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How To Host An Elegant Baby Or Bridal Shower At Home

There are so many advantages to hosting a baby or bridal shower at home. You are able to enjoy the intimate occasion with the utmost privacy and not be bothered by rental time restraints. To plan a special event that your guest of honor will remember forever, follow these tips for hosting an elegant baby or bridal shower at home.

Plan a menu that doesn’t require reheating.

When serving a large group from home, it’s important that the majority of menu items do not require reheating. Not even dream kitchens can compete with their commercial counterparts. A menu that is easy for a restaurant to prepare and serve can be a nightmare in a home kitchen.

Focus on foods that can be served cold or room temperature like quiches, sandwiches, different varieties of salads, and pastry items like muffins, scones and croissants. You can create a delicious and versatile brunch that doesn’t require you to shuffle dishes in and out of the oven.

Hire a bartender.

While you know your wine storage cabinet better than anyone, it’s best to surrender your home bar to a professional. Even if their job is simply managing the mimosa station, it will be a weight off your shoulders knowing someone will be there constantly uncorking the champagne.

When hosting a shower at home, it’s likely that your refrigerator and freezer will be at max capacity, so it’s smart to fill a large cooler with ice before the big day. Keep a few extra bottles of alcohol and juice chilled to make sure you never run out of drinks. Store your backup cooler out of sight but close by, preferably in a no-traffic area like your kitchen pantry, garage or laundry room.

Set up the perfect gifting spot.

Opening gifts is often the highlight of a shower. As the host, you want to designate the perfect spot for gathering gifts and viewing the unwrapping. If you have an open concept kitchen, the kitchen island can be an ideal area to organize gifts. Since it’s up a little higher, even your guests in the back of the room will be able to see clearly. Alternatively, set up your gifting spot at a buffet table that can be pushed against a wall with plenty of open space in front of it.

Make sure you also designate a gifting assistant, whether it be yourself or someone else at the party, to pass gifts to the mother or bride-to-be and take notes on each gift that is received. This is one detail that can be overlooked in the moment, so it’s best to plan in advance.

Keep decorations to a minimum.

You might feel like you need to overcompensate with decorations to make your home shower feel more festive, but this is not the case. There’s no need to cover your entire kitchen island with confetti or construct seven diaper cakes.

When planning your party, remember that the room will not look as it does right now. It will be filled with your friends and family and overflowing with gifts and delicious food. Use decorations as an accent instead of a focal point by incorporating subtle details. Elements like the cake or cookies, servingware, and even the cocktail napkins can be great opportunities to showcase your theme without making an overwhelming statement.

If you want to create the perfect photo op, convert one wall or area of the room into a photo station. Hang a sign, backdrop, or letter balloons against the wall, and set up a portable cart with accessories that guests can pose with. Since it will be off to the side, it won’t interfere with the party, and guests will be able to capture a fun memory of the shower.

Welcome to Willow Lane Cabinetry — the #1 place to buy affordable, semi-custom cabinets online! Let us help you create the kitchen, home office, home bar, laundry room, TV room or bath of your dreams with our 100% free room design tool. We offer all wood cabinetry, fully assembled and delivered for free, plus all the accessories needed to complete your remodel. Visit our website to see our products today!

How To Design A Family-Friendly Kitchen

If you have children, chances are your dream kitchen is a family-friendly kitchen. From a large kitchen island for prepping meals and baking cookies together, to durable flooring that is easy to keep clean, let’s tackle how to design a family-friendly dream kitchen that is equal parts form and function.

Kitchen Island
A large kitchen island anchors a family-friendly kitchen design. If you have a large crew, this must-have feature offers extra seating for young children and teens, whether it’s breakfast time or a place to do homework after school. A kitchen island also provides extra countertop space for preparing dinner together as a family, baking a yummy dessert, or working on craft projects. Choose from bar height or countertop height, and add stools accordingly.

Cabinets
Quality cabinets are vital in a family-friendly kitchen. Choose cabinetry with a durable finish that can withstand daily wear and tear and can be easily cleaned, especially if you have young children. Whether you opt for a painted or stained finish, look for custom cabinetry that is built to order.

