Get a Sneak Peek of The Pioneer Woman Test Kitchen (2024)

Look around this colorful room and you might never guess that it's a working test kitchen. It looks as warm and welcoming as Ree Drummond's kitchen at home, but make no mistake: The Birmingham, Alabama, space is the new hub of all the recipe development, testing and video production for ThePioneerWoman.com.

"It's incredibly functional," says our food director, Erin Merhar, "but with a look that's very... Ree!" Read on to see how Erin and Ree designed the perfect spot for dreaming up new dishes. Spoiler alert: It helps to surround yourself with pretty things—and a custom-colored range doesn't hurt!

Cabinets

Ree has been a lifelong lover of the color green. But not just any green will do! The deep, rich shade of the lower IKEA Sektion cabinets caught her eye, and it's balanced out with cream-colored uppers. All of the cabinets have simple Shaker-style doors and black metal pulls.

Islands

Two custom-built islands, with matching IKEA cabinet faces, allow for tons of flexibility: They're on casters so the team can roll them out for video shoots, demos, and other events. "These are really going to come in handy," Ree says.

Flooring

This engineered wood floor by Bruce is perfect for a busy kitchen: It's water-resistant and made to withstand scratches and dents. The shade, Thatcher, adds lots of warmth to the space.

Countertops

Durable surfaces are essential: Erin and her team will be cooking up a storm in here! These engineered quartz Caesarstone countertops (in Pure White) are nonporous, so they're stain-resistant. "When we're multitasking, it's nice to know that if there's a tomato sauce spill, it'll come clean," Erin says.

Tech Tools

We all treasure old family recipe cards, but in this kitchen, cooks tend to favor iPads. They can read recipes on a large screen and make notes with a digital pencil. The orange Apple Home Podmini helps with shopping lists: It will load ingredients right onto your phone.

Lighting

Food prep is way easier when you have good under-cabinet lighting. That glow also has a way of making everything on the counter look better! These sleek IKEA Strömlinje LEDs are an energy-efficient pick.

Ranges

This is not an optical illusion: The kitchen's two BlueStar ranges are the exact same green as the cabinets. BlueStar has been building ovens in the U.S. since 1880 and can create virtually any custom color for its ranges. Plus, you can choose from dozens of knob colors, burner configurations, and more.

Both of the test-kitchen ranges have six burners along with a 12-inch charbroiler, and double ovens (the larger one is convection). The jumbo oven can fit an 18-by-26-inch baking sheet—great for making huge batches of cinnamon rolls!

Shelves

Open shelves are ideal for keeping glasses, plates, and serving dishes at the ready. Fun, colorful pieces from The Pioneer Woman collection at Walmart brighten everything up!

Tiles

"I thought a colored tile might clash with all our bright dishes," Ree says. These black and white porcelain tiles (called Paloma Encaustic Looktiles) turned out to be the perfect backsplash.

Sinks

You wouldn't believe how much produce can be washed at once in this Elkay sink—or how many dirty dishes can be hidden there during photo shoots! The faucet has a pull-down spout for quicker cleanup.

Ice Maker

An ice maker is a test-kitchen must-have: The team often uses ice baths to quickly cool down ingredients—and they need an occasional iced coffee, of course!

Butcher Block

If these wood island tops look familiar, it's because there are similar ones in the kitchen at The Lodge, where Ree films her show. "If I could marry a countertop, this would be it," she once said.

Storage

Multilevel drawers in the islands maximize storage space and keep gear organized, including bigger items like the OXO salad spinner. The dividers (also OXO) seen in the top drawer can expand to fit any length.