Catch up in the Kitchen: Designing your Perfect Kitchen

This is not your grandmother's kitchen. This is your kitchen, a place that screams out you and your family. A kitchen filled with life and your stories!

Have you ever noticed that no matter how hard you try, when you have guests over everyone ends up in the kitchen. Everyone is gathering around the kitchen island talking about life munching down on grapes and close enough to the fridge and pantry for extra snacks.

When it comes to designing your kitchen think:

Lighting

Space

Color

Appliances and Accessories

Lighting: A kitchen is a great place to use natural light. Take advantage of the windows in your kitchen. Also look into under the cabinet lighting, which looks fantastic when all you need is a few lights on when you are no cooking. The natural light brightens and will warm the feeling of your kitchen. Use windows as focus points and use lighting that eliminates the kitchen in a natural lighting effect. Stay away from fluorescent and dull lighting.

Spacing: Whether you have a large kitchen to work with or a small kitchen utilizing your space is a smart way is key to a great design. Kitchens are best when there is space to socialize, sit and chat while cooking and entertaining.

Color: Color your kitchen with fun wall paper prints and bright painted walls. For a bigger project, use bright tile squares and place in the nooks of your kitchen. Take advantage of your blank canvas of a kitchen if your kitchen is white and add dashes of reds with kitchen towels, vases, appliances, etc. Colors that pop with a white kitchen are reds, bright or dark blues, oranges, black, greens.

Appliances and Accessories: Your kitchen can become all your own with fun appliances and accessories! A colorful kitchen aide, chalkboard, brightly decorated canisters for your spoons and spatulas will add character to your kitchen.

Your kitchen will be a success! But the best accessory to a Kitchen is good people and good food!
Everyone will be in your kitchen when you make:

Tollhouse Pie!

19" unbaked pie shell

2 eggs

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 cup butter, melted and cooled

1 cup semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Beat eggs until foamy. Beat in flour and sugars until well blended. Add butter and blend. Stir in chips and nuts. Pour into unbaked pie shell. Bake 1 hour at 325 degrees. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Good Food, Good Friends, Good Company