At Willow Lane Cabinetry, we have a large selection of quality custom cabinets to choose from, with standard features like premium I-beam construction, solid hardwood doors with a full overlay design, and dovetailed drawer boxes with undermount, soft-close, full extension glides. Talk about family-friendly features!

Countertops
For a truly family-friendly kitchen, choose a durable, low-maintenance, easy to clean material for your countertops. Good options include natural stone like Granite or Quartzite, engineered stone like Quartz, and man-made Acrylic Solid Surface, which is warm to the touch and non-porous to prevent bacteria from penetrating the surface. These materials are all scratch, heat, and stain resistant, making them ideal for busy families.

Flooring
Don’t cry over spilled milk. When you have children, the flooring you install in the kitchen should be resistant to water damage (and other spills kids tend to make). Tile and vinyl plank flooring are perfect options for kitchen floors because they are strong, easy to clean, and waterproof. Best of all, they come in a variety of styles, including realistic options for homeowners who want the look of wood with family-friendly durability.

Family-Friendly Finishing Details
A family-friendly kitchen isn’t complete without a tile backsplash to protect the walls from cooking messes. You’ll also want a large kitchen sink for washing dishes, and a kitchen hood to remove odors and improve the air quality for your family. Add inside cabinet accessories to keep your kitchen organized, such as a heavy-duty mixer lift for baking, a Lazy Susan, and a pullout waste container to keep trash safely behind closed doors.

Are you ready to make that dream kitchen a reality for your family? Take advantage of our free room design service to customize your family-friendly kitchen and maximize your space.
Welcome to Willow Lane Cabinetry — the #1 place to buy affordable, semi-custom cabinets online! Let us help you create the kitchen, home office, home bar, laundry room, TV room or bath of your dreams with our 100% free room design tool. We offer all wood cabinetry, fully assembled and delivered for free, plus all the accessories needed to complete your remodel. Visit our website to see our products today!

5 Wonderful Ways To Fill Your Home With Gratitude

Whether your home has beautiful new kitchen cabinets or you are still adding to your “Dream Kitchens” Pinterest board, you probably have a lot to be thankful for. Here are five wonderful ways to fill your home with gratitude this holiday season and beyond.

Host a party.

‘Tis the season for entertaining, and there is no nicer way to show gratitude for your friends and neighbors than by inviting them into your home. From taking the time to make a delicious, home-cooked meal, to hosting a holiday open house or cocktail party, your guests will surely feel your warm welcome, and in turn, will be grateful for you as well.

Add family photos.

Whether it’s a collection of framed photos on the open shelves of your TV room cabinetry or a gallery wall in your home’s entryway, a home should have pictures of the people (and pets) you love most. Family photos add a personal touch to your space like nothing else can. They tell your story and keep cherished memories close to your heart.

Fill your home with a favorite fragrance.

Scents can instantly lift your spirits and make you nostalgic for treasured moments in your life. From your grandmother’s freshly baked apple pie and your mother’s favorite flowers, to the fresh Christmas tree in your childhood home, you can recapture those aromas with scented candles, reed diffusers, or the real thing.

Keep your home clean and well-organized.

According to Psychology Today, clutter can negatively affect your mood and your well-being. With that said, a clean home is a happier home, so take the time to stay on top of the mess. Consider adding space-saving accessories to your new kitchen cabinets for better organization, and install custom cabinetry for storage that cuts down on the clutter.

Write it down or share what you are thankful for.

Consider keeping a journal on your bedside table to write down what you are grateful for at the end of the day. It could be something big, like the roof over your head, or something small, like having lunch with your best friend or hearing a kind word from a stranger. If you have children, go around the dinner table and take turns sharing what you are thankful for as a family. There is no better way to fill your home with gratitude.

5 Thanksgiving Appetizers To Serve Before The Main Course

Dream kitchens are created for holiday hosting. Whether you’re serving a formal sit-down dinner at the dining room table or a casual buffet on your kitchen island, a good host always starts the evening with a few appetizers. The goal is to whet the appetites of your guests without spoiling it. Here are few of our favorite Thanksgiving appetizers to serve before the main course. Light and delicious, these festive party starters will surely leave them wanting more.

