Kristi Pennebaker
Where I live: My three daughters (two young ladies and one four-legged gal, a Cavachon named Olive) and I live in a 40-plus-year-old tri-level home that has a lot of rooms with a lot of character in the neighborhood I actually grew up in, Leawood. Just goes to show, you can always go back home!
Occupation: I’m retired from sales but one daughter is still needing a chauffeur, so that’s my occupation as of late.
My favorite space is: The room everyone gravitates to is our den on the bottom level.
Why? It’s large enough that we can entertain 20 plus people, not only because of a large sofa and plenty of armchairs, but we also have a big farm table. The room has sliding glass doors which brings in wonderful light and looks out over our patio and all the landscaping the previous owners did so beautifully.
My favorite part of the room is the fireplace with huge old rocks from the ceiling to the floor with a comfortable hearth to sit on and enjoy the fire when cool enough. There’s a big-screen TV, as I entertain frequently. I’ve had some male friends tell me they’re envious of my “Man Cave.” Of course, I have to remind them it’s a “Girl’s Getaway,” but they’re always welcome.
If I could make one change to improve this space, I would: Add some shelving above the wet bar so when needing glasses for water or ice, I wouldn’t have to run up and down the stairs to get some. Then again, this justifies me eating more cheese dip while I watch a game!