Michael K. Wilkinson To open up the kitchen to the dining room, we removed a load bearing masonry wall and installed an engineered steel beam. The kids can now do homework at the dining table or island when the parents are cooking for a family-friendly setting. The island has a waterfall countertop. This protects the sides of the cabinets from traffic circulation and kids. Our designer used gray panels under the countertop on the island. The other side of the island has white cabinet drawers and a microwave. There are no side windows, as the new full light door and three casement windows bring in a lot of natural light. We also needed the wall space on the sides for storage/cabinets. The clients selected a subtle gray for the trim around the door and casement windows. We toothed in new white oak flooring and refinished all the floors so they match. To supplement the existing radiators in the dining room, we added electric radiant floor heat.