Star Kitchen: Alison Sweeney

Alison Sweeney was born and raised in Southern California, but her decorating style is straight out of New England. The Kids Halloween Baking Championship co-host, who played Samantha Brady on Days of Our Lives for more than 20 years, grew up shuttling between her parents' house in Pasadena and the soap opera set in Burbank. But when summer rolled around, she'd escape to her aunt's Connecticut home. "My aunt was a great interior decorator and a huge influence on me and my home style," she says. When Alison bought this Los Angeles home and gutted the kitchen, she made sure to add a little Yankee charm, like toile fabric and equestrian art.

Photography by Allyson Gowdy

Alison chose a material that would be ideal for baking projects — specifically, making pies with her kids, Megan, 11, and Ben, 7. "I can throw flour down and roll out dough right on the marble," she says.