if i had my dream kitchen, this is what would be in it

Be still my heart. {img source}

Most weekends find me hovered around the stove thinking up something new to bake or make for my man, my friends, or myself, because I like food and I'm not ashamed to say so. Cooking is a release for me, a creative process with a heartwarming result. Let me carefully fold egg yolks into butter for a dreamy sauce for fish and asparagus. Give me spices to combine and season pastas and soups. I long for dough to knead, let rise, knead again, all for a perfect ciabatta loaf to eat with everything..
The first room that got attention when I moved out on my own: my kitchen. The first room to get settled when we moved into our house: our kitchen. My kitchen is the heart of my home, and it's where I go to create things that show the people I love how much I care. Food is the deepest expression of love for me, making it, sharing it, conversing over it. My favorite moments are around the table, eating, with people I cherish.

Oh, the things I would make here.{img source}

So, when PartSelect reached out to me about their blogger contest for a custom KitchenAid mixer and asked what five appliances I would have in my dream kitchen, I spent hours dreaming and designing, and finally determined exactly what my dream would look like in reality..
First of all, my dream home would have two kitchens. One for every day cooking, and one just for baking and honing my craft of cooking. Extravagant? Maybe, but I don't care, this is my dream and if it's lavish, so be it. That's what dreams are for.

To be baking in here, with friends standing by the island with wine and laughter...{img source}

I would give the most attention to the honing/baking kitchen. I dream about a French country-style kitchen gracing the layout of my home someday. It would have the most beautiful ivory antique finished cabinets with silver hardware, a white cast-iron extra deep two-sided sink, subway tile backsplash, an island with a butcher block counter top...and the appliances...

1. Stainless steel double ovens. Big ones. They would be well loved, used all the time for a million baked goods and experiments, some failed and some wildly successful.
2. An industrial sized stand mixer because I think if you have two kitchens you should have a really big mixer so you can make lots of things to share with lots of people.
3. A separate gas range, built into the island, conveniently placed directly in front of the sink on one side and the ovens on the other. Easily accessed from either side so that I don't have to pause everything to reach something else I need.
4. A stainless steel dishwasher capable of holding every dish I own because I hate washing dishes.
5. Very large refrigerator and freezer. Perfect for making things ahead, storing some favorite creations to pop out on short notice, and keeping all my ingredients well stocked so I can bake on a whim without having to go to the store to get things. 

This dream baking kitchen would be so customized I would never want to leave. Everyone who knew me would be so thrilled I had the kitchen because it meant lots and lots of wonderful food for them all the time.
After all, the best part of baking and cooking is sharing the fruits of your labor with those you love. There's not much more loving than showing up at a neighbor's house with chocolate mascarpone cake just to say I was thinking of you.
What would your dream kitchen contain?