The Breakfast/Beverage/Snack Center

This is my beautiful and functional Breakfast/Beverage/Snack Center.  I designed it to be a service area for our daily life, as well as a station for dessert & beverage entertainment.  The area is narrow so that there would be more room in the layout for our huge island, as well as a storage area next to our stove.  One annoyance was a chimney stack in the corner of the room.  We designed around that by creating two distinct functional areas, this area on the left, and the stove/cooking zone on the right.

Sugar and Butter for Bread & Beverages

The Ice Cream Maker: A Big & Beautiful Space Hog

This is a coffee-centric layout, useful for entertaining.  This works for breakfast/brunch as well as dessert service.  There is more counter space in the cooking zone, where the other regular occupants of this area can be placed when this section is set up for serving guests.  One must for me, was to have plenty of outlets for small appliances. This is on a dedicated circuit so there's no problem running multiple gadgets at the same time. Nothing like tripping a circuit when you have guests over!

Ice cream anyone? Now that we have the Creami machine, ice cream will be our go-to dessert when we have company.  One secret to my entertaining with dairy, is to put dairy digestive drops or crushed tablets into the base.  This helps lactose intolerant guests.  This is area can serve as an ice cream bar.  Because who doesn't need a specific set up for making sundaes?

Sometimes I like to have a girlfriend over for tea.  This area is a great way to show off my fancy China.  If you think my porcelain screams 1980's, it does. My wedding was in 1988! Of course, tea always tastes best with a bit of fancy.

One specific reason I wanted extra outlets (more than two) was so I could keep the appliances plugged in but still have space for the percolator plug.  This is also helpful if I want to plug in a warmer under my teapot.  This is just one of those little gadgets that are used to keep a cup warm -- but it works well with a pot full of tea too.

We can't forget cocktails!  The Soda Stream doesn't need to be plugged in.  We use it to mostly make seltzer, so it makes sense to set it up when we are serving mixable beverages.  Once the soda is fizzed, I can either place the bottle in front of the unit, or move it to the overflow area next to the stove.

The cabinet above the counter is crammed with most of the supplies needed for this area. It contains, coffee, tea bags, sweeteners, and mugs -- and more!

Almost everything I need for a full beverage service is contained in this one specific area. I love that it looks good every day, but also that I can flex the space for whatever entertaining needs arise.