Gone are the days when a hostess toiled alone behind closed doors, overlooking the best jokes while everyone else sat at a formal dining table in a different area. Today, guests want to mix and mingle with their hosts close to the cooking -- and hosts favor kitchens in which the planning and prep feels less like work and more like a celebration, too.
Designer Nancy Blandford, CMKBD, ASID, calls this kitchen "party central." Designed around two support columns, the large U-shaped island could be approached -- and used -- from six sides. One side is for seats, while the other serves as the pub, and the other four sides are for supper prep and functioning. "This is the very first time I made a U-shaped island" Blandford says, "and I am astonished at how well it works for entertaining."
To get a cook who enjoys company but favors a little elbow room in a celebration, Sheila Tilander, CKD, CBD, made a kitchen that offers the hosts (or chefs for catered events) lots of space for food preparation and cleanup while guests gather in the living space. Guests may break elbows and drinks on the extended curved counter, or gather around the island, in the dining table or in the living area.
Entertaining on a large scale demands lots of platters, trays and glassware that must be handy for occasions but from the way for everyday meal prep. Inside this kitchen by designer Keira Burgess, ceiling-height cabinets offer a lot of storage for entertaining essentials
Bonuses. Everything's right in the kitchen, protected from dust and grease -- but out of the way of everyday family cooking. White cabinets on the rear wall, and almost white Ceasarstone counters keep the room bright, while the dark-stained wood island and much china cabinet wall include a warm, inviting setting.
When a kitchen opens up to a living/dining place as stylish as the one in this New York City apartment by Andrew Suvalsky, shape and function are equally important. The long countertop Suvalsky designed for the space finishes at a wedge-shaped, wood-paneled cupboard that keeps it integrated with all the kitchen whilst at the same time inviting guests to stand around the "wedge" as one would at a restaurant or pub. "The materials, lines, colors and tones of the kitchen are sophisticated," Suvalsky states, "so the kitchen combines with the apartment, rather than separating itself in the look of the living/dining location."
To create a sense of openness for this flat kitchen, designer Andrew Suvalsky repeated the wood tones utilized elsewhere in the apartment, punctuating them with acid-etched mirrors and gray marble. Low-back stools ensure the countertop's solid horizontal line isn't interrupted, and that the distance remains open and glossy.
Even with all the layout challenges open kitchens gift, "they offer lots of advantages for entertaining," says Noa Santos of Homepolish, "since the cooking/dining experience is not compartmentalized." Inside this kitchen -- kept open to make the apartment feel bigger -- wooden barstools lend a warmth to the otherwise slick surfaces and geometric lines that are hard.
The owners of this kitchen by Natalia Pierce, AKBD, Ottawa chapter representative for the National Kitchen & Bath Association, desired an open space where guests could gather to enjoy fine wines and cocktail parties. The long, curved aluminum sink Pierce installed is the perfect thickness to match with ice for chilling favorite beverages
browse around this web-site. The kitchen, with just two separate islands in which guests can imbibe and socialize, additionally comprises both a wine refrigerator and a cooler to get soft drinks.
The kitchen in this Oregon vineyard estate home turns into a public dining room on weekends
. To allow for privacy when desired, and openness when needed, designer Linda Evans, CKD, set up a drop-down screen used during "wine tasting" hours to partition off the kitchen. When the homeowners want a more open flow between the kitchen and dining/tasting pubs, the screen retracts into the ceiling, a great idea for any home with a open kitchen that is sometimes better left unseen.
This kitchen by Nathalie Tremblay won first place at the huge kitchen group at NKBA Ontario Design Awards 2013, and it is no wonder: The elegant layout features distinct work zones such as cooking, food prep, storage and cleaning, and the aisles are extra wide for easy traffic flow. Unused space below the staircase has been enclosed with glass panels transformed into storage for up to 180 bottles of wine.
Designer Nathalie Tremblay comprised counters of varying heights to maximize prep and dining options within this fantastic entertaining kitchen. A TV that divides into one of those countertops allows the homeowner to catch a show while dining solo or prepping for a party, and can be used to entertain guests having a big sporting event or even a "dinner and a movie" encounter. For parties where the TV is an undesirable distraction, the display disappears in the touch of a button.
