K I TC H E N R E M O D E L Story by Liesel Schmidt | Photography by Jeff Heeney
As an expert in remodeling for 20 years, Cynthia Murphy always knew that she wanted to focus her talents primarily on the functional design of kitchens, baths and basements—a focus that would allow her to marry form with function, beauty with practicality. “It’s perfect for my left/right brain balance,” says Murphy, who co-owns Murphy’s Design LLC with her husband. Beginning the design and planning of a Shutter’s Hill kitchen remodel in late February of 2021, Murphy found herself facing the challenge of material shortages, backorders and lead time for cabinetry and appliances that put the actual build on hiatus until November of that year. The objective of the project was relatively simple: “We needed to bring the existing kitchen up to current standards,” she says. “There had been an update with stock cabinets, flooring and countertops sometime in the early 2000 timeframe, and it was like they just wanted to put lipstick on a pig because it was very poorly done. You couldn’t fully open the refrigerator, the dishwasher was not properly installed and the door would trap you into a corner so you couldn’t unload it. The range was no better, as it had no space on either side to stand so that, when you opened the door, you had to keep backing up.” With the plan in place, progress moved forward—and then came the complications. “The first challenge we ran into was the structure,” Murphy notes. “It was so old that all of it had to go. Once we got everything out, including the drywall, we could really see what we were dealing 54 • VIP ALEXANDRIA MAGAZINE
