Home & Design

A Timeless and Traditional Makeover


Cubbies in the cabinets hold sorted mail.

Weary of their 20-year-old kitchen with its dark cabinets and outdated appliances, the owners of this McLean home approached designer Nancy Thornett, ready for a change. Their lackluster kitchen paled in comparison to the rest of their newly renovated house. While the wife wanted to be involved in the decision-making, the husband’s only request was that a flat-screen TV be integrated into the space.

To lighten the kitchen, Thornett selected Rutt cabinets in a custom cream-colored glaze. They are enveloped in crown molding, a nod to the level of detail found throughout the home. “We stacked the cabinets to the ceiling to reflect the very finished look,” says Thornett.


A niche displays a Herend china tea set.

She created a focal point on the back wall, where an antiqued glazed cherry countertop serves as an informal buffet. Cubbies concealed in the cabinets store sorted mail.

New appliances include double ovens, dishwashers on both sides of the sink, a four-foot Sub-Zero refrigerator/freezer and a DCS gas cooktop, which replaced an old electric stove. Last but not least, Thornett also installed a flat-screen TV on a swivel stand in a cabinet with retractable doors.

Her clients are delighted with their new kitchen that has a place for everything—even the TV.


Retractable doors hide the TV.


A locker keeps linens crisp and clean.

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