Preparing your coffee in style

When we ask designer Valérie De L’Étoile if people who redo their kitchens often want to add a coffee corner, the answer is not long in coming: “All the time! she says laughing. It really is everyone’s dream to have a coffee corner or a lunch corner. »

Sophie Ouimet
The Press

Having a place dedicated to brewing the morning espresso does indeed seem important to a lot of people. Synonymous with comfort and often essential to start the day, the ritual has perhaps taken on even more importance with the pandemic and the arrival of teleworking. “People want a corner that’s easy to use because they do that every day. And with working from home, I think they make more than one coffee a day! adds the designer.

Marie-Pier Lambert, a dental hygienist by profession but a lover of coffee and photography, is a good example. In her pretty Laval kitchen, she has a perfectly organized coffee corner. It must be said that she and her husband are big fans of caffeinated drinks.

If her spouse uses the espresso machine to make coffees with milk, the one who is followed by a good number of subscribers on Instagram opts instead for the filter coffee maker during the week. “In the morning, I don’t have the patience to make my coffee manually, froth my milk… I program the machine, and the coffee is ready when I get up,” she says while preparing a cup. for the photo shoot.

Plan in advance

Setting up a coffee corner is not necessarily complicated, but you have to plan ahead if you are doing renovations or building a new house, says Valérie De L’Étoile. “Otherwise, it just ends up on the counter like all the other elements,” she notes.

When designing, we must think about access to the machine in particular — to be able to clean it, fill it, etc. — not only from each side, but also from above. Then, it is also necessary to provide the right number of electrical outlets: “It may seem like a detail, continues the designer, but if there is just a double outlet and the customer has two coffee makers, plus a kettle, plus a milk…” It will quickly become a headache.

Without forgetting a section for arranging crockery such as cups, glasses, as well as the storage of ingredients: coffee, tea, sugar… “If the elements must remain on the counter, we suggest using pretty containers and to pour things in,” says Mr.^me From the Star. It can also be nice to change the arrangement of objects on the shelves from time to time, according to the seasons or your desires.

You also have to think about access to water nearby, and even sometimes a small fridge to put the milk. “If we make a more upscale coffee corner, we will often provide a small sink,” says Valérie De L’Étoile.

A plural corner

Sometimes people also want to incorporate a breakfast nook at the same time, with the addition of a toaster, for example. “Often, it will come together, notes the designer. Rarely, we also include a bar area, when customers want to use it when they receive. »

Some ask to store small appliances such as the blender, the stand mixer, the sparkling water machine…

In the case of Marie-Pier, the purpose of this space was also to have more storage in the kitchen. “It was mainly to add cupboards and shelves, since we don’t really have a pantry,” she explains. But me, when I saw that, it was clear in my head that it was going to become a coffee corner! »

But you don’t need to live in a big house to reserve a small space for making coffee. The proof: Marie-Pier and her spouse had managed to include one in their four and a half in Montreal, where they lived before moving into their house. Coffee fans, you say?