Isn’t it incredible how longer warm, sunny days encourage us to entertain more? If you are anything like us and our friends and family, our get-togethers always start and finish in the kitchen. Meaning your kitchen design should be a space that is sociable and welcoming and by the end of the evening, a place where guests feel they can relax.
Seating in a kitchen can always be a little tricky. A great idea is to create a kitchen design for get-togethers, a place where everyone can sit and relax without having guests dotted in various places around the kitchen where they are shouting to join in with the conversation. A kitchen island is a great place to have informal seating and by adding a few more bar stools it becomes the main gathering point where drinks and snacks are easily reachable.
If you have the room and you have an open plan kitchen/diner, a big dining table and chairs mean everyone has a place to sit, eat, chat and relax whilst still keeping the ‘cooks’ in the loop! Add in a couple of comfy chairs or a sofa and voila, you have the ultimate room for a long lazy day of summer entertaining.
You can always add a few bean bags or floor cushions to the mix, a great idea for when the kids (or our flexible friends!) want to come inside and join in the conversations.
Although it’s not something we always have at the forefront of our minds, it is important to think about the layout of your kitchen when it comes to entertaining. Do you like some privacy when you are cooking or do you like to get social and be involved in conversations? These are important questions to think about before your kitchen design is completed. If you like to be ‘part of the crowd’ when entertaining, then ideally your cooking area needs to be the focal point, consider placing the hob on a kitchen island so that you can socialise easily as the food is being prepared. As we have mentioned earlier in this blog kitchen islands are also brilliant for creating additional seating which is both practical and sociable.
You can also make life easier for yourself by considering how your kitchen is used when you are entertaining – for example, people will mainly be coming into the kitchen to get drinks and snacks – why not put a wine cooler near your main seating area so guests can help themselves and avoid any muddles in the main cooking area?
If you like a little more privacy when you are cooking then you can create your cooking area towards the farthest end of the kitchen where you are less likely to be disturbed by your guest.
A garden facing kitchen is great to create an indoor-outdoor feel, keep doors or bi-folds open, utilise the space you have for amazing dinner parties and entertaining, at least you know your kitchen essentials aren’t too far away and you won’t be missing too much if you have to pop inside to rustle something up.
