Scott Waller
Where I live: Governor’s Mansion District
Occupation: office worker
My favorite space in my house is: my kitchen.
Why? Of all the DIY improvements the previous owners made, the layout of the kitchen is by far the best. The stove-top burners are on an island in the center of the kitchen. It’s really the center of the house.
When we have visitors, it’s where everyone gathers. We hosted a political fundraiser and though we had lecture-style seating in one of the larger rooms, the candidate chose to speak in front of the sink. This person was re-elected, by the way, so it clearly worked.
The best dinner party we ever had was with three other couples and though we had set a rather fancy table, it went unused. Each course of the dinner had its own pot or baking sheet from the oven and, everyone was standing around the island snacking on cheese and hors d’oeuvres and when I started getting all the food ready to put in serving dishes, the guests wanted to have some tastes so we just didn’t bother with dishes or anything. We stood around the stove eating pork loin, new potatoes, black-eyed peas and steamed greens right out of the cooking pots.
If I could make one change to improve this space, I would: Get a full-time maid!