A good designer is like a good therapist. Just ask Susan Petersen: “They tell you stuff about yourself that’s true, that you don’t really know,” says the Provo, Utah–based CEO of Freshly Picked, a kids’-moccasin brand popular with the mommy-influencer set. In the case of Petersen and her kitchen—part of the new-build home she shares with her stay-at-home husband, two kids, and two pets—that hidden truth turned out to be her need to make (and then quickly tidy) a good old-fashioned mess.

Rather than one large, annoying-to-clean kitchen island, there are twin units. One, the “prep island,” features a pull-out cutting board above a trash can. “That thing will get messy, and you just shove it in there,” says Petersen. Storage includes rolltop cabinets inspired by antique secretaries (“when we have people over, we just pull those down, and it looks clean and styled”), and there are two dishwashers—which her kids help unload. To thank for all this nifty utility is the team at Alice Lane Interior Design, led by founder and principal designer Jessica Bennett. Petersen bumped into Suzanne Hall, their VP of design, at their local ramen joint and hired her on the spot. “She took a look at my life and said, ‘Here are things I know you’re going to value,’” says Petersen of Hall’s design for the kitchen. Functionality was paramount. But when your client runs an adorable clothing line for kids, style matters a whole lot, too.

There are so many different pockets in this space, so everybody gets in on the fun!

“We looked at wallpapers and all these things,” Hall recalls, “and then Susan sent us a picture of this fashion moment, this outfit color combo.” It was dark green and bright pink. So now, peeking out from inside a wall of olive built-ins are rows of fuchsia shelves (Benjamin Moore’s Dakota Woods Green and Sherwin-Williams’s Hot, respectively). As Hall says: “It’s so rad.”

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