5 Genius Kitchen Design Lessons from an Atlanta Reno

 When Atlanta, Georgia-based designers Lathem Gordon and Cate Dunning of GordonDunning set out to remodel the kitchen of a young couple who loved to entertain, they had to almost start from scratch. "It had been remodeled in the early 1990s, and the function of the kitchen was not matching the needs of this young family," they explain. Here are some of the clever ideas the designers came up with to perfectly suit this young family of three (plus a pup!). You may just want to steal a few of the tips!

Leave Room for Guests

"There are no cabinets on the outer part of the kitchen island—just a long bank of windows. We left the wall blank to allow for guests to congregate where they inevitably will - by the wine fridge across from the cook!" Say the designers. "A blank wall would have made the kitchen seem tight and skinny. Instead, we edited the original windows to allow the eye to move outside of the space and give a feeling of vastness despite the fact that the kitchen is narrow."

Add Floating Shelves

"Floating shelves often get a bad wrap as just something to keep pretty. That can be true, but these served a few more purposes," explain the designers. The first is storage. "This couple is a 'come on in' family—Friday nights are casual—a full kitchen with folks gathered round sampling the impromptu menu. Having dishes quickly accessible helps to keep the party going."

The second reason is decorative and to add accessories that nod to the family's story. "We love using a kitchen as another living space. It shouldn't feel cold and utilitarian when you're gathering in the kitchen—it should feel like part of the home!"

Bonus: the dishwasher is in the island next to the sink, so pulling out dishes to put away on the floating shelves is easy!

Make Drinks and Snacks Easier to Grab

The wine fridge was an important addition to the kitchen—the designers put it in the island facing the windows, away from the workspace, so that guests can access wine without tangling with the cook! "It's a great way to keep conversation going while libations are refilled," they say.

And that's not all! At the very end of the kitchen is a breakfast garage with two pullout refrigerator drawers that hold coffee mixings and kid drinks and snacks. "This way, in the dark of the morning, the creamer is close at hand when making your coffee; when entertaining outdoors, kiddos can easily—and independently!—move to the drawers and grab a popsicle without needing to track through the food prep space."

Use Drawers instead of Doors in Lower Cabinets

"We're big believers in drawers vs. doors in lower cabinets! Drawers allow the user to see all the contents of the cavity and access the items more easily. Cabinets with doors tend to create blind spots and require the user to squat and reach for their needed item, which can be unflattering when entertaining, not to mention uncomfortable."

We love the smart solution for the plates, shown here, with oversized pegs to separate different styles and sizes.

Add a Workstation Sink

"We love a workstation sink—we use them in every kitchen we're allowed, especially small kitchens," say the designers. They point out that having cutting boards and dish racks fit within the sink makes prep and clean-up very (very) easy. "The finishes of those accessories match the sink as well, so that even when in use, the kitchen looks polished."