WHY DOES EVERYONE ALWAYS END UP IN THE KITCHEN?

It happens every. single. time.

You clean the living room. You shove the extra stuff in that one room that collects all the random things. You fluff the pillows. You light a candle or get the diffuser going, set Spotify to your favorite station (don’t come for me, Apple Music people), so the whole thing feels very effortless and lovely.

And then… everyone stands in the dang kitchen. 

Usually directly in front of the drawer you need. I will literally put up the baby gates when we have lots of people over, and it still happens!

And honestly, I get it. The kitchen is where everything is happening. Dinner is being finished, drinks are being poured, someone wants ice, someone else wants a snack, and whoever is cooking is still part of the conversation.

Especially as a mom, our kitchen is currently where bottles, pacifiers, and everything else lands, and I know it just gets crazier with more kids and things! It is not perfectly styled because, well, we live here.

And that is sort of the point.

A kitchen should not only work when it is clean, quiet, and no one is touching anything. It should work when life is fully happening inside it.

That was a huge part of how we designed the kitchen for our Everything Blue Please project on Lake Stevens.

Our clients are in a very fun season of their family growing with grandchildren, and they wanted a home where everyone would keep coming back. Being on a lake, they also wanted a home that could entertain lots of people. The kitchen needed to work on a random Tuesday and when the house was full.

And they did not want everything beige, which, if you’ve met me, you know I love beige and brown and every variation of the color. I’m also not scared of color, but I am scared of using too much of any one color (besides beige, lol).

Of course we thought about cabinetry, appliances, lighting, and materials. But mostly, we thought about people.

Where would everyone stand? Where could she work on her iPad in the kitchen in the mornings? Where would the kids sit? Could someone grab a drink without walking through dinner prep? Would the person cooking enjoy their own party?

Those questions shaped the whole room.

PICTURE THE KITCHEN AT ITS MOST CHAOTIC

Picture it at 5:30 on Thanksgiving. The turkey is not done, every surface is full, three people need ice, and a grandchild wants a snack.

Here, the island gives people a natural place to gather while protecting the cooking area behind it.

The goal is not to keep people out.

It is to let them in without making you regret inviting them.

GIVE PEOPLE SOMEWHERE TO LAND

An island is great for this, but bigger is not automatically better. I know enormous islands look beautiful online, but if you cannot comfortably get from the range to the fridge or dishwasher without walking a half mile, we have missed the plot. Over ten feet is generally a no-go in our book.

The island is generous enough for prep, serving, and seating. Kids can climb up and guests can hang out without hovering over the cutting board.

The breakfast nook gives everyone another place to settle while still feeling connected and gives a full house some breathing room.

CLEAR COUNTERS ARE MOSTLY A STORAGE PROBLEM

I love a clear counter. In fact, I am happy if it looks like I don’t live there. It brings me great joy to come home to clear counters. My mother, who is my equal design counterpart, wants hers to look lived in and loved, so we are generally finding a balance in our process!

But truly, counters feel cluttered when the things sitting on them do not have an easy place to go. If putting away the coffee maker requires removing six other things, it is going to live on the counter.

And let’s be honest, maybe you need more than one well organized junk drawer. No shame!

Before we design cabinetry, we want to know what a family actually owns and how they actually live. Let me see where everything from the morning lands when you get home from work and unload the car.

Where do the paper towels go without sitting on the counter? What stays plugged in? Are you a small appliance hoarder? Do you keep seven Spindrift flavors ready to replenish the beverage fridge? Do you practically run a small coffee shop out of your house?

Good storage is about making the room easier to use.

AND YES, LET IT HAVE SOME PERSONALITY

We called this project Everything Blue Please, so we were obviously not going to hand them an all white kitchen and call it a day.

The cabinetry is a very light green, which yes, I realize feels contradictory to the project name. But if everything is blue, you do not even see the blue. Does that track? The green is soft enough to function like a neutral, but feels warmer, happier, and much more personal than white.

Then there is the range.

It is bright blue. Very bright blue. And I love it. Most importantly, our clients love it!

The pale green creates a calm foundation. The range gets to be the joyful, saturated moment that pulls you in.

This is also my argument that timeless does not have to mean neutral.

Timeless means the choices feel connected to the people who live there. Your home should have something memorable about it. Otherwise, what are we doing here? I will fight for a moment that feels a little weird and work around it because it has a story.

DESIGN FOR THE FAMILY YOU ARE STILL BECOMING

Having Sebastian has made this feel much more personal to me. Life changes quickly. A room that once only needed to work for two adults suddenly needs to hold feeding supplies, toys, tiny socks, and approximately one thousand things you did not know babies required.

You cannot predict every version of your life, but you can design in some flexibility.

For this family, that meant giving the grandchildren a place at the kitchen nook table now while still making room for bigger holidays and years of everyone coming back together.

THE PART I ACTUALLY CARE ABOUT MOST

A kitchen designed for entertaining is not really about entertaining.

It is about connection.

It is about the cook being part of the conversation, grandchildren having a place to sit, and a full house feeling lively without everyone sharing the same three square feet.

If you’ve been around here long, you may know I am totally over open floor plans. But people still need to be able to sit and talk while someone is cooking. I stand by that even more now that my husband, Sven, and I are living in our house before the remodel. The kitchen is completely closed off from any sitting area, so everyone truly is just standing in the kitchen.

Of course I care about the cabinet color, natural materials, lighting, and hardware. But those things have to support the life happening around them.

The goal is not a kitchen that only looks good when no one is using it.

It is a kitchen that gets better when everyone arrives.

A FEW QUICK KITCHEN QUESTIONS

How do I keep the counters clear?

Design storage around what you actually use, not an imaginary version of yourself who owns three things and never leaves the toaster out. Plan where everything will go before the cabinetry is finalized, not, “That looks like enough space. We’ll figure it out later.” You’re about to spend a bunch of dollars. Make it worth it!

Do I need an island?

No. I love an island when the room supports one, but I will not squeeze one in just because it is on the checklist. A peninsula, breakfast nook, or dining table may work better.

How do I know if I’m a good candidate for natural stone counters?

Go to the slab yard and look at full slabs of natural stone beside the man made options. It becomes clear when you see a one of a kind slice of the earth you get to own and care for.

Natural stone changes and wears like a living thing, but it can be cared for and brought back if something big happens. Look at Europe! You are standing on stone that has been there for hundreds of years.

Then take samples home. Let wine and lemon juice sit on the natural stone and a man made option. See how you feel about the etching and staining. You will have a little skin in the game before committing to the full thing.