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"  VIEW MORE PHOTOS&amp;amp;gt; See &amp;quot;The History of Home&amp;quot; slide show  According to the National Association of Realtors, most American families stay in their home less than 10 years. So, we were delightfully surprised to reach Tucson, Arizona, homeowners Mary Pat and Pete DiCurti and learn they were still living in the 1,900-square-foot Santa Fe\u2013style abode that was featured in Home&amp;#039;s first issue, in February 1981. Though not frozen in time, their 675-square-foot circular kitchen looks remarkably like it did on the magazine&amp;#039;s cover. Sturdy materials and a spacious layout that accommodates two cooks at once (an innovative idea a quarter century ago) are keys to the couple&amp;#039;s long-term love affair with the room they designed. Pete, a court reporter, and Mary Pat, a juvenile probation supervisor, both now retired, phoned in this update between choir practice, piano lessons, baking bread, and whipping up batches of Pete&amp;#039;s signature dishes\u2014seafood cannelloni and tiramisu.   HOME: What inspired the circular shape of your cooking zone?PETE: It&amp;#039;s based on a Pueblo kiva [a Native American structure] that&amp;#039;s found in the southwestern United States. I was also used to working in a round kitchen in my previous home.   HOME: During the past 25 years, you&amp;#039;ve replaced worn-out windowseat cushions and breakfast area window shades that were damaged by a leak. What else has changed?MARY PAT: We painted the walls and installed new major appliances about five years ago. It was so much easier to find the ones we wanted than when the kitchen was built. The original pair of dual-burner gas cooktops had to be ordered from a mobile-home supplier. Nowadays, there are plenty of choices in, and retailers of, equipment for large open kitchens like ours. Then in 2004, while the rest of the house was being redecorated, the walnut kitchen cabinets were refinished and the butcher-block island top was sanded. The resulting wood tones are a bit lighter, which was a subtle improvement.   HOME: How&amp;#039;s the upkeep?PETE: Pretty easy. After a few months we gave up polishing the copper vent hood and decided to just enjoy the metal&amp;#039;s naturally occurring patina. The glazed Monterey tile floors and countertops have been resealed twice since 1981, and they&amp;#039;re washed as needed with a vinegar-water mixture.  HOME: Have you ever broken any of the floor or counter tiles?MARY PAT: There may be a few tiny chips, but they&amp;#039;re hard to see and just add to the rustic ambiance. The high-gloss tiles [as opposed to matte ones elsewhere in the house] are very durable. The glass you drop on them is more likely to break than they are. I also think the countertop lip [a separate tile edging] has helped prevent the sort of chipping and cracking I&amp;#039;ve seen in other tile counters that don&amp;#039;t have it.  HOME: Is there anything you would like to change about your kitchen?MARY PAT: No. I especially love the vine-patterned wallpaper. It would be a big job to replace it on the 13-foot-high ceiling. I hope it lasts forever!  HOME: Any plans to move?MARY PAT: Maybe, but not anytime soon. We&amp;#039;re much too busy! "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.elledecor.com/design-decorate/room-ideas/a829/first-cover-story-16870/>