Kitchens are used for more than just cooking these days. Gone are the days of designated entertainment space that is separate from the kitchen. The kitchen is where people congregate. Even if party hosts try to disperse crowds by spreading appetizers and entertainment throughout their home, partygoers remain like moths to the kitchen flame. Skilled kitchen remodelers understand this and can help homeowners rethink their kitchen space to get what they really want from their floor plan; open, hospitable entertainment space.
Interior designer, Shelly Reilly helps homeowners grasp some essentials for creating entertainment space that accommodates dinner parties, family holiday gatherings and daily family meals. She begins by asking homeowners where they typically gather. Most will answer, “the kitchen”. Reilly says a standard idea for expanding kitchen seating is to eliminate formal dining space and open it up. This makes more room in the kitchen to incorporate or enlarge an island, add a feature fireplace and maybe a small seating area separate from the table and countertop.
These changes can make a more traditional home open and inviting instead of separate rooms that divide guests and conversation. “This usually means adding cabinetry and opening up walls,” says Reilly. “Storage is key. A butler’s pantry can be useful for entertaining: I also try to incorporate wine storage, an extra sink, storage for wine glasses and a wine refrigerator. And, if furniture for the space is not to scale, I’ll try to choose something smaller to make more room for guests to mingle.”
JoLynn Johnson of Crystal Kitchen Center says that homeowners should peruse magazines and tear out pictures of details they like to share with their kitchen designer. “We provide a survey on our website,” says Johnson, “to get homeowners thinking about what they’re truly interested in. It’s helpful for designers to know things like; are you left or right handed? Do you do a lot of canning? Or buy mass quantities of items at Costco? Answers to questions like these help designers determine the best kitchen storage and amenities for each individual.”
Johnson notes that not all kitchens can have an island. She also says, “If you have a smaller kitchen, it may not make sense to have a separate cooktop and wall mounted oven. You’ll wind up giving up too much counter space.”
Professional kitchen designers also take details like countertop height into consideration. If spouses like to cook together and one is 6 feet 4 inches while the other is only five feet tall, designing a kitchen with varying countertop heights can make a big difference. Johnson says, “Thirty-six inches is standard countertop height. But I’m tall. So my kitchen countertop is 38 inches high. That means my back doesn’t hurt anymore.”
Varying countertop heights also play into the idea of stations. Johnson has become aware of a trend toward friends and families sharing in the meal making process as part of an evening’s entertainment. Guests aren’t just guests anymore. They come to cook! So it’s important to design stations that allow multiple cooks to chop, sauté and stir without bumping into each other.
Dawn and Joe Keller, Crystal Kitchen Center clients in Maple Grove, followed many of these suggestions when they redesigned their smaller rooms into a large open kitchen and family room area. Dawn says, “We wanted a room where our family could all hang out together. But we also wanted space for our middle school girls to do homework. We believe every opportunity to get kids out of their bedrooms is good. But the kitchen counter wasn’t an option for doing homework. The girls needed a quieter space.” Keller’s Crystal Kitchen Center designer was able to accommodate this request by adding a study space just behind the kitchen in a converted laundry room turned study. Another special space in the Keller’s kitchen is a seating area near a gas stove. “Our family gathers there every morning in the winter,” says Keller.
Designers like Shelly Reilly and JoLynn Johnson help homeowners think beyond merely adding granite countertops and stainless steel appliances. Their customized ideas and expertise can transform a kitchen from cramped cooking space to inclusive entertainment area.
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Suggestions from designer Shelly Reilly for finding kitchen entertaining ideas:
Williams Sonoma, at Arbor Lakes
