The dotted line in Norm's first proposed layout shows the original design of the kitchen. The powder room in this version is in the extension, and Norm worried that it would be cold out there. We didn't like the fact that it opened directly into the kitchen - that has a certain "yuck" factor that we wanted to avoid.

We never had any doubt about what architect we wanted for our kitchen makeover.

Norm Davis had done the plans for our bathroom project ten years earlier, and we’d found him to be a wizard at space design. He was also in synch with our philosophy of home renovation – we wanted modern convenience that still showed respect for the origins of the house.

Lucky for us, in the fall of 2009 Norm agreed to take the job. We knew from experience that the planning stage would take a while – not only is he extremely busy, but he needs a lot of rumination time. In our initial meeting, we gave him our wish list:

Cabinets – our current kitchen had storage only in the butler’s pantry.

Countertops – believe it or not, our existing kitchen had zero counter space. A microwave cart and the top of our portable dishwasher were the only work surfaces in the room.

A refrigerator in the same room as the other two sides of the work triangle – a luxury!

A ground-floor powder room – which guests, wet kids, and muddy gardeners (us) could use without traipsing up the center stairs.

A mud room – or at least somewhere to drop the coats and boots and backpacks that were cluttering up our front entryway.

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