Sweet Potato Bites

We found this sweet recipe at Delish, and we can’t think of a better (or sweeter) way to start your Thanksgiving feast. A deconstructed, bite-sized version of the sweet potato casserole, this appetizer consists of sweet potatoes sliced into thick rounds and drizzled with melted butter, maple syrup, and a sprinkling of salt. Topped with one toasty marshmallow and a single pecan, these little morsels are too cute not to love. For the full recipe from Delish, click here.

Cheese Ball Bites

Another bite-sized version of a holiday staple, these mini Bacon Ranch Cheese Ball Bites will be your new dinner party favorite. For this easy to follow recipe from I Am Baker, click here. Fun to make and fun to eat, this poppable appetizer is packed with the savory flavors of cream cheese, Cheddar cheese and ranch seasoning, rolled with crispy bacon, fresh chives and chopped pecans. Serve with crackers or add a pretzel stick as an edible serving tool.

Cranberry Salsa

Chips and dip are a must on any appetizer menu. Salsa is a light and healthy choice when compared to heavy, creamy dips like spinach, crab, or asiago cheese. For Thanksgiving, give your homemade salsa a festive twist by swapping out whole cranberries and orange zest for tomatoes. Sweet and spicy, you’ll also need sugar, fresh cilantro and chopped jalapeno peppers. For the complete recipe from Taste of Home, click here.

Butternut Squash Tartlets

If you have a mini muffin tin and a food processor in your kitchen cabinets, you can make these adorable homemade tartlets that feature an autumn favorite — butternut squash. Topped with crumbled Feta cheese and finely chopped parsley, this appetizer looks impressive but is actually quite easy to make. For the recipe and step-by-step instructions from Good Housekeeping, click here.

Roasted nuts are also a great way to get the holiday dinner party started. Click here for Roasted Nut Recipes For Fall And Winter Snacking from our recent blog, and keep a few bowls on your kitchen island or home bar for holiday guests to enjoy. Happy hosting!

How to Design A Kitchen For Holiday Hosting

The holidays are all about celebrating family, friends and food — which means your kitchen is about to become the center of attention very soon. Get ahead of the last minute hustle and bustle, and start making the changes you need now so that you can focus on being the host with the most when your doorbell rings.

From how to maximize the space you have to the best tricks for organizing a kitchen pantry cabinet, here are some tips for designing a kitchen that can accommodate your guests this holiday season.

Install a kitchen island to create a better traffic flow while also increasing your storage and countertop space.

When your kitchen has only one place to enter and exit, you’re likely to encounter a traffic jam whenever you have company. By installing a kitchen island, you are actually able to create a second entryway and a more organized traffic flow.

Kitchen islands come in all shapes and sizes. There are even beautiful portable options and smaller kitchen carts available. Because of the extensive selection, you can easily find an option that fits perfectly into your kitchen.

The added bonus of a kitchen island is that it also increases your storage and countertop space. This is a lifesaver when your normal dinner party doubles or triples in size. You can use this area to set out food buffet style or allow guests to linger without crowding your prep space.

Create an organization system that cuts down on clutter and simplifies entertaining.

When you think of your dream kitchens, what is the one thing that none of them have?

Clutter.

Having a place for everything is crucial if you want to design a kitchen for entertaining. In other words — storage is king. It’s impossible to host during the holidays when it takes 20 minutes to find your vanilla extract or your countertops are completely covered.

There are so many ways you can set yourself up for organizational success when designing your kitchen. First is by making sure you have the right cabinets for your kitchen. Send your information over to our design team and we’ll create a custom layout for you that will be functional for your space.

From there, utilize inside cabinet accessories so that everything from your trays to your spices are organized and easy to find. When organizing a kitchen pantry cabinet, your best bet is to separate items by category. Some people prefer to organize by color or size, but when you organize by category, it simplifies grocery shopping and makes it much easier to find what you’re looking for. No stress for this host!

Build a home bar where guests can self-serve while you entertain.

