When you start thinking about a kitchen renovation, it’s easy to jump straight to the fun stuff.
Cabinet colors. Countertops. Backsplash. Flooring. Lighting.
And yes, we’ll absolutely get to all of that.
But before we start talking about what your kitchen should look like, I want to know what your kitchen needs to do.
Because for most of us, the kitchen is doing a whole lot more than cooking dinner.
Start With Your Life
Think about a normal week in your house.
Are kids doing homework at the island while you make supper?
Do you work from home and occasionally find yourself setting up your laptop at the kitchen table?
Are you a baker who needs plenty of counter space to spread out?
Do you have grandkids who come over and immediately head to the kitchen for a snack?
Do you love having friends over?
Is morning coffee practically a ritual?
Does everyone walk through the door and immediately drop their bags, mail, keys, water bottles, and everything else on the nearest counter?
That’s the stuff I want to know.
Because those everyday routines should influence how we design your kitchen.
Our Coffee Bar Gets Used Every. Single. Day.
One thing we added to our own kitchen was a coffee bar, and I can confidently say it wasn’t just something pretty we added because we saw it online.
We use it every single day.
It gives our coffee maker a designated home, but it’s also where our ice machine sits—which gets used constantly when we’re home.
And in the evenings? That ice machine comes in pretty handy for an adult beverage. 😉
In the summer, it gets plenty of use for slushies, too.
It’s a relatively simple part of our kitchen, but it works so well because it was designed around something we actually do.
And that’s the difference.
I don’t want to add something to your kitchen just because it’s popular right now. I want to know whether you’re actually going to use it.
Maybe Your Kitchen Needs a Landing Spot
Our kitchen is also the first main room you walk into after coming through our porch and entryway.
Which means, surprise, things land there.
It’s just real life.
It’s where we set things down when we walk in. It’s where someone stops to tell me something. It’s where we end up standing around chatting as a family.
Knowing how people naturally move through your home matters.
If your kitchen is your family’s landing zone, maybe we need to think about where backpacks, mail, chargers, purses, keys, or paperwork are going to go.
Because if we don’t give those things a place, they’re probably going to end up on the counter anyway.
Instead of designing for the house you wish stayed perfectly clean and clutter-free, let’s design for the way your family actually lives.
What Happens in Your Kitchen?
This is one of my favorite questions to ask because the answer is different for every household.
Your kitchen might need to make room for:
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Homework: An island or table where kids can spread out while still being part of what’s happening.
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Morning coffee: A designated coffee bar that keeps everything you use together.
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Meal prep: Enough uninterrupted counter space and storage near the areas where you actually prep food.
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Baking: Room for a mixer, baking sheets, ingredients, and all the things you don’t want to haul across the kitchen every time.
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Working from home: A spot where a laptop can land without taking over your main prep area.
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Grandkids: Easy-to-reach snack storage, seating, or space for everyone to gather.
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Entertaining: A layout that lets people hang out without constantly standing exactly where you’re trying to cook.
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Everyday life: A home for all those things that inevitably make their way into the kitchen.
And you might need your kitchen to do three, four, or ALL of those things.
That’s okay.
The goal isn’t to cram every possible feature into the room. It’s to figure out which functions matter most to your everyday life and prioritize those.
Start With Life. Then Design Around It.
Of course I want your kitchen to look beautiful.
But a beautiful kitchen that makes your everyday life harder isn’t good design.
The best kitchens feel good to live in because the layout, storage, work zones, and little details were chosen with the people who live there in mind.
So before you decide you need a giant island, a coffee bar, a walk-in pantry, open shelving, or whatever else you’re seeing everywhere right now, ask yourself:
What does my kitchen need to do besides cook?
Start there.
Then we can create a kitchen that doesn’t just look like you—it works for you, too.
If you’re thinking about updating your kitchen but aren’t sure where to start, that’s exactly what we can talk through during a consultation. We’ll look at your space, talk about how you actually use it, what’s currently not working, and what changes could make everyday life easier.
Book an in-home consultation HERE.
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