Does scratch cooking, milking cows, farm living while raising 8 young children appeal to you? Former ballerina, Hannah Neeleman, shares her very busy life making it all look so simple and idyllic on TikTok and other social media channels.

While I’ve seen her posts in my feeds before (not really a lifestyle I’m interested in :-), I recently went down the rabbit hole watching her short videos because of all the drama that unfolded this past summer.

If you are on TikTok at all, you could not have missed it.

Here’s her Tik Tok account. Here’s her Instagram. They both have around 9 - 10 million followers.

Here’s the article that started all the conversation around this popular influencer. This is not the New York Times, by the way, although it is named “The Times”, but it looks to be an international publication.

I’m not going to comment on her lifestyle, choices, etc., but I do understand the interest/obsession that people seem to have. Her life feels dreamy and happy, but then you know how much work all that is and that it isn’t easy to pull off.

The one thing that bothers me, as a kitchen designer, that I haven’t seen in the conversation, is her kitchen!

She makes baked goods of all kinds, her own butter and ice cream, pasta from scratch, etc. She cooks up meat and eggs from their farm animals….there is just no end to the homey, delicious food she so easily seems to conjour up.

For all the scratch meals and sourdough bread she bakes though, her kitchen seems like an afterthought. Almost like a cabin kitchen that you don’t cook in every day.

She does have an AGA range. a big one, which is great for cold climates like hers, in the northern area of Utah. There is a long wood farm-style table in the kitchen, where they do some baking and food prep too.

Those two items and the fact that she has nice light from the windows and a view to their farm, are the positives here.

Here’s a woman on TikTok with the same oven and she gives you a tour of how it works. The photo of the one at the top of my post isn’t exactly the model, but it is green and the 60” AGA. I don’t think the Ballerina Farms AGA has open flame gas burners though. I think it is like the one from the TikTok video.

NOTE: I haven’t grabbed images from anywhere for this post, as I don’t want to be sued for copyright violation or anything. However, I have linked to some of the videos that are publicly displayed on Instagram and Tik Tok, so you can see what I’m talking about.

My blog contains affiliate links. Any purchases, at no additional charge to you, render me a small percentage, are most appreciated and make this blog possible. :-)

The Kitchen’s Shortcomings

The problem I see is that the kitchen is small for the amount of cooking and content creation she is doing every day.

The range is installed on a short side wall with no counter space on either side of it. Typically, 15” of countertop on each side is minimum for best use.

Her children are always at her side when cooking, sitting on the counters and table too. I have seen some videos with them climbing up on the stove to assist with cooking. Now, with an AGA, you can touch the stove without burning yourself (not the burner though, I imagine), but I would still want to use caution with hot pots and pans, knives, etc.

She does a lot of cooking and prep right in the corner in front of the range and the end of the table. It is a tiny little space, and with the children there too, it seems so tight and confining. I have a feeling she works there because the light is amazing that comes through those windows for her videos and the backdrop is her AGA cooker, which she loves.

There is no venthood, it looks like there is a flue, but there is no venting to pull out the grease and odors of cooking. In a weekend workshop I spent with Zephyr some years ago, I learned an average 4 person family produces about 5 pounds of airborne grease in a kitchen over a year! Venting really helps with air quality.

The refrigerator is across the room in the pantry, and the one I have seen in the videos is a standard looking fridge. I can only imagine how much those growing children might require a bigger refrigerator at some point and having one in the kitchen makes for a much more efficient work flow.

There are no cabinets, just sort of old farm tables used as counters with open storage underneath. Yes, that is quaint and contributes to the aesthetic, but open shelves get dusty and trying to grab that special bowl in a stack might not be very efficient. She does have an open storage shelving unit of cookware and dishes near by.

All the tables used as cabinets have wood tops and those are the countertops of the kitchen. You can imagine how they have to be maintained with all the flour, raw milk and dough. I’ve seen one video of her husband scraping the table that had bits of dough all over it after a baking session. I can only imagine that at least one section of marble countertop would be so nice for baking!

