The kitchen island is great for
snacks -- and for work.

Alcove Kitchen

Even though the kitchen is tiny, Orr says, "it's actually part of the family room and is designed in such a way that when you're cooking dinner you can still talk to people. The kitchen is almost an alcove off the larger room, and the sharing of space makes both rooms feel larger." The Martins spend most of their time in the kitchen and family room or on the screen porch, their favorite place to be in the summer. Guests like the openness of the porch, Therese says.

For meals and snacks, the family sits on stools at the kitchen island; in warm weather, they dine on the porch. The island is a handy staging area for buffets, and when Gary and Therese bring work home, they can spread papers out on the kitchen counter.

Based on Orr's drawings and ideas that Therese gleaned from magazines, Streicher custom-made the cabinets, millwork, and trim on-site. The cabinet doors are paneled in a grid design that plays off the muntins in the windows. Five-inch casings around windows and doors lend substance to the architecture.

A gas fireplace, with built-ins on either side, breaks up the long wall in the family room. Streicher suggested concealing the television behind pocket doors.