“I love our Mexican culture,” Kelley says. “I enjoy the colors and the festive feeling it brings to my home. You will taste it in my cooking, and see it in my home.”
Kelley, who wrote the “Great Kitchens” feature articles in Ventanas for the past three years, has seen a lot of great kitchens. When it came time to create a dream kitchen of her own, she passed on a collection of ideas to designer Gene Telles of Xtreme Design. “Having seen a lot of really great kitchens in this region, I was able to really get a clear picture of the type of kitchen I knew I would love,” Kelley says. “It had to be open and spacious, with all our living area in one room.”
That was the first thing Kelley worked on, an open “great room”. Her kitchen, bar, dining room and living room flow together into one large area, allowing the family to do multiple activities while all hanging out together. “My kitchen really is the heart of our home. It is where people like to come together at parties, and where my family always ends up,” she says. “The kitchens I loved the most always had great space, where you could easily move from one area to another.”
The open shelving was very important to Kelley. Displays of festive dishes, Mexican glassware and Mexican pewter are functional and decorative. “I didn’t want interesting dishes and glassware hidden behind cabinets. They are all works of art,” notes Kelley. The Mexican white cabinets were hand crafted and designed with a cinnamon chocolate glaze to accent the granite, brick and tile elements. Choosing a cocktail bar in a darker wood with a marble top was key in developing added interest in the bar area.
The kitchen serving areas include the granite buffet area accented with Mexican tiled mirrors. Kelley’s daughter Brooke, 11, loves creating desserts, and spends her time using the large granite island to roll out dough or to make brownies. Kelley, a realtor, cookbook author and a regular cooking show host on KTSM News Channel 9 with Felipa Solis, based much of her kitchen design on the entertaining she loves to do.
After years of recipe testing, Kelley knew that high quality appliances make the cooking and entertaining process foolproof. She worked closely with Kathy Rose at Pat Goff’s TV and Appliance Warehouse to select just the right combination. The 48-inch range provides needed space for cooking large quantities of food, which is a necessity for entertaining. Kelley’s son, Daniel, 16, likes to use the grill on the range for indoor “winter” grilling. A warming drawer provides that perfect spot to keep chips, casseroles, enchiladas or baked goods warm. The microwave is tucked away in the island, out of sight until needed, and the refrigerator stands with a see-through glass door which Kelley says is just for fun. The bar area provides a wine refrigerator that holds 78 bottles of wine and two beverage drawers which will keep any party going.
With a kitchen so grand, Kelley doesn’t plan to keep it all to herself. “It is not my kitchen, it is a great kitchen to share,” she says. “I love it when everyone is here cooking, eating, talking and laughing…there is nothing more enjoyable than cooking up fun with those you love.”
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