Everyone Ends Up In The Kitchen - Why?
You know it's true...you say it yourself! "Everyone ends up in the kitchen!" I have a new theory about the "why" of it, actually two. We know it's a social thing, the kitchen is a magnet (obviously) to be around food, and people like to help, but it's more than that. I think the reason people enjoy being in the kitchen is because it's "real." You can let your hair down in the kitchen, be more real, more casual, roll up your sleeves and be more "yourself." Even a formal kitchen is still, well, a kitchen, and has far less of the "pretentious" factor than does the more formal living areas of the house.
Show me a fabulously dressed guest in the living room, and then in the kitchen, and I'll bet that guest warms up to the host and other guests just a little bit more quickly!
Beyond that, the other reason I see the kitchen as an attraction for guests is because kitchen tasks/activities allow people to be DOING something, to be involved, to feel useful. Perhaps guests feel they are at a different level of engagement with their hosts, being more of a partner with their host. And, working in the kitchen, doing lite duty, along with your host and other guests sort of takes the focus off of you and on to a team effort. It's fun, it's interesting, it's goal oriented. Hang out and be casual/social or get in there with preparation, there is something for everyone in the kitchen, as we see time after time.
Enjoy being in the kitchen this holiday season in whatever way works for you, whether guest or cook!
Next....Let's Get This Party Started! Anatomy of a Party Kitchen!
Wednesday, December 26, 2007 at 02:34PM
Reader Comments (10)
Excellent points -- all things we thought about while planning our kitchen (and complete house renovation). We decided to go with a cork floating floor because so many people end up in the kitchen during gatherings and I thought the naturally softer yet durable flooring would make standing there a little more pleasant.
I think the way that people live now calls for eliminating formal dining and living rooms in order to accommodate larger eat-in/combination spaces that incorporate kitchens and dining areas. The reduction in overall square footage paired with an increase in actually-utilized space means better living + smaller house footprint = lower property taxes in a better home!
Something about a well-designed kitchen puts me at ease Maybe it's the proximity to the food...
Hope you had a blessed Christmas. Wishing you and yours a prosperous 2008!!!
LOL! Even when our pre-remodeled kitchen was a tiny and inefficient 10x10, everyone seemed to crowd in at our Christmas Eve party. I am so happy to have a comfortable and homey LARGER kitchen to entertain. Greatpost!
Have a wonderfully Happy New Year!
How true ... especially when you have a big island for the guests to crowd around. It's party time!
By the way, hope you had a very Merry Christmas. :-)
Happy New Year to you! I just stumbled onto your charming blog :-)
-Dawn
Susan,
Congratulations! This was a terrific article. I hope NKBA members all read it.
When "kitchen" is redefined as a social gathering area and when "how the space feels" becomes at least as important as how it looks and works... well, that opens the door wide to an extraordinary redefinition of "kitchen design".
Most families spend so much time in the kitchen, it should be one their favorite places to be - even if they aren't cooking a meal.
I spend a lot of time in the kitchen and my family stay sometime with me trying to help me! I just love my kitchen!
Damon, good to see you, thanks for stopping by. You said a mouthful. I'm crazy about the prefinished planks, and that's a great price. I thought they were very expensive, at least the ones I saw were. Please come back and tell me when the floor is in. I think you made a good choice.
You are also right about living more, hmmmmm, efficiently? I live in an area with crazy property taxes, and I've often told my clients that they may want to use that dining room space on a regular basis that they are paying such high taxes on. Some want the formal dining room, some love the idea, and some have so many rooms it doesn't matter.
The really funny thing, in my case, is that I do have one large extra space on my main floor which previously was a den. So, I had a great room and a den. And, a large table off the kitchen as a dining room/area. We recently switched the dining room table into the den and the sectional into the kitchen area, so now I have a separate dining room for the first time in 18 years! I have to say, it's been nice to eat there over the holidays. Beyond that, for use, I don't know...
More responses to your comments shortly, thank you!
GP...thanks for your comment. And, the same to you...it's great to see you here!
Katie, I will bet you have enjoyed your new kitchen this holiday season. You had it ready JUST IN TIME!
blackcadillac73...and the very best to you too. I hope you had a great holiday season. Now it's back to reality, as we know! Luckily, I didn't have people to get ready for the holidays this year, their kitchens, did you?
Dawn, of Wicked Good Dinner, I think you're not kidding by the title of that blog, it's great!! Glad you stopped by. Come again.
Chris, I could not agree more with you. It is such a mission of mine to bring more of the "other" spaces of the home into the kitchen...for those who are receptive to it. Me, I find comfort in the kitchen a wonderful thing.
Lolita, thanks for your comment. I think that's so common, what you say, how people love to be in the kitchen. It's just more casual, maybe that's part of it too.