Mastering The Holiday Kitchen: The Kitchen Checklist

 

Bonding, Passing Down Traditions, Catching up...May The Holidays Begin.

Home for the holidays is not just the title of a movie, it is a chapter in the story of your life. If there is anything 2020 has taught us, it's just how important it is to nurture our relationships. During a time when most of the distractions in our life are closed, we find ourselves suddenly available to the people who mean the most. This means no regrets, and no missing out on special moments. Mastering the holiday kitchen is one of the best ways to bond, pass down traditions, catch up, help each other, show affection, and listen. 

The heart of the home should be designed to satisfy all of the above activities and more. Understanding the goals, likes (eating good food), and dislikes (cleaning up) helps us to better understand how a kitchen can be elegantly accommodating to all of our needs during the season. We will stroll through the different components that make up the ideal kitchen so that you can mark them off your list as you get ready for all of the love that will be created this new year.

The first thing is first. What mood are you in? More importantly, what mood do you want to create in the kitchen? Before you can start wandering down all of the wonderful items on the checklist, you have to have an idea of the colors, style, and textures that will create the way you want to feel when you are sharing your space. This is a perfect time to get out scissors, glue, and a favorite notebook. You can always go digital if that suits your fancy. Examples of getting into the mood: 

Now that you have satisfied your mood, let's get into it! Start with the cabinets. They will make or break a kitchen...possibly your patience too. Layout and cabinets help to determine work stations, the flow of traffic, storage, and accessibility to your food and tools. 

LAYOUT

Layout is all about comfort and efficiency. This is where interior architects, particularly kitchen and bath specialists, really shine. Have you ever used a clumsy and awkward space? Has it left you scratching your head thinking, "Who ever designed this space clearly never cooked before." That is where standards come into play. They don't have to be strictly adhered to but, they are a perfect place to start. 

After you decide on a basic layout, alter it based on your lifestyle. The best way is to walk yourself through busy days, holidays, and day-to-day life. Do you have people that help you? A fun exercise is to look at how commercial kitchens layout their flow. They range from cooking to plating to a sommelier counter. How could some of these stations be modified for your home?

Don't forget comfort. Make sure there is enough clearance for you to be comfortable in your kitchen. Leg room, reach, turning, twisting and passing each other can be more than awkward. It can be a recipe for accidents...which can include clean up. For people who bruise easily, corners can be as much of a problem as bumping into countertops and cabinets. Speaking of cabinets...

CABINETS

If you follow Lynn Wallace of Kitchens And Baths By Lynn, then you know that Dura Supreme Cabinetry is at the top of her list for quality cabinets that give a custom look without the custom price. Not only are they gorgeous, but they are also durable. They will last the lifetime of your kitchen. UV protected for well-lit kitchens and optional steel frames are only a couple of the many features of these cabinets. 

Drawing a bubble map of where you want work stations is very helpful in determining what kind of storage options would best meet your needs. Decide where you want to do food prep, cooking, clean up/recycle. With the new American standard in living shifting to Wellness Kitchens and Bathrooms, you may include cultivators for fresh microgreens and herbs. You may also consider a juicing station etc. You will need the proper storage and access to your stations and appliances. The flexibility needed to manage these new power-packed kitchens is expertly met with Dura Supreme's storage options. Think of your friends and family that like to help out in the kitchen and create stations for them. Include a place for those that like to watch and visit too!

CABINET HARDWARE 

The jewelry of your cabinetry. The finishing touch that makes all the difference from one selection to the next. Knobs? Pulls? Finger Pulls? Notches? No hardware at all? So many choices. The winning combination is as durable as it is beautiful regardless of how traditional or modern it is.

This can be a tricky item to choose for your kitchen. There is an overwhelming amount of selections available to suit any situation. This is where your mood board becomes your tether to ONE design direction. Refer back to the colors and materials that you included in your collage. Elements are a great way to help define a space. If you want an airy or watery feel, glass or crystal is a great direction. Leather can be rustic or luxurious depending on what metal it is paired with. Natural stone is cool and smooth to the touch while still providing visual texture.  

