Who lives here? They're a lovely family who moved from Brooklyn. The parents are both therapists, with young kids. They bought the house, and we started work right away, with a tight timeline.

What was your first impression when you saw the house? we walked through, and there were so many entrances and unnecessary staircases. The kitchen was overwhelming, but I could already imagine where we could go with it. There were some good elements, but we really had to strip so much away and remove so much excess and confusion to bring it to its glory. The clients were great, because they gave us full creative reins.

What was the scope of the project? It was pretty much a gut. We redid the floors throughout and painted the entire house inside and out. We redid one staircase and removed another, added some windows, changed the main entrance. We redid the bathrooms, all the bedrooms, all the fireplaces. We really changed the program of the space. We touched every surface in that house

Tell us about the kitchen. They have a big family, and they entertain a lot. There was the space and opportunity to create this huge island (the original layout included a massive triangular island). We got rid of everything, down to the studs, and then built custom millwork. We gave them multiple sinks, a bar and the butcher block island. We wanted it to feel very European. This house had Dutch undertones, and we've spent a lot of time in Amsterdam. I think that was a major influence for the design, going for that European farmhouse vibe. I didn't want to do a tile backsplash; I really wanted it to look timeless and feel like it really could be 100-year-old kitchen. I thought about what materials they woudl've been using, all while modernizing it but still looking classic. And we wanted it to flow really well. When you're in the kitchen, you get a hint of what's to come in the dining room with that amazing wallpaper. We created the circular bar that divides the dining room from the kitchen area. It was heavy on the custom cabinets throughout the house. We changed the entire storage situation, knowing they have kids and tons of stuff.