Mia Whitaker grew up in a small house with six brothers and sisters, where personal space was often limited. While challenging as a young girl, this close-quarters living situation would come to aid her when she pursued a career as an interior designer. As the owner and principal designer of the DMV-based design firm Whitaker Interiors, Whitaker is often tasked with making the most out of small spaces.
This kitchen project, referred to as “Peregoy” for its Kensington, Maryland location, was no different.
“The client had actually interviewed four other designers before coming to us,” Whitaker says. “It was a smaller project in terms of size, and a tight space. The layout was quite poorly done. I think a contractor who specialized in flipping houses had come in and tried to flip it and make it nicer, but [the client] wasn’t satisfied with that.”
Whitaker’s builds focus on putting the client’s tastes first.
“We don’t implement our own aesthetics into our clients’ projects,” she adds. “We just elevate our clients’ personal styles. Different aesthetic terms can mean different things to different people, so we work with our clients to understand their tastes and implement them.”
Booth or Dare
One of the Peregoy kitchen’s most notable features is its custom seating arrangement. A custom banquette is built directly into the wall, serving as both a window seat and seating for the dining room table, which was also custom-made to account for the room’s narrow space.
The booth is an eye-catching feature that isn’t especially common in kitchen builds, but it also serves a smart, practical purpose in addition to seating guests.
“There are drawers underneath the banquette for storage,” Whitaker explains. “It was our solution for adding additional storage space, and there are pantries on either side that add symmetry to the build and make it look taller.”
A Timeless Space
A key consideration in the projects Whitaker Interiors takes on is making them feel timeless. Whitaker generally eschews more trendy fixtures that may be popular now but could look outdated in a few years.
The Peregoy kitchen’s hexagonal tile backsplash was chosen because of its mid-century modern aesthetic and because the shape was more eye-catching than standard subway tiles. It makes the kitchen feel modern without dating it to a specific time period.
“I don’t want people to look at our builds and immediately be able to tell that Whitaker Interiors designed them, because that would mean that all of our projects look the same,” Whitaker says. “And I don’t want people to say ‘Oh, I can tell they renovated this in 2020.’ Implementing these elements that are unique but not too flashy makes our builds timeless.”