If you have arthritis or sore hands, knobs may be challenging to grab hold of. Drawer pulls are easier to open. Other options are finger or cup pulls which come in both traditional and modern designs. Belwith Keeler is a great place to start. Then of course, there is always the option to go without for a sleek, modern, and easy to keep a clean kitchen.

SINKS

Sinks may seem straightforward but, once you dive in, it can be overwhelming. The best place to begin is to think about what is most frustrating about your experience with your own sink. Is it too shallow? Too small? Too many basins? Not enough basins? Does it suit your utility needs? Do you leave dishes to sit in it? Do you bathe the dog in it? All of these questions start to narrow down the best fit for you.

First, consider the installation. Do you want a drop in? Undermount? Or an apron? Clean up is more challenging with a drop-in because you have to clean around the rim but its easy to install. If sweeping water and debris into the sink is more important to you, then a more difficult to install undermount would be the way to go. 

What is your sink made of? Stainless steel? Porcelain? Granite composite? Corian? Iron? It comes down to stability and maintenance when it comes to choosing the material. Do you rinse crafting materials? A stain resistant material would be suitable. If stability is important but you want the durability of stainless steel, pay close attention to the gage of steel so your wine glass doesn't topple.

What are your habits? If you have a dishwasher, maybe you only need a single basin to rinse dishes and prep food. Do a lot of food prep? Make sure you have drainboards, chopping boards and the like that can slide back and forth. Maybe you have multiple activities often that require multiple basins. The only other particular pest in the kitchen is the faucet. If you have ever had a low profile (more suited for a bathroom) kitchen faucet then you know how frustrating the wrong fit can be. Mr. Direct 

KITCHEN FAUCET

From pull-down to pot filler, choosing the right kitchen faucet is paramount to food prep and clean-up without loosing your mind. The wrong faucet can result in broken dishes, bruised hands, and an overall lackluster for being in the kitchen. That doesn't even touch the maintenance of a faucet. 

Speaking of touch, touchless faucets are heaven sent. If you have ever had messy or soapy hands, it can be annoying to say the least to turn the faucet on. Some faucets are so handy their WIFI enables you to ask for what you need. Fill the spaghetti pot? No problem. Another problem solver is the pot filler. Typically located over the stove so you aren't trucking heavy water filled pots back and forth, it is a safety feature. A non-traditional use is located closer to the pet bowl for easy to fill water dishes. 

A true favorite is the pull-down faucet. It isn't as fancy as having wifi or a pot filler but, it sure is a treat for clean-up, food prep, washing hair or washing pets. The high gooseneck creates more than enough clearance even for a shallow basin. They are flexible in material and usefulness. Most come equipped with multiple stream capabilities for water flow. Companies have made them as stylish as they are utilitarian with a rainbow of finishes from matte black to champagne bronze. 

APPLIANCES

Great news! Advancement in technology is giving consumers so many more healthy and luxurious choices at an affordable price point. With so many people transitioning to the new American standard in Wellness Living, healthy appliances are in demand. From combi-steam ovens to urban cultivators, kitchens are the heart of the Home-Health-Hub. 

Take a hard look at your lifestyle to discover which appliances will support you the most. Busy lifestyles might want to consider connected home appliance packages that allow you to manage the kitchen from a phone app. These packages are also brilliant for Forever Homes or multi-generational homes. Samsung and LG are leaders in connected home tech building hubs into the appliances so you don't have to have an auxiliary Alexa or Google Home sitting around. Are you easily distracted or pulled away from the kitchen while you are in the middle of cooking? Induction cooktops are fabulous solutions with safety shut-offs and heating elements. 

