Michele Howell adored the house where she'd lived with her husband, Ronnie, for more than 20 years. But with their only child grown up and starting a family of her own, the couple decided it was time to downsize from their 2-acre property to something more manageable.
The Howells purchased a lot in nearby Rockwall, Texas, and set out to design the home of their dreams. Sinceearlier, they'd fine-tuned their list of must-haves. At the top of the list was a large kitchen that opened to both living and dining areas. “I've just always had a love for entertaining and hosting,” Michele says. And after discovering that guests always congregated in the kitchen, “we knew what we wanted to do differently to create a space for gatherings with a lot of people.”
