Kitchen Decor

An island or a peninsula is a work surface first. Any Christmas decor on it has to move when you start chopping, rolling cookies or setting out food. So my one rule for the island: everything lives in or next to a single container you can lift with one hand. The base: one long, low vessel A wooden dough bowl (on Amazon) is about 18 inches long and low, which is the right shape for an island. It doesn’t block the view across the counter, and it holds a surprising amount: pinecones, a few ornaments, clementines, a string of fairy lights. Put it to one side of the island, not dead center, so the middle stays free. ...

That strip of empty space between the cabinets and the ceiling is the most ignored real estate in most kitchens. In December it’s the easiest place to add a lot of Christmas without giving up a single inch of counter. The trick is to treat it as one long line, not a shelf for a dozen things. One continuous garland A garland running the full length of the cabinet tops is what makes the kitchen look decorated from the doorway. Measure along the front edge of the cabinets, including the returns at each end, and add a foot for draping. ...

The window over the sink is the one spot in a small kitchen you look at every single day. It’s also the one place where decorations have to stay out of the way of water, steam and a dish rack. Here’s how I’d dress it. What’s in this post A wreath that doesn’t need a nail Candles that turn on by themselves Greenery across the top What to leave off the sill A wreath that doesn’t need a nail A small wreath centered in the glass is the classic look, and it’s the easiest to do in a rental. A suction wreath hanger (on Amazon) holds it from the inside of the window. Wipe the glass with rubbing alcohol first so the cup grips. ...

A small kitchen can feed a holiday table. It cannot do it if the oven and both burners are asked to finish at the same minute. Buy the things that cook while the oven is busy, then store without a second cabinet. The one that earns its counter space in January, not only on the 25th, is a 5 quart air fryer (on Amazon). The Ninja AF141 is a single basket with air fry, roast, reheat and dehydrate. The basket holds a tray of appetizers or a pan of vegetables while a roast has the oven. The machine is about 15 inches deep, 11 inches wide and 10 inches tall. If that spot on the counter is already a landing strip, it is the wrong appliance, however good the potatoes are. ...

A Christmas coffee bar is one corner of your kitchen set up for holiday drinks: mugs, syrups, a few toppings, and a little decoration. It’s handy all December, for slow weekend mornings, for guests, and for a cup of something before you wrap presents. You don’t need a big kitchen. One small section of counter or a cart is enough. Where to put it Pick a spot near the coffee maker or kettle, out of the main cooking area. If your counter is full, a three-tier rolling cart (on Amazon) works: machine on top, mugs and syrups in the middle, extras on the bottom. Roll it into the living room when friends come over. ...

Place cards seem formal, but they solve a real problem at any size of table: the awkward moment when everyone stands around holding their drinks, waiting for someone to say where to sit. A name at each seat ends that. It also lets you put the chatty uncle at the far end and the two people who haven’t met next to each other. And they’re one of the cheapest ways to make a table look finished. Here are a few versions, all quick. ...

When the dining table only seats four and there are nine of you, a sit-down Thanksgiving with every dish passed around isn’t going to work. A buffet does. Everyone fills a plate, finds a seat wherever there’s one (sofa, floor cushion, the arm of a chair), and the table is free for the food. The tricky part in a small apartment isn’t the food, it’s the traffic. Here’s how to set it up so people aren’t queuing through the kitchen while you’re trying to carve. ...

Decorating cookies is more fun than baking them, and it’s much more fun if the baking’s already done. The secret to a decorating afternoon that doesn’t end in frustration is doing nearly everything ahead of time, so the table is just cookies, icing and sprinkles. The day before Bake the cookies. A basic sugar cookie dough, rolled about a quarter inch thick and cut with simple shapes (on Amazon): trees, stars, stockings, round ornaments. Big simple shapes are easier for kids to decorate than fiddly ones. Let them cool completely on racks (on Amazon) and store them flat in a container overnight. ...

Fall is when people start cooking more again, so the kitchen needs its counters. The trick is to put fall everywhere except where you chop: towels, the table, the tops of shelves and the windowsill. Towels The quickest change in any kitchen. Swap the dish towels and the hand towel by the sink for fall ones (on Amazon), or just plain rust, mustard or olive. You see them every time you wash a dish. Get a couple of extras; you’ll be using more. ...

A hot cocoa bar is one of the easiest ways to make December feel like December, and it doesn’t need a big kitchen. It needs one flat surface, something that keeps cocoa hot, and a few jars of things to put on top. Where to put it Not on the kitchen counter you cook on. A bar cart, a sideboard, the end of a console or even a cleared shelf of a bookcase works. You need about two feet of surface: one foot for the cocoa and mugs, one foot for toppings. ...