Great remodeling projects marry beauty with functionality. And like the marriages that they end up testing, they often require some give and take -- and not just between the homeowner and contractor and/or designer.

Consider Maryanne Hugo and Patrick Hastings' gorgeous redo of their Highland Park kitchen, which was named a runner-up in the third annual PG Renovation Inspiration Contest, large project category (more than $50,000).

An antiques dealer who specializes in English pieces, Mr. Hastings had his heart set on old-fashioned wood counter tops; his doctor wife was dead-set on granite. He was equally adamant that a large island Ruth Thompson of New Angle Design suggested to give the couple more work space and storage not include a sink. Guests would have to talk over it while enjoying a glass of wine, he maintained.

"And I was just as adamant I have it," says Dr. Hugo, a gynecologist, laughing.

So who got what their way?

Turns out that Ms. Thompson cleverly worked both spouses' must-haves into her design. The counters that line the outside wall and extend into a new office/bar addition are made from cherry, while the island and main sink are topped by slabs of swirling, grass-green courmayerre granite. And, yes, the disputed island does hold a small prep sink. But in the spirit of spousal compromise, it's positioned 2 feet from the edge. That gives friends plenty of room for drinks and snacks when they're gathered near the stove, while also allowing space underneath for a second dishwasher. It's hidden behind the antique-white custom cabinetry found in the rest of the kitchen.

"Guests seem to gravitate in here," Dr. Hugo says. "There's plenty of room for them to hang out and find drinks while we cook."

They can also feast their eyes on the good doctor's collection of Hall china, some dating to the 1930s and early '40s, which she began when she was an intern. All those colorful pitchers, jars and plates were the reason the couple opted for bright-white subway tile wainscoting from Accent On Tile in Bloomfield and cabinets with glass fronts and clean, straight lines from Trenga Woodworking in Brookfield, Ohio. They also have a collection of Fiesta dinnerware in the dining room.

"I wanted to put color everywhere," says Dr. Hugo, noting how all of the red Hall pieces had languished in a box in the mud room for four years.

It's never easy retrofitting an old house with modern conveniences, but the Hugo-Hastings project -- which took Dave Milcheck of Premier Construction six months to complete -- had challenges that extended far beyond walls that weren't plumb (corrected with furring and drywall skimmed with plaster); ugly vinyl floors (replaced with radiant hardwood) and a dropped ceiling that cut off the top of the window trim (removed). Ms. Thompson also had to figure out how to work around a three-story chimney that separated the main part of the kitchen from the dilapidated mudroom. Her solution: use it to house a six-burner DCS range, and add a few inches of work surface on either side.

Almost as big a problem was a serious lack of counter space and storage. Before the renovation, supplies were scattered nilly-willy wherever they'd fit: wine glasses in the living room, pans in the basement and third floor, cookbooks in the hallway, plates and bowls crammed into a small butler's pantry. Could they get everything in one room?

The couple decided to replace the mudroom with a 14-by-10-foot addition that "looks like it grew there," says Mr. Hastings. They also removed some walls and space-hogging radiators, took out the butler's pantry and repositioned the main sink under a window overlooking a brand-new back porch. The changes almost doubled the room's square footage, from about 250 to 460 square feet.

At least they didn't have to start completely from scratch. Owners of the house next door, a mirror image of their home, had just a short time before finished a similar remodeling project and were happy to share their blueprints.

To make the addition work as a combination home office-bar area for entertaining, Ms. Thompson placed the new windows a little higher than the originals in the kitchen to make room for a desk-height counter with plenty of drawers underneath. The windows are also a bit closer together to accommodate the couple's collection of John Haughwout vegetable watercolors. A large glass-fronted cabinet on the back side of the chimney stores beer and wine glasses, while a granite-topped buffet underneath holds a built-in Haier wine cooler from Sam's Club and three drawers for bottles. Cookbooks are now neatly stacked in bookcases under the cherry counter, and there's also more counter space and cabinetry for large appliances to the left of the glass Pella door to the porch. A transom adds to the bright and sunny feel.

"The idea is to get drinks in here and then head to the kitchen," says Mr. Hastings. "But it's also a good place for the computer."

Accented with vivid blue-green "boucle" walls and punches of red, the room's overall look is probably best described as transitional, a style that mixes the warmth of traditional design with more contemporary elements. But the couple did not forget their home's grand Victorian origins (it was built in 1890s). To that end, the kitchen's focal point -- the island -- is sided in beadboard and all of the cabinet drawers have brass bin pulls.

The renovation has made a huge difference in their lives, and not just in aesthetics, says Dr. Hugo. Having a back porch means they can eat outside on weekends and evenings in the summer, or read the paper without the racket of traffic whizzing down North Highland Avenue. With a dedicated "office" space, she can check recipes on the computer before cooking and play music while she works. And the cat, she adds, loves the under-heated floors.

"We live in the kitchen," she says.