Before & After: Bethesda Renovation

CIRCLE Design Studio transformed this 1950s cape cod style home in Bethesda, Maryland. Formerly closed off, dark, and cramped, it had a particularly small kitchen and dining room and an awkward addition. We opened it up and made it reflect the homeowner’s eclectic tastes and preferences for bold colors while still maintaining the character of the home and some classic design features. 

We removed several load bearing walls in order to open up the main floor and installed new structural beams and columns to replace them. Craftsman style arches defined the kitchen as the central zone, giving clear views through all spaces. Removing so many interior walls created additional challenges for laying out the kitchen, creating storage, and displaying the artwork. Our creative solutions in each of the main living spaces reflected the homeowner’s unique style.

Enjoy this dramatic before & after!

The homeowner loved to cook but found it difficult in the original kitchen, which measured 8′ x 10′ with three doorways leading into it.

When we removed load bearing walls and replaced them with new structural columns in the main living space, we used a header spanning the columns designed in a series of elliptical arches to frame the perimeter of the kitchen. This architectural feature defined the kitchen as the central zone, giving clear views through all spaces – perfect for socializing with family and guests while cooking.

With this reconfiguration came new challenges, but we gave this space a distinctive look with painted blue base cabinets, a checkerboard tile floor, a café bistro table with built-in banquette, a reclaimed wooden barn door on pantry closet and appliance storage, and a range hood in front of the window.

A late 90s addition to the home abutted the exterior brick wall of the main home, but the owner was stumped how best to use this addition because of the poor flow. Our opening up of all the spaces solved this problem. The space that was formerly the incredibly small dining room was removed to create a larger kitchen, and the addition now houses the dining room table and a living room.

This space features a blue ceiling, a pattern of flat trim on the ceiling that frames skylights, an art ledge around the perimeter of room, and a live edge wood dining table with a chrome chandelier above.

The entry opens into the front room of the house. We transformed this into a sitting room with an art wall for the homeowner’s impressive art collection, gathered over many years of travel. We used directional recess lights to highlight this. In addition to the art, this room features a fireplace surround with stacked dimensional tile; a built-in bookcase, mantel, and wood storage; and a recessed-in-wall flat screen television disguised with a wood picture frame around the perimeter.

Finally, we transformed the dated powder room into a space with personality and its own distinguishing features, including new floor and wall tile, a tiled, elliptical arch opening, a shower glass door on barn door hardware, and a blue glass mosaic brick tile.

As you can see, the end result is an open space that reflects the homeowner’s bold and eclectic tastes while still maintaining the character of the home.