The Heart of the Home: What Went Into Our Award-Winning Kitchen Design

They say the kitchen is the heart of the home.

I have decided that is not just a saying. It is a truth that gets more real every single year I spend building homes and watching families move into them. Our award winning kitchen design at Triple Crown did not win Best Kitchen from Cincinnati Magazine because it photographed well. It won because it was built to hold families. To make memories in. To host around. To gather people into and not want to leave.

That is what I am chasing every single time I walk into a new project and ask, okay, what are we going to do with this kitchen?

Today I am pulling back the curtain on everything that went into Triple Crown, and I am doing it because I want you to walk away with something too. Whether you are building from the ground up, renovating what you have, or just trying to love your current kitchen a little better, there are ideas in here for every budget and every season. Pull up a chair. Let’s talk about it.

Start With the Cabinets. Always.

This is the design principle I wish more people talked about, because cabinets are the backbone of any kitchen and they are often the last thing people think deeply about. When I start a kitchen design, cabinets come first. Not for looks. For life.

I sit down and think hard about how this kitchen will actually be used. Where do the pots and pans live? Is there a drawer deep enough for a cast iron skillet? Can a family eat breakfast at the island and still have counter space left to prep dinner? Can you host a gathering and line a whole buffet out without it feeling cramped?

When you plan your cabinets around real life first, the beauty follows naturally. That is the part nobody tells you.

If you are working with existing cabinets, do not overlook what a fresh coat of paint can do. Painting your cabinets is one of the most impactful changes you can make without a full remodel. For color, we used Sherwin Williams Agreeable Gray at Triple Crown, a creamy warm gray that is quietly taking over where all-white kitchens left off. I still love an all-white kitchen and always will. It is timeless. But if you want warmth with that same clean feeling, Sherwin Williams Agreeable Gray and Accessible Beige are both worth a serious look right now.

Start with the cabinets. The rest of the kitchen will follow their lead.

The Stone Wall That Stopped Everyone

This kitchen had tall, dramatic ceilings. Beautiful to look at, impractical to take cabinets all the way up. So instead of leaving that space empty or filling it with something forgettable, I had a vision.  Stone. All the way up. Carried through from the kitchen into the dining room to connect the two spaces.

We chose a natural stone and finished it with a German smear, where you work white grout across the surface so it softens, blurs, and creates this incredible texture and depth. It looked like something old and intentional. Like the house had always had it.

If you have a high wall with no plan, an awkward corner, or a space that just feels unfinished, texture is your answer. Stone, shiplap, brick, a German smear finish. Something that makes the eye travel. That one decision can change the entire feeling of a room.

Hardware Is the Jewelry

Before I had built enough homes to know better, hardware felt like a small decision. It is not a small decision.

Your cabinet pulls, your faucet, your pot filler, your sink hardware. They should all speak the same language. Right now I keep reaching for champagne bronze, and it works in almost every kitchen I put it in. Warm without being yellow. Elevated without being precious.

Here is the thing about hardware: it is one of the most budget-friendly ways to transform a kitchen you already have. You do not have to renovate a single cabinet to change the entire feel of your kitchen. Swap the hardware. Mix your shapes. Mix your sizes. A drawer pull does not have to match a cabinet knob perfectly. It just has to belong in the same family.

New hardware. Whole new kitchen. It really is that simple.

The Hidden Pantry: The Wow Factor

This was my favorite part of the entire Triple Crown kitchen.

From the outside, you did not know it was there. You opened the door and suddenly you were somewhere else entirely. Inside: a checkerboard floor, green walls, an ornate light fixture, acrylic handles, and William Morris wallpaper on the ceiling. The ceiling. It was whimsical and unexpected and completely intentional, because the moment of discovery in a hidden pantry should feel like a gift.

But it was also completely functional. Tall pantry cabinets for brooms, vacuums, and cleaning supplies because those things need a home too. Open shelves for wicker baskets and acrylic containers. And a Costco door that connected directly to the garage for passing groceries through without hauling them around the house. Beauty and function are not opposites. In the best kitchens, they are the same thing.

One of the questions I get asked most is whether a home has space for a pantry. And the answer is almost always yes. An unused closet. A corner of a laundry room. A small addition off the kitchen. A working pantry is one of the most practical investments a family can make, and you do not need a big budget to create one. You can start by simply organizing what you already have. Looking for pantry organization ideas, start here.

If you have the opportunity to add or renovate a pantry, do it. You will use it every single day.

Appliances That Work as Hard as They Look

I am a GE Monogram believer. The technology is first class and the aesthetic matches, which means you are not sacrificing one for the other. The double oven and range in this kitchen was the anchor of the whole space and it earned that role.

If you are deciding where to invest in your kitchen, cabinets and appliances are where I would put your money first. They are what you touch every single day. They determine whether your kitchen feels like a joy to be in or a frustration to work around.

Invest where you live. The rest can wait.

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The Kitchen Is Where Discipleship Happens

Here is what I want to leave you with.  Every time I start a new project, the kitchen is where I begin. Not because it is the most expensive room. Because it is the most important one.

I think about all the mornings in my own kitchen. Kids at the counter are still in their pajamas. Dinners made on hard days because that is what you do. The life lessons taught while stirring something on the stove. The gatherings where people came in as strangers and left feeling like family. The conversations that only happen in a kitchen because a kitchen has a way of making people let their guard down.

That is where the real teaching happens. Not in a classroom. Around the counter.  Winning this award meant a great deal to me because it felt like an acknowledgment of something I have believed my whole career. The kitchen is not just a room you design. It is a room you build a life inside of.

So wherever you are starting from, start there. One intentional choice. One thing that makes you feel something when you walk in. You deserve a kitchen that holds your people well.
Not someday. Now.

Our Triple Crown kitchen was honored with the Cincinnati Magazine Best Kitchen award. If you are building or renovating and want guidance on where to start, reach out at ourfarmerhouse.com.

XO,