Open, airy and clean — that’s the look that a Potomac family wanted when they decided to remodel their dark and dingy, 1970s era kitchen.

“They asked for an upgraded look,” said project coordinator Kelly Thurman of Hopkins and Porter Construction, Inc., in Potomac. “They felt like the layout made space too tight for working.”

The design team made subtle changes, which had a big impact on the way the kitchen could be used. “We created a larger window and got rid of a closet, making them cabinets,” said Guy Hopkins Semmes, the firm’s founder and president. “There used to be an eight-foot closet with a bifold door. It was a big cluttered mess. Now the preparation area is accessible to the breakfast room and living room and dining room.”

Among the construction challenges that arose, Hopkins and Porter worked to preserve the kitchen’s pegged oak flooring — which they had installed only a few years earlier. “We wanted to stick to the footprint so we wouldn’t have to replace the flooring,” said Thurman. “In the end, there were only a few places that needed to be refinished.

White wood cabinets by New River Cabinetry, combined with granite countertops, a backsplash with hues of blue, gray and white, and sleek stainless steel appliances created the casual, but spacious look the owners desired.

“Stainless steel and white were important to them,” said Semmes. “They wanted something very clean and open. I think we achieved that.”

In fact, clean and open looks are part of a trend, said Semmes.

“People are forgoing formality and opening up their homes,” he said. “They want everything open, accessible and functional. They don’t want a visual and structural separation, especially in smaller homes.”

“Now, adjacent rooms are being incorporated to create a much larger space for entertaining,” said Susan Swartz of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry.

“People are getting rid of dining rooms and breakfast rooms and are borrowing space from lesser-used areas to create a larger space where everyone can do what they want in the same place.”