5 Ways that Kitchen Design Can Improve Your Big Family Thanksgiving Dinner

by Samanth Rose

 

With the holidays soon approaching, you might be thinking of your shopping list and everything you need to get in order to create a fun, memorable Thanksgiving dinner for your family and friends.

While Thanksgiving can and ought to be a joyful time, all the preparation and demands of the day can also bring about lots of stress. However, there are things you can do to make they day easier on yourself. If you’ve been considering remodeling or upgrading aspects of your kitchen, there are even some kitchen design features that could improve your holiday experience.

Here are 5 ways you can optimize your kitchen design to help you bring more joy to your big family Thanksgiving dinner:  

 

1. Abundance of Open Countertop Space

Make sure you have plenty of countertop space for all the food you will want to prepare and serve on Thanksgiving Day.

Sometimes creating extra counterspace is as simple as clearing away clutter or perhaps moving appliances like your toaster oven or coffee maker to a different spot on the big day. But sometimes you just need more countertops.

Examine your current layout to determine how you can maximize the potential for countertops. You might even want to invest in a kitchen island with two levels of countertops for the extra workspace / entertaining.

 

2. Wide Berth to Move Around 

A big Thanksgiving dinner means you’ll probably have multiple people trying to walk through the kitchen at the same time. So, you want to make sure you have wide enough walkways, especially between high traffic areas like the sink, oven, and stovetop.

While most walkways are measured to be a minimum of 3 ft., in the heavy work areas of your kitchen you want more space. If you’re planning for multiple cooks, ideally you want a walkway that’s at least 4 ft. wide. 

 

3. Multi-Use Design

When you’re preparing a multi-course meal for a large number of people, you want to make sure your kitchen design is multi-functional so you can pursue several different tasks at once.

For example, you might want to convert some otherwise unused wall space into a spot for a second oven so you can start baking your dessert while the turkey is still cooking. Or, you might want a larger stovetop with at least 6 burners so you can have multiple different side dishes going at the same time.

 

4. Easy to Clean 

While the big family meal may be a fun event, no one looks forward to the dreaded big mess that gets left behind once everyone is done. So, make it easier on yourself by making sure your kitchen will be easy to clean.

When you’re choosing materials for your kitchen remodel, be sure to choose flooring, a backsplash, and countertops that are easy to wipe down when food gets spilled, which will inevitably happen. You might even want to consider advanced technology, like a central vacuum built into the bottom of your cabinets to help you eliminate debris.

 

5. Optimal Storage

If big Thanksgiving dinners will be an annual tradition at your house, you’ll want to make sure you have all the storage you’ll need for all the food, pots, pans, dishware, utensils, and decorations you’ll need every year.

Though there are some items you might take out just for the holidays, you’ll want to make sure you have enough long-term storage to keep everything secure and organized. You might want some extra cabinetry in your kitchen or pantry, or maybe even storage in a spare room for all your Thanksgiving accessories.

Are you curious how you can improve your kitchen design to make Thanksgiving less stressful and more fun? If you’d be grateful for some expert help this holiday season, our kitchen designers here at RTA Wood Cabinets will give you the gift of a FREE kitchen design layout. Learn how you can get yours by calling us today at: 1-800-788-7575.