Category Archives: Kitchen organization

Love to Entertain? 5 Tips for Designing a Party-Ready Kitchen That Lightens Your Load!

OK, I know not everyone likes to entertain. A friend just canceled a baby shower because she was so intimidated by the idea of having a party in her home. But I suspect she’s in the minority. Most people I know loooove to entertain, including me. There’s just something about creating a fun atmosphere for your friends and feeding them well, plus a little bit of showing off too, if we’re honest.

Not that it’s not work! Entertaining can be a lot of work, but the smiles on friends’ faces make it all worthwhile. And when you’re designing a new kitchen, you can take steps to build one that’s set up for entertaining, so it’s less work but still just as much fun.

We combed expert kitchen designer resources for ideas on creating a party-ready kitchen, and list our five favorites below. Whether you prefer casual or formal, football games or fine wine tastings, intimate dinners or busy brunches, you’ll find tips you can put to use in your new kitchen design…

  1. Include a kitchen island in your design. With a kitchen island, you’ll get extra storage space, plus counter space and seating. An island can be just about any shape you can imagine, even when you’re using semi-custom cabinets. Although a rectangle shape works, consider an L-shaped kitchen island or even a U-shaped one.
  2. Factor in storage. If you entertain large crowds, you’ll have more dishes, more glassware, more booze and more food to store. Work with your kitchen design or kitchen cabinet manufacturer to come up with clever storage for everything entertaining.
  3. Add in appliances. Could you use a wine fridge? What about a second oven? A warming oven? Do you need two dishwashers after a big to-do? Make room for the extra appliances you’ll need when partying as you plan out your semi custom cabinets.
  4. Consider the traffic flow. People congregate in kitchens. There isn’t anything you can do about that. The kitchen is the heart of the home all the time, but seems to be even more so during a party! Make sure you’ll still be able to cook and clean even with guests around.
  5. Count on your countertops. For those who like to entertain a lot, trouble-free countertops are a must. You don’t want to be worried about red-wine stains when you’re trying to be a pleasant host or hostess. But also think about how much countertop you’ll want when it’s party time. Will you have enough prep space? Do you use countertops for seating at the kitchen island? Will you serve up buffet style? Get creative to meet your needs. You can include pull-out counter or table space in your kitchen that hides away when not needed, for example, and appliance garages that get clutter out of the way.

Above all when designing your new kitchen with entertaining top of mind and semi custom cabinets at the top of your list, make sure your choices will maximize your fun as well as your guests.

Kitchen Storage Ideas Enable Efficiency and Tidiness in Today’s Busy Kitchens

It has never been easier to have a well-organized, efficient kitchen. In addition to state-of-the-art kitchen appliances that give you the kind of control formerly only available to professional chefs and the convenience of Internet-enabled appliances, storage is now state-of-the-art as well. Kitchen storage ideas can be found all over Pinterest, and even on our website!

From pot lids to dishes to waste bins to liquor bottles, kitchen storage ideas abound for storing just about every imaginable pot, gadget, bowl or small appliance in a way that tucks it out of sight when it is not needed yet makes it easily accessible when it is.

Kitchen storage ideas keep this busy room tidy
In a way, this evolution of kitchen storage ideas makes perfect sense, because kitchens have evolved into multipurpose rooms where we not only cook and clean up, but also eat, socialize, work and relax. We’re also much more creative in the kitchen these days, and we use a lot of tools and equipment to help us get the cooking done.

All of that means the kitchen is a very busy room with a lot of moving parts, and without kitchen storage ideas that keep pieces out of the way until needed, the kitchen could easily become a very messy room at the same time!

Clever kitchen ideas can customize your new kitchen
If you’re designing your dream kitchen, and you’re planning to pull together a kitchen that’s uniquely you, think past the look of your kitchen to consider the storage too. Clever kitchen ideas can play a key part in customizing your new kitchen so it not only looks unique to you but functions that way as well, making it the ultimate in efficiency for how you like to cook.

Only take a quick look at the kitchen storage ideas on the Wellborn Forest website, and you’ll see utensil organizers, skinny pantry pullouts that make use of skinny spaces, dish drawers with adjustable pegs, and even a removable rollout caddy that holds cleaning supplies. All of these components can be combined in the way you want for your ideal kitchen.

Kitchen storage today means no more jumbled drawers one digs through to find the one-third measuring cup, or pulling out the blender so you can reach the waffle iron at the back of the cabinet. (Yes, I’m describing real-life experiences here!) Instead, the clever kitchen ideas thought up by professionals and amateurs alike have led to kitchen storage ideas that can keep our kitchens tidy and clutter-free, while making increasing their efficiency—and ours as well.