HAWK K&B


The Kitchen at Christmas

Tag: christmas entertaining

The Kitchen at Christmas

Posted on by katy@hawkkb.co.uk

For many, the most important part of the festive period is the entertaining. From a lavish family Christmas dinner to canapes and cocktails with friends, the kitchen becomes the focus. Creating the correct atmosphere in your home will make your guests feel immediately welcome and with the right space to do so, you can put on a party that everyone will enjoy, including you, the host.

An open-plan living and dining area works wonderfully for entertaining, creating a space that achieves the perfect balance of socialising and cooking. A spectacularly laid dining table is essential for a family Christmas dinner and in an open-plan setting, the guests and hosts can intermingle, creating the perfect social atmosphere. Coupling your dining area alongside a cosy seating area means guests will also have somewhere to relax and recline after dinner.

christmas-kitchen-design
Image via Hawk K&B

For evening entertaining, an informal seating area, on an island or breakfast bar is great. An island can act as a great focus in a room, particularly when laden with beautiful food and drink. People will congregate around it and any high stools will allow guests to take a seat without feeling left out.

neff-ovens
Image via NEFF

Finally, the addition of good quality appliances is vital when it comes to the cooking itself. Integrated double ovens will give you plenty of cooking space and details such as Circotherm on NEFF ovens allows you to cook on up to 4 levels at the same time without any flavours intermingling, not to mention the Slide & Hide door meaning you won’t be getting in the way of guests when tending to things in the oven. Alternatively leave the cooking entirely up to the oven by opting for a Siemens oven with Home Connect. Just can send all your recipes and cooking instructions straight to your oven from your phone and receive notifications when the cooking is finished via your phone or Amazon Alexa, allowing you to sit back and enjoy entertaining.

Dressing the Dining Table

Posted on by katy@hawkkb.co.uk

The festive period is all about catching up with those near and dear, gathering together around the dining table, making Christmas the perfect occasion to lay your table with some elegant dinnerware.

This is the time to bring out your best crockery and cutlery, stacked plates and bowls and rows of knives and forks, hinting at the feast to come. Nothing complements festive décor quite like metallics and with copper and gold being the tones of the moment, why not try using gold cutlery to add richness and warmth to the table. Elegant glassware will also add that finishing touch to your special meal.

dressing-the-christmas-dining-table
Image via Zita Elze Flowers

A table centrepiece will automatically enhance the dining table and create an area of focus in the room. Creating it from natural seasonal materials such as pine cones and cinnamon sticks will also fill the room with a rich festive scent. Through combining these natural elements with some glamorous baubles, you can create a Christmas table that is both elegant and richly evocative.

dressing-the-christmas-dining-table
Image via Neptune

The most luxurious and festive thing to add to your table décor are candles. Simple, beautiful and effective, they add instant chic, warmth and atmosphere to a room with their fragrant glow. There is a sense of luxury, spirit and visual beauty in a candle that just can’t be beaten.

For your Christmas table the long slender shapes of tapered candles can look very elegant; however the key is to use them in large numbers, either lined up individually or displayed en masse in beautiful pots or glassware.

However you chose to capture the true magic of Christmas at your table, treating your guests to a festive feast for their senses will make the day all the more merry and memorable.

Standout Entertaining Spaces

Posted on by katy@hawkkb.co.uk

For many, the most important part of the festive period is the entertaining. From a lavish family Christmas dinner to canapes and cocktails with friends, the kitchen becomes the focus. Creating the correct atmosphere in your home will make your guests feel immediately welcome and with the right space to do so, you can put on a party that everyone will enjoy, including you, the host.

open-plan-kitchen-entertaining-christmas
Image via Hawk K&B

An open-plan living and dining area works wonderfully for entertaining and for each of our open-plan kitchen projects we always create a space plan that will achieve the perfect balance of socialising and cooking. In the kitchen above, we designed the cooking area to face outwards towards the living area so that the client could socialise whilst cooking.

christmas-kitchen-entertaining
Image via Hawk K&B

Plenty of seating is also key, with a variety of seating options available. A spectacularly laid dining table is essential for a family Christmas dinner and in this open-plan setting, the guests and hosts can intermingle, creating the perfect social atmosphere.

christmas-kitchen-entertaining-design
Image via Hawk K&B

Coupling your dining area alongside a cosy seating area means guests will also have somewhere to relax and recline after dinner.

luxury-entertaining-spaces
Image via Hawk K&B

An informal seating area, on an island or breakfast bar is great for evening entertaining. An island can act as a great focus in a room, particularly when laden with beautiful food and drink. People will congregate around it and any high stools will allow guests to take a seat without feeling left out. An integrated wine fridge or wine rack will also add a great touch.

kitchen-breakfast-bar-entertaining
Image via Hawk K&B

Finally, lighting will create the ultimate party atmosphere. Multiple light sources are key to achieving a layered lighting effect that can be adapted to suit any mood. Above, the combination of under-cabinet lighting, an illuminated extractor and orange bar stools creates an atmosphere worthy of any top London bar.