrigerator and a unique space saving island design help make this a very accessible kitchen.  The microwave, warming drawer and wine refrigerator are all in one location beneath the countertop on the island.

WE LIVE IT TOO

For over twenty years Brian and his wife have lived in a 16 foot wide duplex home in Alexandria, VA.  They enjoy the convenience of close in living and all of the sophisticated choices available with urban living.  Everyday they  weave their lives around a limited square footage home surrounded by all of the wonderful benefits of Washington DC and all of it's close in Northern Virginia suburbs.  They manage to have room for all of their varied interests and run two businesses out of their small home because they have become masters of space saving ideas and methodology.  These design ideas are adaptable to any limited footage space as well as adding to liveability in larger rooms.  Let our inspirations and solutions help in your makeover.