Six Kitchen Goals for 2021
Check Out Key Kitchen Tweaks To Do Yourself or Add To Your Renovation Wish List
It’s nice to go into a new year with some household goals. 2020 definitely challenged us all and forced us to develop some new habits. Looking toward a new year, we’re thinking about attainable kitchen goals we’d recommend striving for in 2021. These six kitchen goals for 2021 will not only help you organize your space, but also your days, and your life. And you can attain these goals with a few DIY tweaks or keep them in mind as parts of minor or major kitchen renovations.
Kitchen Goal #1: Kick Off the Day with a Coffee Station
For those of us who are not morning people, streamlining the process to get the coffee down our gullets in the most efficient way possible is a must. Whether you’re renovating or simply rearranging, have the coffeemaker, beans, grinder, filters, mugs, cream, sweeteners and stirring spoons all in one place. You should be able to plant your feet and reach all of the above. If someone else likes to cook breakfast, make sure the coffee station is outside of the main kitchen work area.
Kitchen Goal #2: Get Your Pantry in Order
If you don’t have a pantry, get your pantry cabinets in order. Take a thorough inventory to make sure foods have not expired. If any are close to their expiration dates, move them to the front. Donate anything you know no one in your household will eat to a local food bank.
Group like items together — baking ingredients, soups and other canned goods, extra coffee and tea supplies, cereals and oatmeal … you get the idea. We suggest outfitting deep pantry cabinets with roll-out shelving for easy access to items in the back. If this is down the road on the to-do list, add simple trays inside that will make it easier to pull things out.
Kitchen Goal #3: Encourage Trying Out New Recipes
We advise our clients who love cookbooks to create a special place for them within the kitchen. This means a shelf or two within easy reach of wherever you like to whip things up. The end of an island or an open shelf are popular spots. Cookbooks tend to have colorful and whimsical spines that are nice to display. But if you’d prefer they were out of view, designate a closed cabinet. Finally, if you are more of a digital recipe type, let us advise you on a good spot for an iPad stand that will keep the recipes and a charger conveniently close.
Kitchen Goal #4: Add a Kitchen Island
Not all kitchen islands need to be 10 feet by 4 feet! Even a small island can be immensely helpful as a spot to place and prep things. While we’re fans of a custom-made island that meets all of your needs, there are also lots of readymade islands on the market that can tide you over until you’re ready to renovate.
Kitchen Goal #5: Reorganize Your Favorite Things
Chances are, you have some sort of display in your kitchen that could use a good dusting and a zhushing. Maybe you went through a wine-bottles-and-fake-grapevines-above-the-cabinets phase, you hung some favorite plates on the wall or hung some art you’d like to update. Take down your arrangements for a good cleaning and a reassessment. Switching up decor items will help your kitchen feel fresh and new to you.
Kitchen Goal #6: Get Ready to Entertain Again
With all of the isolation and social distancing in 2020, we are all out of practice in terms of entertaining. But, fingers crossed, we will get back to some sense of normalcy around mid-2021. We’ve never been so excited to set up a bar, lay out a buffet or get the grill fired up!
Set up a bar area in or near the kitchen. This can be a designated counter space or a bar cart. Be sure to include openers, the proper glassware, stirrers, lemon and lime wedges and cocktail napkins. If you’re planning on any sort of kitchen renovation in 2021, a designated bar area is a great tweak that will make your home appealing. Consider incorporating items like wine racks, beverage coolers, counter space and glass cabinet doors to show off your barware.
Check out inspirational kitchens in our portfolio