For healthier eating and a truly manageable quality of food from seed to plate, consumers are adding cultivators to their kitchens. They can do everything from growing micro-greens to starting seeds to plant in their edible landscaping. This allows consumers to decide what chemicals do or do not go into their food. That's organic. Once the food is harvested it can be stored in climate controlled refrigerators and cabinets so they retain optimal nutrient density. 

BACKSPLASH

Time to have some fun! Featured here are tiles by Ann Sax and Tile Bar. Backsplashes are an opportunity to really have some fun with texture and color. Given that the areas aren't usually especially large, it allows consumers to splurge a little. 

Tile is more flexible over a slab. That said, the maintenance is a bit more depending on the width of grout and texture of the tile. High gloss is easier to clean over matte. Flat surface is easier to maintain over texture. If you don't cook a lot, then maintenance is not going to be as great an issue. 

There are so many great choices in style that range from Mid-Century modern to traditional. Ann Sax is a favorite for having elegant and artisanal patterns and textures. If you are looking locally, pop into Tile By Fina. Fina has Mid-Century Modern and Hollywood Regency on lock with her original designs as well as impeccable curation. Tile Bar is chalk full of a visually delicious variety of tile to choose from. Luxurious combinations of patterns and materials will keep you glued to the computer screen far longer than one should be. 

COUNTERTOPS

In addition to healthy appliances, consumers are opting for healthy materials. These materials aren't just healthy for humans, they are healthy for the environment too. Cambria quartz surfaces is a local favorite. Not only are the designs incredible, their commitment to sustainability sets the bar. When it comes to non-porous material quartz has all of the other materials beat. 

When it comes to solid surface, there are a range of options. Granite, marble, concrete, butcher block, soapstone (not great for kitchens), stainless steel, and laminate. When it comes to appearance and maintenance, solid surface is going to be the ideal choice. One of the biggest challenges with tile is the grout. Food and bacteria can get lodged in it creating unsanitary food prep stations. If tile is the option that you want, then make sure to stay on top of the grout maintenance for a healthier work surface. Technically, it only needs to be sealed once a year but, for best practices, twice a year is much better. Ceramic tile is a popular and plentiful choice. An even more durable choice is porcelain. It is chip, stain and scratch resistant. 

LIGHTING

Fun! Don't forget the function. When choosing lighting it is easy to go right to the statement pieces. They are far more fun than ambient and task lighting. Focus on overall lighting first. Consider your food prep stations and what how much light you will need to see well. No sense in slicing fingers because you can't see past the shadows. Your kitchen and bath specialist will know exactly where to place recessed or track lighting so that you can work safely. Need an extra boost of light when working under cabinets? Task lighting will be your best friend. Not to mention, under cabinet task lighting adds an extra layer of attraction to your kitchen. 

Once you have addressed your ambient and task lighting it is time to move on to those wonderful statement pieces that give your kitchen the "Wow Factor". Growing in popularity for island lighting are linear fixtures. Traditionally we have seen them over rectangular dining room tables. Today, we see them floating over islands creating definition to the space. Linear lights also tend to give an overall illumination instead of the individual spots created by pendant lights. 

One final check for all of your fixtures. Are they energy efficient and are they on dimmers? LED lighting means fewer changing of lightbulbs. Dimmers allow you to control the lighting levels. Talk to your designer about making sure that your lights are different switches that allow you to explore armature lighting design and create "moods".

Welcome to your holiday kitchen! With some thought and a professional guidance from a kitchen and bath specialist, you can cook, celebrate, and socialize all through the season. Your kitchen has the potential to be one of the most flexible spaces in your home that can accommodate your every need. 

We are living during a time when our closest family and friends are so important to our social wellbeing. We are limited on outdoor events and meeting new people. Some states are limited to 4 people gatherings. Take the time now to transform your dwelling into a HOME-HEALTH-HUB. The new American standard in living will help you enjoy the company of family and friends in a healthy and nurturing way. Ask Lynn about Wellness Kitchens like the one featured below by Veronica Iconica or visit Lynn's showroom kitchen to see one up close.