A well designed home bar where guests can serve themselves is an amazing asset for any host. Not only does this reduce traffic in the main kitchen area, but it allows guests to truly feel at home.

The last thing a guest wants to do is constantly bother the host. By creating ways for guests to be autonomous and enjoy your offerings independently, there’s no need for you to be a helicopter host.

Most kitchen sizes can accommodate a home bar, and you don’t need a lot of space to build a great drink station. Even the smallest nook can be transformed into a fully functional wet bar that will take your next holiday party to a whole new level.

How To Throw An Unforgettable Autumn Dinner Party In Your Open Concept Kitchen

Dream kitchens are all about cooking, dining and entertaining. This autumn, gather your family and friends for an unforgettable dinner party in your open concept kitchen. Whether it’s a formal holiday feast around the dining room table or a casual buffet spread on your kitchen island, you can rest assured your guest will leave will full bellies and fond memories.

Fancy fall appetizers help to get the party started.

Leading up to your dinner party, stock your kitchen pantry cabinets with unique and unexpected ingredients. You don’t have to be an experienced home chef to serve impressive appetizers. Instead of a basic cheese platter, craft a charcuterie board with fancy crackers, seasonal fruits and vegetables, salty nuts, dried meat, and a selection of soft and hard cheeses. In autumn, swap out the cold dips typically served in summer for hot varieties, such as this Asiago Cheese Dip recipe from Fresh Market. Serve hot dips with whole grain tortilla chips, pita crisps, or pieces of crusty sourdough and pumpernickel bread.

A memorable dinner party needs a memorable main course.

While fancy finger foods whet appetites, it’s the main course that truly makes an autumn dinner party memorable. If you prefer to serve a buffet spread on your kitchen island rather than a sit-down meal, plan for a variety of options that can be easily enjoyed at the table or from the comfort of your TV room sofa. Take advantage of the season’s bounty and prepare a menu that incorporates a cornucopia of delicious fall flavors, like this Autumn Pear Salad. Need more inspiration? Click here for 65 main-course recipes for a fall dinner party from Epicurious.

An unforgettable dinner party should have a signature cocktail.

It’s important to keep your bar cabinets stocked when entertaining any time of year, but a signature cocktail will help set the tone for your fall gathering. In cooler months, choose a cocktail that is spicy yet sweet and can be whipped up in large batches. Click here for 45 signature fall cocktails from Town and Country. As a host or hostess, you should also serve water infused with fresh fruit and have soda, tea, wine and cider on hand. When it’s time for dessert, be sure to brew a pot of decaffeinated coffee for your evening guests.

End your fall dinner party on a sweet note.

Dessert is the perfect ending to an unforgettable dinner party. Fall is ripe with seasonal fruits that are ideal for baking into pies and tarts. Try this Individual Rustic Apple Tarts recipe from Martha Stewart. Other fall options could include ginger cookies, spiced cake, or Paula Dean’s decadent Pumpkin Cheesecake.

Happy hosting!

Welcome to Willow Lane Cabinetry — the #1 place to buy affordable, semi-custom cabinets online! Let us help you create the kitchen, home office, home bar, laundry room, TV room, or bath of your dreams with our 100% free room design tool. We offer all wood cabinetry, fully assembled and delivered for free. Plus all the accessories you need to complete your remodel. Visit our website to see our products today!

How To Preserve Fresh Summer Herbs For Fall And Winter Cooking

When you think of dream kitchens, do you picture families gathered around the table for home-cooked meals and freshly baked desserts cooling on the kitchen island countertop? With the summer season approaching its end and holiday hosting on the horizon, now is the time to think about preserving your fresh summer herbs for fall and winter cooking and baking. Read on to learn how.

Keeping Herbs Fresh In The Fridge

Keep herbs fresh by wrapping them in a damp paper towel and storing them in a plastic container or re-sealable plastic bag. You can also trim the stems and place your herbs in a glass jar filled with water. Cover the top with a plastic baggie to maintain moisture, and store them in the refrigerator. This method works well for long-stemmed herbs like cilantro, rosemary, thyme, chives, and parsley, but it will not work with basil.

