soulful space

The flowers above were sitting in a vase on a table in my very favourite kitchen in the world.  This kitchen is in the home of Marcus' Auntie Pam; she lives in a farmhouse in Cornwall.  The original structure is something like 500 years old; her husband, Pete, built an extension to it with his own hands over the past 10 years.

I love this home.

I don't know who lived in this home prior to Pam and Pete, but I really believe that over the past 500 years, only people with really lovely souls owned this home.  Every time I visit, not only is it wonderful to see Pam and Pete, two of the warmest people in England, but the house seems to welcome us as well.  I mentioned this to Pam on our last visit, and she smiled.  "I felt it too, the first time I saw this place," she said softly in agreement.

And in their home, my favourite room is the kitchen.  It's a tiny kitchen: it can't really hold more than 4 people comfortably (and most of them better be sitting at the table, so as not to get in the way), but it's so warm, and when you sit there with your mug of tea, you feel that if you ever leave, it will be too soon.

Back in Houston, I love our house; but I don't know that our kitchen has the same feeling.  It's a nice kitchen, but lately I'm itching to turn it into a really soulful space.  I'm not sure how I'm going to do this, but it's definitely one of my goals for 2009.  I think it's important for every home to have a space where everyone feels like family when they enter.

Do you have a soulful space in your home?  What's it like?

Song:  Words by Anthony David, featuring India Arie