While designing their homes, clients will often ask me which room in a home is my favorite. Being both a general contractor and a designer, I’m lucky to get to create many lovely homes with plenty of good-looking, high-functioning rooms. I’m wild about a hardworking mudroom, sumptuous master bath, and intimate study. Still, my favorite room of all is easily the kitchen. It’s often said that the kitchen is the heart of the home, and for our family and many of our clients, it is certainly that. A beautiful and inviting kitchen just makes a soul happy. And a well-thought-out and organized kitchen is the icing on the cake. Whether a tiny farmhouse kitchen or a colossal gourmet kitchen, planning this space out well and using an inviting mix of materials is uber important – but it can sometimes be a daunting task.
Designing kitchens is my specialty; I love to create function-specific spaces like coffee and drink stations, baking and cooking prep areas, and dish and glassware storage that is both accessible to setting the table and unloading the dishwasher. A well-designed kitchen is practically effortless to keep organized and makes food prep so much quicker and much more enjoyable. Most importantly, it makes busy moms’ and dads’ lives that much easier. Function and practicality are seriously important, but it’s only half the equation of a topdrawer kitchen. The other half is artistry. The combination of handcrafted cabinetry, smooth stone countertops, polished fittings, and foot-worn floorboards is an intoxicating mix. Add some hand-glazed tilework and some copper cookware, and for me, it’s almost an ethereal experience. All this organically-designed goodness is more than enough to make a designer happy.
But for me, the real joy of a beautiful kitchen is the life that unfolds in this particular room. It’s tiptoeing into an early morning kitchen to grab your first cup of coffee before anyone else is awake. It’s pouring a much-needed glass of your favorite wine to wind down at the end of day as you start to make dinner. It’s your kids doing their homework and making crafts around the kitchen table.
It’s making dozens of holiday cookies on your kitchen island for your annual cookie exchange and then standing around that same island (even though your entire home is decorated and ready for company) with the girls laughing and catching up and eating those cookies! It’s wrapping presents and birthday dinners. It’s cleaning scraped knees and wiping away tears and lemonade spills and bathing your babies in that big farmhouse sink. For so many reasons, people are just drawn to this special room. And making it both lovely and high functioning is as good as it gets. I know my kitchen puts a smile on my face every morning (except maybe when there’s dishes in the sink) and I hope yours does, too. If not, give us a call and we’ll design and build the kitchen of your dreams, too.
Mary Ludemann is the founder of New Old and has been designing and building homes for over 12 years. to discuss your next dream build or renovation project, contact new old at 704-975-5196. For more information, visit www.newold.com or email them at building@newold.com.