Would You Put Your Kitchen on the Second Floor?

When homeowners Judy and Don sat down with their architect, Gary Tran of Tran Architecture, to redesign their Houston abode, they made one huge (and surprising) decision: to flip the layout. They put the kitchen and living room on the second floor and all the bedrooms on the first floor. This way, the public spaces would have a view over the treetops. They also kept the bedrooms on the smaller side to force the family to hang out together in the common rooms. (Sneaky!)

The couple wanted their kitchen to be the heart of the home, and to achieve that, they needed an island big enough for morning coffee, meal prep, homework time, and more. The resulting extra-wide fixture packs all that — plus room for a second sink and even shelving for cookbooks. Can you even imagine having an island that big?

Other things to covet: the fridge’s chalkboard door (the best spot to meal plan for the week or jot down a grocery list!), the wood on the ceiling, and the fun pops of color.

Because the kitchen is on the second floor, it gets a ton of natural light. Just look at those windows! There are so many! To make up for lost cabinet space, there are a few open shelves in front of the window, which add storage but still let light in. And for nighttime (or cloudy days), there’s still plenty of overhead lighting in the way of recessed lights and pendants.

Sure, it might be a little annoying to carry groceries upstairs, but if this is where they’re headed, it might be worth it.

See the rest of the home: A Modern, Vintage Houston “Tree House” at Apartment Therapy

We know many beach houses or split-level homes have the kitchen on the second floor, but is this something you’d ever consider doing? Assuming you had a giant renovation budget, that is.