After the past two years of social distancing, are you anxious to open your Colorado Springs home and kitchen for entertaining? You are not alone. Many of us are clamoring for the opportunity to welcome guests back into our homes and engage in much-needed and fulfilling interactions with our friends and neighbors.
If your party dreams include a newly remodeled kitchen, primed and ready for entertaining, we are here to help with our list of must-haves for your new kitchen.
Upgrade To A Larger Refrigerator And Freezer
This is a staple of any kitchen for entertaining. A big refrigerator will allow you to not only store the food you made earlier, but if it’s big enough, you can even plate the food and put it in the fridge completely ready to go. A big freezer to go along with the fridge is good for any find foods you can just throw into the oven to cook and serve. Although it’s great to cook things from scratch, sometimes a big party calls for some cooking help and when you have a freezer stocked with goodies ready to be cooked quickly and served, you’ll be able to talk to your company instead of just feeding them.
A Wine Refrigerator
Even with a large refrigerator that can fit food and multiple beverages in it, having a cooler specifically for wine not only looks classy but also ensures that you’re serving guests wine at the proper temperature. White and red wines vary on the degree they need to be served, but even white wine should usually be a few degrees warmer than your refrigerator keeps foods at normally. Plus, you can have all of your wine ready to go without feeling like you’re stocking the fridge with bottles that will sit there if they don’t get drunk – in the wine fridge, they can sit and won’t take up food space.
Invest In A Double Oven
Along with the upgrade to a larger refrigerator and freezer, a double oven is a must in any remodeling design for a kitchen for entertaining. Investing in a double oven can change the way you cook whether it’s with your family or for a larger group. Having warm, fresh food for guests available at the right time can be a logistical nightmare. Prioritizing which food should go out first or what temperature to set the oven when different foods need different heat settings is difficult for family dinners and is much more so with guests in your home. But with a double oven, you can cook multiple dishes at once and know that the food will be done in time for a party.
Plenty Of Counter Space
Don’t underestimate the importance of counter space when designing your kitchen for entertaining. This can be traditional counter space under cabinets, or on a kitchen island. Since most parties end up in the kitchen at some point, having food and drinks available on the counters makes snacking easy, and will provide your guests with a place to set down their plates and glasses without fear of damaging furniture or spilling on carpet.
Enough Cabinet Space For Storage
Planning your kitchen remodel with enough storage space is essential whether you are a born entertainer or prefer quiet dinners at home. But when you love opening your home to your friends and family, being a great entertainer also means having the proper supplies to throw a good party. That can mean proper dishes, glasses, serving platters and decorations. Without adequate storage in the kitchen, keeping the items you need for parties or gatherings can be a hassle. You have to go to other places in the house to find what you need. Cabinet space for storage in your kitchen not only is helpful, but with a custom kitchen design, you can turn any awkward space in your kitchen into great storage.
Related: How To Ensure You Have Enough Storage In Your Kitchen Remodel
Great Lighting
When the lighting in a room is good, it can change the mood of the guests. Sometimes areas of a kitchen can become too dark – especially as the night goes on and the sun is no longer out. Adding lights under your cabinets or even making the main lighting adjustable can be one way of making sure the lighting for your gathering is exactly what you wanted. You can turn the lights down for a more elegant feel or brighten the room to create extra energy.
An Open Concept Design Is Ideal For Entertaining
If entertaining is a joy for you or your family, it might be time to consider a renovation to create an open concept for the kitchen. Open concept kitchens allow for a family to connect while people are technically in separate rooms. The kitchen opens up into the dining or living room, and it makes communication while cooking or mingling easier. For families that love to throw parties, an open concept kitchen for entertaining works great because guests don’t have to feel like they need to go from room to room to spend time with certain people. They can go to the kitchen area to get food and still talk to the people who are a few feet away in the living room.
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Designer Kitchens: Crafting Your Perfect Kitchen For Entertaining
If you love to throw parties, designing your kitchen for entertaining purposes is as crucial as knowing the food preferences of your guests. Kitchens are becoming more and more of a gathering place as people use food to connect to one another. Creating a custom space for entertaining by working with a certified kitchen designer at Designer Kitchens can help to elevate your parties to the next level and make them less work and more fun for you. Kitchens and food are a focal point of entertaining, so make sure yours is a place you and your guests enjoy being in.