The exact same type of "now-you-see-it-now-you-don't" versatility makes this kitchen by Pat Ives, CKD, a cook's dream. The large eat-in space includes a Wolf microwave stall, a massive prep sink and 2 remote-controlled appliance garages.
To provide additional counter space for serving big parties, the appliance garages within this kitchen retract into the granite counter to become part of this dining/prep area which also includes a drop-in knife block and garbage pullout. Layout by Pat Ives, CKD
To create this little apartment kitchen more celebration friendly, designer Solange Boice, CKD, utilized every inch of storage space possible and created work surfaces in unexpected places, including this pullout counter near the oven, which may be used to cool meals or as an excess buffet surface
this. "Allowing guests to be part of this action, serving themselves staying close enough that they can assist if needed, makes the house more inviting and the party more enjoyable," says Boice.
This kitchen, made by architect Kurt Worthington and interior designer Susan Diana Harris, welcomes guests of all ages
their website find this. Kids have room to roam (or operate) round on the spacious floor, while adults gather around the staircase or in a custom teak dining table (not shown). The U-shaped counters offer lots of surfaces for presents, wine and food, while the counter-height island allows for buffets and a dining or cocktail area
look at here. Layers of pendant light and playful ceiling heights create the perfect ambiance for just about any occasion.
The home's owners like their parties large, and they like 'em boisterous. To adapt the merriment, Synergy Design & Construction removed a large part of an exterior brick wall to reveal a sweeping view of your garden. This enabled the designers to re-orient the direction of this island, providing easy traffic flow from the adjoining dining room. An eight-burner stove provides plenty of cook area while a warming drawer keeps food warm and ready.
With five kids of their own as many as 75 guests of all ages over a typical weekend, the homeowners wanted a kid-friendly party kitchen and they got it, thanks to lots of crowd-pleasing features included by designer Angela Cherry Courtalis. A mini fridge, convenient to guests of all heights, shops individual drinks so tiny guests don't have to wrestle with two-liter bottles or spill tacky soda all over the counters and floors. A wellness TV is large enough over the refrigerator that soccer fans can see every play, even when someone is grabbing another drink.
Even children don't have any excuse for leaving their garbage out after ingestion, thanks to this handy open-top trash compartment. A hidden coating on a track below the counter slides out to cover the opening for extra prep space when needed. Layout by Angela Cherry Courtalis
Sometimes what is outside the kitchen is nearly as important as what is inside. In this sinuous kitchen, the lake views are a highlight of any gathering
see post. To take full advantage of the vistas day and night, designers Tim Scott and Erica Westeroth, CKD, NCIDQ, of XTC Design, set up layers of lighting, such as pendants, pot lighting and recessed lighting at the bottom cabinets' toe kick. The room general design is spacious, but not entirely exposed to any clutter created from the kitchen during cooking.
Massive windows around the perimeter of this efficient two-island kitchen with Linda Evans, CKD, make it a nice place to get ready for a party -- and a beautiful spot for mingling too
check these guys out Related Site her latest blog. The round red status bar is a focal point and conversation piece for guests while added pops of red through the space include interest and drama.
A peninsula adjacent to the patio doors makes indoor/outdoor entertaining a snap in this kitchen with Ryan Christenson of Remodel Works Bath and Kitchen. The counter area may be applied as a buffet or as somewhere to keep burgers from sunlight till they go on the grill. White cabinets maintain this kitchen bright and bright while warm green subway tile provides a splash of colour.
Designer Linda Evans, CKD, knocked out several walls and installed big French doors to the rear deck to provide this narrow townhouse kitchen a much better flow for entertaining. During parties, guests may sit in the living area in the front of the home, mingle at one of two pubs in the kitchen, "or," Evans says "be halted in their way outside and asked by the cook to carry out something out into the deck" Hmmm? 2 bars, a back deck and a feeling where everybody pitches in? Sounds like such a party!
