The next time you're sitting on the kitchen floor, building a Tupperware tower ... take a look around. This is your toddler's view of the world. And from this perspective, you'll see how the most popular room in the house suddenly becomes the most mysterious—not to mention the most alienating. Countertops and tabletops too high to reach (let alone see) and chairs too big to move or sit on exclude the smallest members of your family from all the galley's goings-on. So when one Los Angeles couple decided to renovate their kitchen, they saw potential for a customized, kid-inclusive gathering place.
The first inspiration was the dining-area banquette, which allows for easy climbing and enables twins Ziggy and Nola to belly up to meals and art projects. After that, the parents tackled the other elements of the room with their toddlers' viewpoint in mind. From a refrigerator begging to be scribbled on to French doors that provide a clear view of the backyard, each detail rejects you-must-be-this-tall-to-ride design precedents. The result? A highly trafficked room that's as welcoming as it is useful—and as tasteful as it is child-friendly.
