At-home entertaining hits its peak with the holiday season. For a space that rises to the challenge, it pays to get personal, writes Elizabeth Fazzare
Healdsburg, California | Sotheby’s International Realty – San Francisco Brokerage
With the holiday season upon us, kitchens have to perform at their best. Recent research has shown that personalization is key. According to the National Kitchen & Bath Association’s 2024 Kitchen Trends Report, “innovative personalized designs”—supported by customizable appliances, bespoke cabinetry and integrated storage—are among homeowners’ top requests for the room. Certainly, in our post-pandemic lives, the kitchen has become much more than just a place where we cook and eat; it is a key gathering space within the house, where everything from entertaining to remote work now happens. To accommodate the room’s new roles, its design must follow suit.
“We like to think about the kitchen as a hub or epicenter,” says architectural designer Abigail Turin, the California-based co-founder of design firm Kallos Turin, which has offices in San Francisco and London. “No matter how much you cook, the kitchen tends to be where family members interact the most, where guests gravitate, and where the to-do lists that keep a household running are kept.” Designing the perfect kitchen, therefore, requires strategic thinking about daily routines.
Kirkkonummi, Finland | Snellman Sotheby’s International Realty
For many contemporary homeowners, an open-plan kitchen is a safe bet. Keeping sightlines clear to the adjacent living and dining rooms allows the chef, professional or otherwise, to observe and engage directly with surrounding activity, whether that’s young children playing in the common area or guests sitting at the formal dining table. In a sprawling Healdsburg, California home by SWATT + PARTNERS currently on the market, the open-plan kitchen also makes a playful design statement. This double-height space uses primary colors, including bright yellow paneling on the pair of kitchen islands, and a swath of irregularly hung light pendants to create visual contrast with the rest of the wine country wood-and-concrete architecture.
Red Hook, New York | Four Seasons Sotheby’s International Realty
Because the kitchen is ultimately a workspace, materiality is an important consideration. Turin usually recommends natural materials for countertops, noting that harder stones, such as basalt, granite and quartzite, prevent visible etching and staining. But for those not bothered by “the marks of time and use,” Turin suggests limestone and marble. “We have done a few kitchens entirely in stainless steel and love that as well,” she adds. “The first scratches always look like outliers until it becomes a beautiful patina of use over time.”
Whatever the chosen material, for serious home cooks, ample counter space is a necessity—and dedicated square footage for specialty appliances might be, too. “We always love a U- or L-shaped counter around a large island,” says Turin, adding that the space between the counters should be wide “so people can easily work back-to-back.” Built in 1940, this historic Hudson Valley farmhouse in upstate New York has maintained its separate kitchen layout, with plenty of space for home cooks to maneuver. However, its renovated interior now offers new cabinetry with stone countertops, integrated appliances and storage that wrap around a central island.
Alexandria, Virginia | TTR Sotheby’s International Realty
For hands-on hosts who prefer more casual daytime or evening gatherings, a dedicated coffee station or wet bar might be the kitchen’s focus, while a breakfast nook or seating at the island allow intimate interactions. But for those who don’t do the cooking themselves, having a prep kitchen behind the main space helps mealtime run more smoothly, such as in this Dubai villa, where German company Bulthaup designed the open-plan show kitchen (with an incredible glass floor) to flow into the dining room and take advantage of island vistas. High-tech appliances for all cookery needs are tucked out of sight, in the spacious prep kitchen.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates | Dubai Sotheby’s International Realty
No matter the homeowner’s envisioned lifestyle, some things are universally desirable. “It is not the size of the kitchen that matters nearly as much as the light and the layout,” says Turin. “There’s nothing quite like making your morning coffee with sunlight streaming in.”