When you think about remodeling your kitchen, it's easy to focus on choosing the right colors, cabinets, and new appliances. However, the most beautiful kitchen won't be practical if it's not designed for you and your family's unique cooking and entertaining style. Knowing your kitchen type will help you design a great kitchen that will work for you.

The Entertainer's Kitchen

To determine if you need a kitchen designed for entertaining, consider how many days a month you entertain friends and family in your home. If you host a party at least once a month or more, choosing a kitchen designed for entertaining will make dinner preparation and party planning easy.

Consider installing two island bars with slide-out cutting boards and trash bins to make prep and cleanup fast. One island bar can be designated for food preparation and one for serving food buffet style. Roll top cabinets keep blenders, mixers, and other small appliances out of sight and easily accessible.

A large refrigerator and freezer are must-have elements and will give you plenty of room to store all your prepared appetizers and party trays. A wine cooling unit will keep your favorite wines at the perfect temperature for serving. A walk-in pantry makes a great place to store all your cooking and serving items and will keep your kitchen tidy.  

The Family Friendly Kitchen

Does your family love hanging out in the kitchen? Is your kitchen the place where kids do homework and you often gather around the table to play board games? If so, designing a family friendly kitchen is a great way to give your kitchen a fresh makeover and continue to make those special memories with the ones you love.

Family kitchens need lots of space for work and play. Cabinets should have plenty of bottom slide-out drawers to make it easy for little hands to reach snacks. A split height island bar will make it easy for children to perform simple meal prep tasks or work on homework.

Plenty of open shelving will make it easy to grab serving pieces and will give the kids a place to display their latest piece of art. Choose the best flooring you can afford to help your kitchen hold up after years of high traffic. A breakfast nook with a built-in table and benches makes a great place for a morning coffee break or afternoon snacks for the kids.

Taking your kitchen style into consideration, before you begin a remodeling project, will help you and your kitchen remodeling contractor design a kitchen that works for you and your family. Whether you enjoy entertaining guests or making memories with the kids, having a new and updated kitchen will add to the beauty and functionality of your home.  

Once you've decided what your kitchen needs, contact a kitchen remodeling contractor to get started.