Welcome to 10692 Paynes Church Drive- The Braddock Model

John and Barbara Bruno

703 278 8503

Family Room conversion to Dining Room

Our reason for converting our previous family room into a dining room was simply the need for more space. We outgrew the small table we had in the eat-in area of our kitchen when we had our third child and desperately needed a larger, casual dining table. We started the room renovations by removing the textured ceiling and beams. What a dusty mess. I recommend sealing every door-way off with plastic to contain the dust. Next, we opened up the room by adding an arched opening in the solid wall that now leads to our family room (this room was our living room).  The solid wall was a load bearing wall and required a new support system to be built. We also added recessed lighting and a chandelier, in addition to removing a half-wall that existed between the room and the kitchen entrance. The opening between the kitchen and dining room was also arched to create consistency. This arch was much easier to build, as it was not a load bearing wall. What a difference this has made. I feel like the arches combined with the lighting make the room feel much larger than it ever did as a family room. The arches and ceiling were done by a contractor by the name of Ed Able from Ables construction at 703 938-0726. My favorite part of this new dining area is the dramatic stone wall covering around our fireplace. The stones were purchased at Luck Stone in Sterling, VA 703 435-1400 and the product is called Cultured Stone.  The glass cabinets on either side of the fireplace were obtained from Kraftmaid and coordinate with the kitchen cabinets.

Kitchen Remodeling

The kitchen cabinets were made by Kraftmaid and are maple with a taupe glaze finish. I purchased them from the Expo Design Center in Fairfax. Although I love the cabinets, I do not think I would purchase from Expo again. The distribution center for Home Depot was extremely difficult to deal with (read no customer service). We did not change the lay out of our kitchen, but we did extend the cabinets the full length of the wall on the right side of the kitchen. By taking the soffit out we were able to install 42 inch high cabinets. The cabinets were installed by Daves Builders- Dave Dickson at 703 283-4949. The countertops are granite and are called Golden Beach. We purchased them from Granit Tech in Newington, VA at 703 550-7912. The deep Blanco sink and Groche faucet were both purchased on line at Homeclick.com.

The entire kitchen remodeling took approximately 4 weeks to be completed. Since I selected granite countertops, I had to have the sink installed by first under mounting it to the granite countertops. This process requires that the cabinets be completely installed, and then the granite installers measure the area for the countertops, make templates, and take the sink to their factory to perform the installation of the sink. It typically takes 7-10 days to finish this process before they return to install the countertops (with the under mounted sink). Shortly after the renovation, we had a bar built to fit in front of our kitchen bay window area.  Our children just love to eat at the bar, where they can watch the birds, squirrels and other interesting animals play. The bar was made by Furniture Medic in Springfield, VA at 703 912-8546 while the bar stools are from the Pottery Barn catalog.

If I had to do it again, I would have set up a temporary sink on the main floor. When the contractor came to do the demolition of the kitchen and bathroom I should have set up a utility sink in the bathroom. It was difficult, to say the least, to manage a house with five people for 4 weeks, without any running water on the main level. 

Powder Room

The pedestal sink and toilet are Kohler – memoirs series. The light fixtures are from Burgess Lighting in Fairfax at 703 385-6660.  The main addition to this room was the installation of a small light above the toilet.  This has the effect of brightening the alcove where the toilet sits and making the room look larger.

Floors

We purchased the floors from Steve, the owner of Carpet and Floors in Burke at 703 764-1000. It is located in the Kohl’s shopping center. They are pre-finished floors and are manufactured by Robbins. The hardwoods were installed on the main level, the staircase and the upstairs landing. We also replaced the banister and hand rails with custom products produced by hand to perfectly match the hardwoods. This was done by H.R. Stairs and Rails at 301 540-0018.

Paint Colors- All Benjamin Moore

Dining Room  - Kennebunkport Green HC-123

Kitchen  -  Burnt Peanut Red 2081-10

Family room – Chestertown Buff HC-9

Downstairs Hall – Richmond Bisque, an exterior color they can convert into an interior color

Powder Room – Celesta Blue 1429 and Blue pearl 1433

Ceiling and trim – Decorator white

Thank you so much for visiting our family’s house!  I hope you enjoyed the tour and feel free to contact us with any questions. 703 278-8503

The Bruno’s