For a family that loves to cook we swapped the kitchen and dining area with the living room to provide a large, airy great room for cooking, doing homework and entertaining. The new space was designed to take advantage of the beautiful natural surroundings, which include graceful oak trees, a garden of native plants and a year-round creek. The new space embraces the landscape with large windows on three sides, an open beam ceiling and a dutch-door opening onto a new deck. In addition to the warm fireplace and seating nook, the kitchen features soapstone counter tops, custom birch cabinets, hand-carved soapstone sinks and a movable central island on casters.