How to get your kitchen ready for entertaining

a pink kitchen with a pendant light over a marble island

Creating a kitchen perfect for your lifestyle is a wonderful task that makes a home. But creating a space that works on an everyday basis and as the ultimate entertainment room can be tricky. So here are five different ways to achieve this – designed to make your guests go wow.

How to get your kitchen ready for entertaining? Here, William Durrant, owner of Herringbone Kitchens, gives his expert opinion on what makes for a great social space for entertainment.

“Design it right from the beginning,” William advises. “We believe that a kitchen is for living in, whether that’s on a day-to-day basis or for social occasions. So designing a kitchen for entertaining too is a key element in your planning stages. That means maximising and focusing on the room’s layout. Considering how the space can flow smoothly so there is no bumping into the cook and spilling drinks. Also making sure the right necessities such as sinks, drawers, prep areas and plugs are in the right places. With this in mind, here are a few design tips that will work wonders…”

a design with white shaker cabinetry, brass handles and the Teppanyaki Professional Hob inset in a marble island
A Herringbone Kitchens design featuring the Teppanyaki Professional Hob.

How to get your kitchen ready for entertaining: Make the island work hard

Whether your island is a peninsula or the centre of the kitchen, make it multifunctional. This provides a great way for bringing in an audience, aka your guests. Create seating around it for easy conversation and a front row seat to all the action. Choosing a cooker such as the Teppanyaki Professional Hob allows for cooking right in front of guests. It looks impressive, and it’s easy to clean. While adding deep storage drawers into the island will make fancy plates easy to grab and go. You can also add a wine fridge in the island, so any drinks are within reaching distance and at the right temperature for drinking.

a pink kitchen ready for entertaining with a marble worktop, brass tap and brass pendant light
How to get your kitchen ready for entertaining: make the island work hard, as in this design by Herringbone Kitchens.

How to get your kitchen ready for entertaining: Add a home bar

Having lovely glassware and bottles on display is a beautiful design feature perfect for entertaining. Open shelves with glass wire racks add personality, while a cooling sink is perfect for prepping drinks. Wine racks are perfect for grabbing what you need. Also, adding reeded glass to the front of the cabinets leaves an intrigue about what is behind the doors.

a black framed home bar featuring lots of glasses and bottles in front of an island with a brass tap
How to get your kitchen ready for entertaining: add a home bar, like this one from Herringbone Kitchens.

Make room for a walk-in pantry

Situating a pantry to the side of the kitchen with no door works perfectly for entertaining. Consider putting a wine rack and extra fridge in here for use when you have guests. It also works as an extra space to store any mess you don’t want seen. Painting your pantry in a different colour to your kitchen makes a huge visual impact – hard to resist.

a fully-stocked wooden pantry in a kitchen ready for entertaining
How to get your kitchen ready for entertaining: include a pantry. Artisan kitchen, from £28000, John Lewis of Hungerford.

Think about creating an open-plan living space

There’s no better way to throw a soirée of any size than with an open-plan kitchen and living space. Maintaining a presence while finishing food or making drinks is essential for the ultimate entertainment space. Just make sure your island or peninsula is always facing outwards so you are in the midst of it all.

an open-plan living space with a kitchen ready for entertaining
How to get your kitchen ready for entertaining: create an open-plan living space. Photography: iStock / hikesterson.

How to get your kitchen ready for entertaining: Remember lighting

Ensure that you take lighting into consideration from the very beginning. Install dimmers and lights that can create an intimate, fun and warm atmosphere that works for any celebration.

LED lighting strips in a walnut and anthracite kitchen ready for entertaining
How to get your kitchen ready for entertaining: include clever dimmable lighting. Photography: iStock / imaginima.

So, now you know how to get your kitchen ready, check out how to prepare your pizza oven.

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