Holiday Entertaining In Small Spaces

Holiday Entertaining In Small Spaces
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We are in the middle of the holiday season and, as we all know, most of the festivities are surrounded by food preparation, consumption and lots of entertaining. Whether your kitchen is large or small, the amount of time you spend and the amount of space you have to work in is always much better if the space has been designed or organized well. If you are getting ready to remodel, you will know from your own experience what needs to be done to make your kitchen more efficient for your needs and to maximum performance.

In order to achieve this, you will need to remodel and start with proper space planning. Every good kitchen design starts with a plan that is well thought out in advance. A well-planned and organized space takes the stress out of any meal preparation, especially when you are surrounded by friends and family spreading the holiday cheer. Here are kitchens that are examples of small spaces and were completely transformed through the use of proper space planning to maximize every inch of both the preparation and the storage space.

KITCHEN ONE

This kitchen is an 800 square foot home. It is among one of the smallest homes I've worked on and maximizing this space was crucial. The photo shows how the banquet seating and the freestanding dining table are adjacent to the kitchen. They not only offer additional seating, but they also offer additional storage and display areas. Even though the kitchen is not large, there is enough space to cook, prep and clean.

KITCHEN TWO

This kitchen is located in a beach home where dining tables were on the first floor and second floor patios. Since there was no need for an additional dining room or dining table in the house, I made a larger Island to provide areas for seating for quick meals and entertaining guests. Not having an additional dining area saved space and allowed the kitchen area to be larger.

KITCHEN THREE

The best use of space in this kitchen was to remove the wall between the kitchen and the living room and provide built-in banquet seating with an additional display cabinet that was attached to the kitchen cabinetry. This inclusion of all the areas in one room allowed the space to be multi-functional on a daily basis and allowed a creative way to use the kitchen for both meal prep and entertaining for friends and family.

KITCHEN FOUR

Space planning, removing walls and adding square footage allowed this kitchen to be completely transformed. The area where the Island is now used to be an open patio and the old kitchen used to run along the wall where the window is. After remodeling the home and converting the patio into a room, I was allowed to include additional space for the kitchen and, at the same time, ad a desk area and a dining area that can also be used as a relaxation or library reading area.

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