Entertaining Kitchen Design: Second Sinks, Wine & the Off-Kitchen Bar

most kitchens built for entertaining fail in the same way. the cook and the guests want the same four feet of floor. someone is reaching past someone else for ice, and the one sink is full of pans.

the fix is rarely a bigger kitchen. it is a better distribution of cabinetry: a second sink that takes pressure off the first, wine that lives at the right temperature, and a bar that does not live in the kitchen at all.

start with the traffic, not the party

before choosing a single door, draw where guests will stand. they will gather at the edge of the work zone, always. your job is to give them a place that is close enough to feel included and far enough that the cook keeps a clear line between the fridge, sink and range.

in a pre-war co-op galley, aisles run 42 to 48 inches at best. nobody should be standing in that. in a brownstone parlor floor or a loft, you have more room, but the same rule applies: put drinks, glassware and ice on a separate axis from the cooking triangle, ideally 6 feet or more from the range.

the second sink: size, placement, construction

a second sink is the single most useful addition to an entertaining kitchen. it is a prep sink for the cook and a bar sink for guests, and it keeps the main sink free for the dishes that are going to pile up.

• bowl size: 15 to 18 inches wide is enough. the cabinet beneath it needs a 18 to 21 inch base cabinet. anything smaller feels like a mistake.
• placement: on an island or peninsula, at least 36 inches from the main sink so two people can work without bumping. keep 15 inches of countertop on one side for landing.
• base construction: a sink base should have a solid, sealed floor and a cut-out you can service. we build it with a removable apron panel so a plumber can reach the trap without dismantling the run.
• drawers below: a shallow drawer above the bowl hides the plumbing and holds bar tools, towels and citrus knives.

if the plumbing does not exist where you want the sink, that is a job for a contractor. our sister design-build studio at thekitchenguy.pro handles that side. here, we stay with the cabinet.

wine storage that actually keeps wine

wine wants 55°F, 60 to 70 percent humidity and no vibration. a refrigerator beside the stove will fail on every count. that is why we separate wine from the kitchen's heat whenever the plan allows.

undercounter units

standard undercounter wine columns are 15 or 24 inches wide and about 34.5 inches high, built to slot below a 36-inch counter. the detail that matters is ventilation: front-vented units need an open toe-kick and no obstruction behind. we cut the plinth and the adjoining panels accordingly. a unit that cannot breathe will run constantly and die early.

wall racks and cabinet-integrated storage

for a collection of 40 or more bottles, a floor-to-ceiling unit with glass doors reads like furniture and holds around 80 to 150 bottles at 7 to 8 feet high. keep it away from the oven wall and out of direct sun. for everyday bottles, a 12-inch pull-out with horizontal dividers inside a tall cabinet holds 18 to 24 bottles and disappears behind a door.

the bar that is not in the kitchen

this is where entertaining kitchens get interesting. a kitchen with a bar area does not need that bar to be in the kitchen. in a good apartment, the bar belongs in the room where people actually are: a dining room wall, a hallway niche, a foyer, the end of a living room.

it solves three problems at once. guests stop circling the cook. the kitchen stays calm. and the cabinetry in the main room can be quieter and more furniture-like than anything you would put next to a range.

dimensions that work

• depth: 16 to 24 inches. in a pre-war hall, 16 inches often clears the door swing. at 24 inches you can hold a bar sink or an ice maker.
• counter height: 36 inches for a standing bar, 42 inches if you want stools. leave 24 inches of width per seated guest.
• shelf spacing: 14 inches clear for tall bottles, 10 to 11 inches for stemware, with a rail or lip at the front of each shelf.
• glassware: a drawer with soft dividers for tumblers; a hanging rack or glass-front upper cabinet for stems.
• ice: a 15-inch undercounter ice maker needs a drain and a vented plinth, so decide before the cabinet is built.

closing it up

a bar should be able to disappear. flip-up doors, pocket doors and a full-height door with a lock all work. in a family apartment, a lockable cabinet is not a luxury. it is the whole reason the bar can sit in a living room.

doors and finishes for a room with spirits and spills

a bar cabinet takes more abuse than a pantry. citrus, wine, vermouth and sugar are hard on a bad finish, and light paint shows everything. choose a finish that wipes clean and a door that does not collect residue in its profile.

a flat, quiet slab like Lafayette Veneer gives you continuous grain and almost no crevices to clean. for something more traditional, Vanderbilt keeps clean lines with more presence on a long wall.

on finish: Ink is dramatic in a dining room and makes glass and brass look better, though it shows fingerprints and needs a soft cloth. Quarter Sawn White Oak Natural hides the day-to-day marks that come with serving and warms up a formal room. if you have a bar in a dark hallway, be careful with deep colors in a space with no daylight. sample them in place.

fitting cabinetry into old buildings

pre-war walls are not straight. a 8-foot wall can be out of plumb by an inch or more, and floors can slope half an inch across a room. that matters in a bar, where a long countertop and a shelf of bottles will reveal every error.

we build with scribe allowances and adjustable legs, and we template on site for any run longer than 6 feet. in an Upper East Side apartment, that usually decides whether a cabinet looks built-in or merely placed there.

lead times are worth planning around. TKG Standard typically runs 8 to 12 weeks, TKG Inset 14 to 18 and TKG Custom 16 to 22, depending on finish and scope. a freestanding bar cabinet in a single room is often a good first piece to order. a full bar run of 6 to 8 feet in cabinetry alone typically falls between $8,000 and $22,000, depending on line, materials and interior fittings.

if you are comparing options across lines and finishes, our collections page is a good place to start.

see it in person

cabinetry for entertaining is a question of weight, sheen and how a drawer feels at 9 p.m. with a drink in the other hand. you cannot judge that from a screen. request a sample door or visit a showroom in manhattan or cedarhurst, or by appointment in south florida, and we will put the real thing in your hands.