Reader Kitchen: Julia and Chris Marcum

Julia Marcum was just finishing up a massive renovation on her house in Utah when her husband, Chris, came home with unexpected news: His job was relocating the family to Idaho. "I was still hanging things up when I found out we were moving," Julia says. She can laugh about it ... now. But when she arrived in Rexburg with Chris and their two daughters, the family ended up in a house with a dark, cramped kitchen — so they started all over again. Julia and Chris drew the floor plans themselves, adding windows and turning the adjacent laundry room into a pantry. Julia was in charge of design; Chris, the family cook, chose the appliances and layout, and together they picked out materials that were both dramatic and practical: black cabinets from Ikea, concrete countertops and a butcher-block island. These days, the kitchen is in full swing as 2-year-old Faye hangs out and watches 6-year-old Greta help Dad make pancakes — with their enormous Great Pyrenees, Charly, lounging nearby. "This room is our baby," Julia says.
Photograph by Taylor Glenn