10 Hot Summer Features Every Kitchen Needs

Summer is the time for cookouts and outdoor gatherings with family and friends. Everyone wants to head outdoors to socialize and have fun in the backyard or on the patio—where there’s plenty of space and things to do. Some little conveniences and updates can not only make your guests’ experience more welcoming and enjoyable — but they can also make hosting easier and equally enjoyable for you.

1. Pulldown Faucet with Versatility Sprayer

Cookouts and summer entertaining can be tricky when it comes to dishes, utensils, raw foods, cooked foods and all the hands that touch them. The GROHE Zedra Triple Spray Pulldown Kitchen Faucet is the perfect solution to all of those challenges and more:

• It’s a beautifully designed single-hole gooseneck faucet that swivels 360 degrees for maximum utility.
• It has a simple lever to turn water on or off and regulate temperature. GROHE SilkMove engineering ensures the lever always works smoothly and effortlessly. The vertical lever operates forward, eliminating concerns about backsplash clearances.
• The spout is actually a gracefully flared pulldown sprayer that easily extends and retracts back to its dock. It has a SpeedClean nozzle that wipes clean with your fingertip.
• The sprayer easily toggles among three distinct settings—stream, shower and blade—to let you tailor your water pattern and strength to the task.
• The press of a button allows you to pause water while maintaining your settings.
• Ceramic disc valve construction ensures a lifetime of drip-free performance.

The Zedra makes everything easier—whether you’re filling a pitcher, rinsing fruit, quickly cleaning guest plates and cutlery, or spraying down BBQ utensils. Even better, GROHE makes matching Zedra beverage and bar faucets to cover every entertaining area.

2. Aesthetic Serving Trays

A tremendous amount of entertaining outside entails carrying things in and out. Large sturdy trays that are pretty and stylish are worthwhile additions to your hosting arsenal. They’re easy to store vertically, but you’ll use them over and over again because they let you make every trip count and keep you organized.

3. Shoe Wash Bins or Basins

No one wants a bunch of dirt brought inside from outside. Set up a shoe station outside the door that everyone can use. All sorts of options are available—from shoe cleaning machines that clean the sole to shoe cleaning basins designed for tennis shoes, for example, to footbath mats used to sanitize boots on farms. Set it up with a small bench or chair to make use easy and convenient.

4. Comfy Seating and Loungers

Ample seating makes everyone feel welcome. Safe seating makes sure that no one is embarrassed when a chair or glider collapses beneath their weight. Clean, comfy seating ensures that everyone can get comfortable, relax and have a good time. If you’re going to entertain outside, it’s the perfect time to break out some colorful new cushy cushions or replace sagging loungers that have seen better days with something more reliable and functional.

5. Incorporated Shade Zones

Time spent in direct sunlight can prove fatiguing—especially for young children, senior guests, and those who might have medical conditions or take prescription medications. If you aren’t lucky enough to have a centuries-old sprawling live oak gracing your lawn, you can create your own shade. Options range from building arbor-type overhangs and porches to installing tent canopies and simple pavilions.

6. Fans & Ventilation

Whether you hang ceiling fans or suspend round retro fans, the addition will keep air moving on even the most still and humid days. Plus, moving air tends to keep insects like gnats, flies and mosquitoes at bay. Fans can make seating areas more comfortable and help to keep pests away from food. You might even want to consider a misting fan to drop the temperature a few degrees.

7. Portable Icemaker

Under a counter, on a table or freestanding, icemakers come as small or as large as you’d like. You can set it up outside and let it take the pressure off of your refrigerator’s freezer while also limiting kitchen traffic. You’ll have a reserve of fresh, clean ice outside—where everyone is—perfect for making a few mixed drinks and keeping everyone cool.

8. Bug Netting

Screening in a porch is the classic example of permanent bug netting, but fine mesh curtains are available for canopies, tents and other outdoor structures that are otherwise open to biting flying insects. Some are quite attractive and preserve the view yet get the job done by keeping the creepy crawlies out.

9. Flowers and Greenery

Many of our favorite Southern flowers are springtime bloomers, so in early months, yards look lush and pretty. By summer, however, many perennial blooms are over, and it’s time to let the annuals shine. Planting vibrant colors like reds, hot pinks and yellows can stand up to hot sun while plants with white flowers or variegated leaves can light up shady spots. Ground plantings, hanging baskets and oversized pots can transform a summer backyard into a garden escape.

10. Outdoor Lighting

The right outdoor lighting adds hours of entertaining time and atmosphere. Put a few lights in the rafters of a pavilion for a dramatic effect, or install some solar wall lamps on a border fence. You can even string lights across a yard from point to point for an almost bygone charm. Well-done outdoor or landscape lighting is that little extra that speaks volumes.

Get Started at Coburn’s Today

Summer events should be enjoyable not only for your guests but also for you too. For more summer home and lifestyle ideas, explore our website, or visit your nearest Coburn’s Kitchen & Bath Showroom. We want your summer entertaining events to be just as much fun as you’d hoped they’d be.

SOURCES:
https://www.amazon.com/GROHE-30205002-Ladylux-Single-Handle-Starlight/dp/B07X3YB8ZC?th=1
https://www.sport-thieme.com/Team_sport/Tennis/Training_accessories/art=1405301
https://gemplers.com/products/wearwell-footbath-mat?currency=USD&variant=21169944723545
https://www.franke.com/ru/en/ws/products/special-cleaning-units/shoe-and-boot-cleaning-units/sirw721a_detail.html
https://www.homedepot.com/p/GROHE-Zedra-Single-Handle-Pull-Out-Sprayer-Kitchen-Faucet-with-Swivel-Spout-in-StarLight-Chrome-32298003/311237483
https://lcpshop.net/product/shoe-cleaning-machine-portable-device/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI-v764q659wIVxBrnCh0vcw-nEAkYBSABEgJvavD_BwE