Hang Drying

For this tried and true method, tie a handful of herb stems together at the bottom using a bit of string or yarn. Hang these tidy bundles in a warm place inside your home and let them dry for anywhere from a few days to two weeks, depending on humidity and the type of herb you are drying. This method works well for woody herbs like rosemary, oregano and thyme, as well as chives, dill marjoram, tarragon, and sage (a staple in Thanksgiving stuffing recipes). For more tips on air drying herbs from Better Homes and Gardens, click here.

Freeze Drying

For this simple method, line a large baking tray with freezer paper. Remove the leaves from the stems and neatly arrange the leaves on the baking tray in a single layer. Place the tray of herbs in the freezer for 30 minutes to an hour, depending on the herb. Move your herbs to a re-sealable freezer bag, and store your freeze-dried herbs in the freezer for later use. This method is ideal for basil, chives, dill, mint, oregano, sage, tarragon, thyme, and lemongrass.

Herbs can add unmatched flavor to your fall and winter dishes and desserts. Keep your kitchen pantry cabinet spice rack well stocked by trying one of these simple methods, and join the ranks of dream kitchens filled with food and family.

Welcome to Willow Lane Cabinetry — the #1 place to buy affordable, semi-custom cabinets online! Let us help you create the kitchen, home office, home bar, laundry room, TV room, or bath of your dreams with our 100% free room design tool. We offer all wood cabinetry, fully assembled and delivered for free. Plus all the accessories you need to complete your remodel. Visit our website to see our products today!

How To Design a Charming and Cozy Eat-In Kitchen

While we often talk about open concept kitchens, many families end up eating in the kitchen despite having a dining room. Dream kitchens need functionality as much as flair, so if meal time often happens in your kitchen, your kitchen should be able to accommodate your preference. Here are some tips to help you design a charming and cozy kitchen perfect for eating in.

Build a breakfast bar.

Whether you have an all wood cabinetry kitchen island that could easily double as a breakfast bar or you need to set up a portable island, this extra seating is great for families that like to grab a quick bite before work and school. All you need is some place settings and comfy stools.

Building a breakfast bar also makes your kitchen better prepared for entertaining. When you have guests over, this seating will provide a more comfortable and expansive area for guests to sip and snack. In smaller homes, this can be a huge asset — especially if you host dinners or parties during the holidays.

Set up a two-person or four-person table in your kitchen.

If your kitchen is larger, you can optimize some corner space into a cozy dining nook. A two or four-person table can offer a secondary seating area when you don’t want to eat in the dining room. Depending on the layout of your kitchen, you could also install a built-in bench so that this secondary dining table is also an inviting spot to sit, socialize or read. A dining nook can offer much more than a standard kitchen table.

Alternatively, for those who don’t have an empty corner to convert, you can extend your kitchen island to serve as a table. This is often a good choice in tight spaces, as it creates additional seating while maintaining the existing flow and layout of the kitchen.

Consider high top seating.

Your all wood cabinetry home bar is a beautiful addition to your home, but it’s not the only place you can have high top seating. While a staple in most bars, this seating option also works great in smaller spaces.

Consider adding bar stool seating to your eat-in kitchen if you want to save space and add a little variety to the room. Because of its vertical design, high top seating can sometimes be the perfect solution in tiny eat-in kitchens.

Double down on storage to create more room for seating in your kitchen.

If you feel like your room can’t accommodate an eating space, you may have to get creative with storage solutions. The best dream kitchens have optimized every inch, so that they are clutter free and have plenty of room to live comfortably. If you do install a bench in your cozy corner, add some built in storage. This allows you to utilize the area underneath the bench to tuck away items. A portable island is another great way to add an eating space while also increasing your storage options.

Keeping storage in mind when designing your eat-in kitchen can help you make the most of your space by keeping clutter under control.

Welcome to Willow Lane Cabinetry — the #1 place to buy affordable, semi-custom cabinets online! Let us help you create the kitchen, home office, home bar, laundry room, TV room, or bath of your dreams with our 100% free room design tool. We offer all wood cabinetry, fully assembled and delivered for free. Plus all the accessories you need to complete your remodel. Visit our website to see our products today!