What do you think of when you say Comforts of Home? For me, I think of family and friends, good cooking, a fireplace burning, cozy settings around the fire, and last but not least, the kitchen. Some families, and most these days, love to hang in the kitchen with their loved ones. Kitchens have become more and more important, even more than just for cooking. It is the new gathering space. Recently, a new client asked me how to move the guests to the living room where there is a nice fireplace and two sofas. I said, “You have to herd them”. However, when you are all close together cooking, talking, and sitting around the island or the table, that is just what the doctor ordered. The spaces we are designing these days are large islands with lots of seating and a top for laying out recipes for cooking. The kitchens are areas that are open to the keeping room and adjacent breakfast room. This creates a large space, three rooms in one. Some other nice features in the kitchen is a panty and a wet bar. I told someone recently my pantry would be hard to give up. I added an antique English pub door for the entry and it is special to us. You can just walk right in it and pick out dinner.
You can sell these houses all day long. Add a second bedroom on the main level and you have a gold mine. With Thanksgiving behind us and Christmas ahead of us, the Comforts of Home are so important.
