A three-page spread in the current issue of Taste of Home magazine showcases local kitchen designer Amber Jensen’s prize-winning kitchen. It’s also a beautiful illustration of family values in action.
Jensen’s kitchen, self-designed to accommodate a family of four cooks, took the prize in Taste of Home’s recent remodeled kitchen contest featured in the December 2010/January 2011 issue.
The spread praises the kitchen’s “warm, walnut cabinets” and “oak hardwood floor” that so-appealed to the contest judges. Modern conveniences and innovative features are likewise commended — a warming drawer, microwave drawer, pull-out pantry cabinets, “and spice racks on the doors below the new cooktop.” The stunning tile backsplash, open shelving and frosted glass cabinets go unmentioned, although the pictures speak for themselves.
But the real story is about Jensen’s family, and how their new kitchen enables them to function so well together.
“My husband [Dave] loves to cook, I love to cook, and my kids are really getting into it, too,” says Amber.
Although Colten, 11, is “an Easy-Mac kind of guy,” he also enjoys chopping vegetables. His sister, Jaleigh, who is 15, likes to bake.
“The kids wanted a new kitchen as badly as my husband and I did,” says Jensen.
In the article, she says, “The togetherness during meal prep is just as important as the actual meal.” Hence, it made sense that the whole family would have a role in the new kitchen.
“The kids hauled out debris,” says the article, while dual sinks (shown in the spread with a dishwasher in between them) were Dave’s idea.
Amber, who has been in the kitchen-design business for more than 12 years, created a plan that satisfies her family’s needs and exudes her personality and style — mid-century modern, as she calls it.
As a designer, Amber’s prizewinning kitchen is truly something to be proud of. Instilling positive values in her children — the benefits of cooking and eating as a family — is quite another.
“I really do believe in sitting down together for meals. It’s when we talk about our day,” Amber says. “We have so many things going on, it’s nice to always have that slice of time together.”
Ashley Wahl also writes for PineStraw magazine.
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