Make Your Kitchen a Gourmet Showplace for Cooking and Entertaining

The kitchen is no longer the behind-the-scenes "workhorse" of the home. This once purely functional space is now the most popular room in the house for entertaining and remodeling. Despite increasingly busy schedules, families still find time to gather around the dinner table. Casual seating areas and entertainment centers located in or near the kitchen allow parents to connect with their kids during meal preparation, and couples are discovering that cooking food is a great way to relax while spending quality time together. The 21st-century kitchen incorporates many functions into one, all-purpose room-it is now a place for meal preparation, as well as an office, a family room and a dining area. Some kitchens even have a pet station and a laundry alcove.

Today's trend toward open designs is one reason that the kitchen is a designated meeting and mingling area. Les Petrie, CKD, current vice president of the National Kitchen and Bath Association and senior design partner at Mother Hubbard's Custom Cabinetry, points out that a large kitchen that opens into a family room or great room is the most asked-for arrangement in new and remodeled kitchens. He adds, "I see more year-round residences being built that mimic the wide-open floor plans most often seen in homes specifically designed for casual vacation-style living." During a party, or even an intimate family meal, home cooks enjoy the ability to chat with guests as they prepare food. The comforting sights and smells of the kitchen naturally draw people in and invite them to linger.

With new innovations in ovens, small cooking aids, counter and cabinet materials, the amateur chef can enjoy more freedom and fun in the kitchen than cooks did even a few short years ago. Les says, "Entertainment TV is hitchhiking on this phenomenon by offering up an entire network dedicated to food and cooking. And the new cook wants a nice kitchen filled with good 'gadgets' to help them on their culinary journey."