This feature is part of our exclusive series, A Designer’s Guide to Entertaining, with interior designer and seasoned host Bryan Graybill. Each month, Bryan will offer expert advice, holiday hosting tips, and effortless ways to create a more inviting home – beginning with the spaces where everyday life and memorable gatherings naturally unfold.
Interior designer Bryan Graybill doesn’t believe in the 'show kitchen' – the kind that gleams like a showroom but leaves the host scrambling for perfection when the guests arrive. His Sag Harbor home is anchored by a kitchen designed for cooking, hosting, and living in equal measure, with a separate 'cutting room' that takes the pressure off the main space.
Here's how he created a kitchen for real use, where prep meets polish, and utility becomes beautiful.
Rethinking a sprawling space
Instead of one large, expansive kitchen, Graybill uses two separate rooms: The kitchen and cutting room sit side-by-side, separated by a glazed screen wall. 'The cutting room is a workhorse,' says Graybill. 'It has a side door to the garden, so cuttings come straight in. The kitchen’s side entrance leads to the grill porch. They’re separate, but connected – each with its own role in the rhythm of cooking and entertaining.
Embracing mixed materials
Graybill’s kitchens reject the idea of matching wall-to-wall fitted cupboards. 'Fitted kitchen cupboard storage feels sterile to me,' he says. Instead, he mixes freestanding pieces –often in different finishes and woods – so the room feels collected, not commissioned.
Adding beauty with open storage
Graybill likes to keep essentials out in the open. 'I like to see what I’m working with: pots, mixing bowls, service pieces. Open storage is the best storage.' Bulk items and pantry staples go in drawers and cupboards, but everything else earns its place within arm’s reach.
Even in hardworking zones, Graybill finds ways to add beauty and ritual: a stack of linen tea towels, an antique cutting board, hardware with character. 'The practical things can be the decorative things,' he says. 'When you love the objects you use every day, the kitchen naturally feels more beautiful.'
Ensuring it gets better over time
Graybill's material choices reflect both durability and patina: Vermont Danby marble for its density, and brass or bronze for work tables that age gracefully. 'I don’t mind a mark or a little wear,' he says. 'It means the kitchen’s being used.'
Designing for flow (and a bit of privacy)
Though kitchen islands are often gathering points, Graybill prefers to keep the cooking zone clear. 'This will sound sacrilegious, but I don’t like people gathering in my kitchen while I’m cooking,' he admits. When he does include island seating, it’s usually a single stool – for flipping through a cookbook or chatting with one guest. He stages home bars outside the kitchen when designing spaces, making them the true social hub of the house.
Opting for timelessness over trends
Decorating with white is one of Graybill’s top rules for avoiding a dated kitchen. 'It always feels clean and never goes out of style,' he says. He also avoids recessed lighting, which he believes stamps a kitchen to a specific era. Instead. He favors kitchen pendant lighting and sconces for atmosphere.
Being ready to host
For a quick, foolproof spread, Graybill reaches for a cheeseboard. 'Two types of cheese, a bowl of nuts, and a bottle of chilled wine – it always works,' he says. His favorite post-renovation kitchen party? A charcuterie gathering. 'Roll out butcher paper on the island, pile it with cured meats, cheeses, nuts, and dried fruit. Fill the sink with ice for wine, set glasses on a tea towel, and let guests help themselves. It’s relaxed, self-directed, and you can enjoy the conversation.'
Shop Bryan Graybill's elevated hosting essentials
If you can't stretch to Vermont Danby marble, this French marble pastry slab will stay cooler than room temperature to keep pastry or pasta dough firm and intact. It also doubles as an elegant serving platter for charcuterie.
Graybill recommends a handblown glass pitcher: 'ideal for serving water, sangria, or a pre-batched cocktail,' he says. This beautiful tamarind-hued piece has been handblown by Mexican artisans out of recycled glass.
Graybill describes linen teatowels as 'practical yet elegant.' This set is comes in a choice of seven colorways or a mix of neutral hues. 'Drape them over a tray or stack them in plain sight,' Graybill adds.
'Wood-handled cheese knives elevate even the simplest cheeseboard,' says Graybill, and we love this tactile acacia wood set from Hudson Grace, which combines simplicity with durability.
With a 200-year heritage these Mason Cash mixing bowls encapsulate both vintage and classic appeal. 'durable, beautiful, and worthy of display on open shelving', says Graybill.
Vintage or vintage-inspired pantry storage needs to be functional and look good on the shelf according to Graybill. These copper and brass pieces woulr work perfectly with his statement pendant lights.
