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"VIEW MORE PHOTOS  The homeowners are empty nesters who are more interested in planning parties than preparing pasta, so the 600-square-foot L-shaped country kitchen in their new Westchester County, New York, home has been designed accordingly. &amp;quot;My wife doesn&amp;#039;t cook\u2014she makes reservations,&amp;quot; the husband says, laughing. &amp;quot;When we entertain, we do takeout, catered meals or barbecues, so we didn&amp;#039;t really want a kitchen that looked or felt like a kitchen.&amp;quot; To give the space all the elegance of a living room and all the efficiency of a prime food-prep area, Donny Crichton, owner of Merrick Kitchen &amp;amp;amp; Bath in Merrick, New York, called for classic maple cabinetry that pairs function and flair. &amp;quot;The cabinetry is like luxurious furniture,&amp;quot; he says. &amp;quot;Planning it was like putting together a jigsaw puzzle because every piece of the cabinets had to fit with the coffered ceiling.&amp;quot; The delight is in the details: A monumental arched valance stretches over the sink; a bilevel island sports a hefty butcher block attached at a space-defining dogleg angle; and beaded insets mark the cabinet doors. The appliances are grandly integrated into the scheme, with a lighted display shelf and cove, complete with curvaceous corbels over the color-coordinated eight-burner range and a set of elaborately paneled doors that conceal the large built-in refrigerator. View resources for this storyFloor Plan: Steven Stankiewicz Circulation is free and easy in this kitchen, thanks to the strategic design of the island. A bent form is less formidable or barrierlike than a straight block. &amp;quot;We selected glass-paneled doors for some of the wall cabinets so my wife can display her collection of china and glassware,&amp;quot; the husband says. &amp;quot;The pieces are all different colors, and especially when they are illuminated at night, they really do set the mood for a party.&amp;quot; The kitchen is positioned to play the perfect host. French doors open to the Olympic-size swimming pool, and the rest of the space flows into the family room, where guests gather. A 42-inch flat-screen television, along with two others in the family room, keeps the couple informed of current events and provides entertainment for visitors, and a desk at the end of the glass-topped dining table becomes an ideal spot for catching up on correspondence. When the couple does indulge in some homecooking, the appliances, which include a separate freezer drawer, two dishwashers and a second oven, are ready and waiting. &amp;quot;The kitchen is lovely,&amp;quot; the husband says, adding that it so hardly resembles a place to prepare meals that he rarely calls it by that name. &amp;quot;We feel like we are living in a hotel. But we still have to do our own room service.&amp;quot; View our slideshow "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.elledecor.com/design-decorate/room-ideas/a1224/party-central-43600/>