Elegant Gray and White Kitchen with Geometric Backsplash, Herndon, Va.

Our clients wanted a kitchen that felt tailored — dressed up without being formal — and they wanted a single wow moment they’d notice every morning. Slate delivered an elegant gray and white kitchen remodel in Herndon anchored by a soft-blue glass mosaic feature tile behind the cooktop and a custom Manchester wood hood painted to blend with the perimeter and grounded by a graphite-stained maple accent. The renovation goes beyond the working kitchen — a walk-in pantry with fixed shelving, a coffee-station zone with lit glass-front display cabinets, an eat-in dining area open to the family room, a peninsula bar with breakfast seating, and a refreshed powder room all carry the same tailored gray-and-white language. It is a full main-level renovation typical of the whole-home scope we design across Fairfax County.

The perimeter is finished in crisp extra-white shaker cabinets that run to the ceiling. The oversized island is a graphite-stained maple with a reversed raised-panel door, seats guests on the far side, and is topped with a dramatic marble-veined white quartz slab that reads as the room’s second focal point after the hood. A brushed-satin-nickel perimeter pull is paired with a sable finish on the island for a subtle two-finish moment. Warm saddle-stained solid red oak flooring runs across the entire main level, and three brushed-steel drum-style pendants center the room over the island. Off the main run, a walk-in pantry hides bulk storage and small appliances under an angled staircase, a peninsula faces the adjoining hall for casual seating, and a powder room with a wall-mounted vanilla-oak floating vanity, a bronze 3-light sconce, and Venetian bronze Delta Trinsic-family plumbing rounds out the renovation.

Project Highlights

• Custom Manchester wood range hood painted to blend with the perimeter, with a graphite maple accent tying it to the island
• Soft-blue glass mosaic feature tile behind the gas cooktop and continued at the coffee bar
• Oversized graphite-stained maple island with dramatic marble-veined white quartz slab and integrated microwave drawer
• Extra-white shaker perimeter cabinets stacked to the ceiling with lit glass-front display cabinets over the coffee zone
• Dedicated coffee/beverage zone with quartz counter, matching glass mosaic backsplash, and lit glass-front upper display
• Solid red oak saddle-stained hardwood flooring across the entire main level (kitchen, sunroom, family, foyer, dining)
• Two-finish hardware — brushed satin nickel on the perimeter and sable on the island
• Full walk-in pantry with fixed white shelving on three walls tucked below an angled staircase
• Powder room with a vanilla-oak wall-mounted floating vanity, quartz top, bronze 3-light sconce, and Venetian bronze Delta Trinsic plumbing

Homeowner Vision

Our clients wanted an elegant, elevated kitchen that leaned classic but still felt current — a gray-and-white palette they wouldn’t tire of, one bold statement moment behind the range, and an island big enough to become the hub of the house — plus the surrounding rooms (pantry, dining, powder) pulled into the same design language.

Challenges Solved

A tailored gray-and-white kitchen with a glass mosaic feature, custom wood hood, coordinated pantry, dining, peninsula, and powder room.

• Designed and installed a custom Manchester CX wood hood painted to blend with the perimeter so the shape (not the color) becomes the focal point
• Sequenced the glass mosaic install so the sheets land square and centered above the cooktop and carry cleanly to the coffee bar
• Sized the island so it seats guests, hides a microwave drawer, and still leaves NKBA-compliant walk-around clearance
• Balanced two graphite elements (island and hood accent) against the rest of the bright white kitchen so neither felt heavy
• Carved a functional walk-in pantry out of adjacent square footage under an angled staircase without disrupting the main kitchen work triangle
• Ran continuous saddle-stained solid red oak across the entire main level so kitchen, sunroom, family, dining, and foyer all read as one project
• Held one design language across five distinct spaces — kitchen, dining, coffee zone, peninsula bar, and powder room — so the whole first floor reads as one project

Homeowner Testimonial

“Not sure where to start, but it starts great and ends better. When we met with Adam and Stacy, we felt comfortable. Not like we were being sold, but being listened to. Then Stacy continued with us in coming up with designs that represented what we described and then worked to improve kitchen flow and usability. Instead of hiring a General Contractor, we felt like we gained a partner.
As the process continued, Jacob and Jessica supported us. Every one of their workers was professional and talented. Not that every day was perfect, but they always made it right in the end.
So then are they finished with us? Not at all. They are standing behind their work and making sure we have something that makes us proud to boast about for years to come.
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