The only solid surface type product I see is the countertop at the sink and over the dishwasher.

As the face of their brand, cooking up their farm goods that are shipped as a subscription service, I would think she would benefit from a more efficient kitchen to promote her brand and function day to day. I can only imagine a chef coming in to this kitchen, told they need to make 3 meals a day from scratch, and how annoyed that might make them. Add the children underfoot and milking a cow or two and I don’t think they’d be too happy.

More power to her, she is obviously appealing to many, however, can’t her life be just a tad bit easier? Can’t she have a few things to help her churn out all those meals and the butter too?

Let’s pretend she is getting a new kitchen and find some products that would help make her cooking more easier. I think they’d need to remodel or add on, but we can just dream, right? Honestly, I’m sure every brand in the world would love to gift her with appliances, countertops, cabinets, fixtures, whatever she wants, with the number of followers she has.

Ideas for Ballerina Farms’ Kitchen

I love the idea of the sink at the windows, but I would love that wall pushed out so that there is just more depth in this space. With windows all across like she has now with actual cabinetry and dishwashers below, I think it could be a better situation.

Bigger Sink or a Second Sink

She has a single compartment sink, but it seems to always be full of dishes. Totally understandable and relatable, no issues with that. However, an even bigger sink or maybe two sinks could really help.

What if she had two faucets with an wide workstation sink with cutting boards and strainers that could sit at the top of the sink? The kids could help wash dishes or prep and have their own faucet!

One thing any client of mine who has gone with a workstation sink has told me, is that they end up doing a lot of prep work at the sink. It eliminates much of the clutter in the kitchen then and is easier to clean up.

I also really like the idea of two sinks, one could be more for cleaning dishes and the other more food prep. (Then she could have two dishwashers too!)

Kitchen Island w/ Marble Top

Okay, I know the table is both food prep island and a working table in the home. However, it looks as though there is an open space adjacent to the this area, maybe they could move the table there and do a workable kitchen island with storage, stools and a marble top for baking. She could do quartz, of course, for something more maintenance free.

Wouldn't a big marble topped kitchen island like this one be great to cook on? More storage and an easy to clean surface would be awesome.

Tables are 30” high, a typical kitchen cabinet with counter is 36” high. If you are working at a table, then you might be stooping a bit, if you are tall. Can be bad for the back in the long run, especially if you are tall.

A counterstool like this is rustic yet sturdy and comfortable. I've used this stool before and it doesn't tip over if kids are crawling on top of it (unless they are really rambunctious).

I've had clients that had this toddler tower or something similar for kids to help in the kitchen.

More Refrigeration

Thermador has refrigerator and freezer columns at different widths with their Freedom brand. Then you can get a combination of refrigeration and freezer in a size that works best for you. These can be panel ready so you can work with the style of your kitchen.

Monogram has a 48” wide panel ready refrigerator/freezer, so at 12” wider than a standard size, you are getting a foot more of space. You can definitely get any kind of rustic look you want with panel ready appliances.

I consulted on a kitchen with a large family before and having at least two refrigerators in the kitchen was a priority.

Venthood

I do like the idea of blending a venthood into the aesthetic here, not going with a stainless variety. There are so many good inserts out there, and I do like Zephyr products, especially.

I’m using the Tornado I on a project now and the great thing about this model is that isn’t as deep as a typical vent insert. The Tornado III is 38” wide but can be paired with a 60” stainless liner. I love the idea of this insert going into a built-in surrounding the Aga.

Overall, I think extra wide refrigeration, a big kitchen island and an extra sink or workstation sink with two faucets would be great here. Oh, and another dishwasher too. She’s cooking for 8 now, and those little kids will grow up to become teenagers and eat them out of house and home in no time.

I must say cooking with all those children and teaching them to cook at the same time is really amazing. She definitely has the patience and fortitude for her lifestyle. Kudos, Hannah!

Need some kitchen design advice? I have written tons of info with examples, all gathered here in my Kitchen Design Guide.

Kitchen Ideas For an Upgraded Ballerina Farm Style