28 roomJUNE 2012 But as the years passed and children grew, the home's limitations became apparent. Two years ago, they consulted local homebuilder Curt Amelon of Amelon Construction and architects Paul Mankins and Mindy Aust with Substance, an architectural firm in Des Moines, to design an addition. "The house worked pretty well for us," Paula said, "but there are always seven people here. We had a farm table, but found that we couldn't fit everyone around it. The fridge kept getting tighter and tighter as the kids got bigger. Plus, we entertain. And we had a porch that tended to get dirty and wasn't as usable as we'd like."The addition reconfigured porch space, made room for an expansive kitchen and casual dining space, shifted the use of other main level living areas and created a back staircase to the master suite.The most obvious result: More windows, skylights and a food prep area the size of a studio apartment with an 11-foot island, two sinks, two ovens, a double fridge and two pantries - and a bigger farm table that seats up to 12 easily every day. ?An 11-foot central work island and perimeter counter surfaces of white marble give Ron Weigel plenty of elbow room for making breads and pizzas.

roomJUNE 2012 29A marble surfaced pass-through between the kitchen and the dining room improves efficiency when entertaining dinner guests.