Marcy and Ken Markowitz loved to cook and entertain but the kitchen in their Potomac home was small, dark and cramped. The original kitchen in the 1984 house featured a breakfast nook sectioned off from the cooking area. It contained white Formica counters, an electric stove, and green- and white-checkered floor tile. A massive screened-in porch kept out the natural light.

“We knew we had to fix it when we moved in,” said Marcy. “It was pitch dark in there. Things started breaking and the countertops were beginning to separate. It was becoming dysfunctional.”