The party is at your house—and specifically, in your kitchen. Ever notice how no matter the size of your kitchen, that’s where everyone gathers? A home can have an ample dining room and living area, but a crowd will choose to congregate in a narrow Pullman kitchen.

Size is certainly not a prerequisite for a great entertaining kitchen—though square footage will determine whether you can include features like an island or butler’s pantry, if you’re not the cook for your parties. When designing a kitchen that functions as an effective entertaining space, it’s all about the specialty features that are integrated in the space to make serving food and beverage easy.

Before you begin your kitchen renovation, seriously review how you use your current kitchen and set goals for your remodel. This way, you can stay on track as you make important decisions about floor plan, appliances, cabinetry and more.

Questions to Ask:

• What kind of events do you host (casual, formal, buffet, sit-down, etc)?
• How many people do you generally entertain at one time?
• How do you serve food? Do guests serve themselves in the kitchen or do you plate food and serve it in another space?
• Do you cook food yourself, or do you hire caterers for parties?
• Is cooking part of the entertainment (as in cooking clubs)?
• How many people cook at one time while you entertain?