Is your home the center of most family and friend-based gatherings? Are you serial chefs and entertainers? If so, adding a butler's pantry is one of the best things you can do to enhance your Chicago kitchen design. For some, a butler's pantry may seem like overkill. However, we'd argue that - if you have the space for it - a butler's pantry does more than make it easier to throw a party or host a large dinner.

Your butler's pantry becomes dedicated space for all of those servingware items - backup glasses, silverware, serving dishes and utensils - etc. that wind up hogging valuable space in your kitchen, or that have to be unboxed, dusted and washed whenever they're needed. Giving those items a dedicated space in the butler's pantry improves the main kitchen's flow function year-round.

7 Butler's Pantry Must-Haves For a Chicago Kitchen Design

Butlers pantries can be large or small, but the extra prep space, water and refrigeration they add will transform the way things unfold as you plan and host parties, group dinners and charity events.

Here are 7 must-haves to ensure your butler's pantry design is worth it:

1. Sink. As the wine glasses and dishes begin coming in from different courses, there can be a real pile up. Or, perhaps a party during the summer months is causing guests to blow through water like there's no tomorrow. The extra sink will be a huge help to keep things streamlined.
   
   
2. Open counter space. Extra countertop space in the butler's pantry will allow the serving staff to refill hors-d'oeuvre trays when the kitchen is taken up by entree prepping.
   
   
3. Open shelves. This is all about convenience, so open shelves will make sure the most-used items in the collections - coffee/tee service, backup wine glasses, stacks of extra hors-d'oeuvre or dessert plates, water pitchers and carafes - all are easy to grab when you need them, and east to restock when you're done.
   
   
4. Plenty of drawers. Extra drawer space keeps the overflow of silverware, serving spoons and other party accessories from taking up space in your everyday kitchen.
   
   
5. Bright lights. This area is all about utility, therefore, we recommend designing a lighting plan that accommodates nice, bright workspace. You can always put them on dimmers if the butler's pantry adjoins the dining room, or the space where the event is being held, so the lights are adjusted accordingly.
   
   
6. Beverage cooler. Save your sub-zero kitchen fridge for all the foodstuffs you'll need and use your butler pantry for a fridge dedicated to cooling the beverages. This also keeps serving staff or your family members from running all the way to the kitchen for the basics. A wine cabinet can be a handy addition as well.
   
   
7. Extra outlets. Install an extra GFCI outlet or two so you have plenty of power for small appliances. They can be tucked out of space underneath the cabinets.

Contact Kitchens & Baths Unlimited to talk about the potential options for adding a butler's pantry to your Chicago kitchen design.