How to Enjoy Afternoon Tea & Cocktails in Your Kitchen

22 May 2023

We all enjoy the types of experiences the social elite get to sample on a regular basis. You know the ones:

• cocktail bars
• high-end travel
• afternoon tea at The Ritz with socialites (or Amy and Nicole from university)

The issue is, these sorts of activities are pricy and, often, require travel. Moreover, even cream tea is a social trial. (We still wake up screaming about the last time we used the wrong soup spoon.)

Fortunately, it’s possible to channel your inner Jane Austin without worrying about finances, drama and inconvenience. Simply host gatherings at home using a tailor-made kitchen dresser unit.

Essential for those who want a top 1% lifestyle on a reasonable budget, the right dresser enables you to save cash, live like a luxury hotel guest, and stop worrying about “clinking” as you stir (you monster).

Hosting Cream Tea

Cream tea, high tea, afternoon tea – what’s the difference? Basically, you get afternoon tea at 4:00pm, high tea is at 5:00–7:00pm, and either can count as cream tea as long as there are scones on the table. Other than that, they’re all the same: cake, crustless sandwiches and scandalous chatter.

Whatever you call your event, you can create a fantastic experience for your guests using a Sigma 3 Breakfast Dresser. Initially created to store tea, coffee and breakfast equipment, these cupboards are more than just tea and coffee stations; they’re luxury tearooms in space-saving enclosures.

Using your dresser, you can access fine china, extravagant cakes, fresh bread, coffee beans and more, all in one place. Plus, the whole cabinet, which is available in hundreds of styles and colours, can disappear behind wingline doors – ideal for when you want to make a room look tidy in seconds.

Wine-Tasting Experiences

Red velvet and Darjeeling are sophisticated daytime ice breakers, but dusk often calls for stronger vices. How about the sommelier experience? Wine tasting is basically afternoon tea for night owls anyway, right?

Creating an authentic winery experience at home is easier than one might imagine, too. Indeed, equal parts wine storage cabinet and home bar unit with drink shelf and hanging wine glass rack, our Bar Dressers are ideal for showcasing your finest wines, be they Dom Pérignon 2002 or Lambrini à la Tesco.

What if you need more space? Just add a wood-effect wine drawer. Lit by natural light LEDs and exuding quality, these features deliver extra space, as if you have a grand wine cellar in your kitchen.

And if you don’t enjoy wine, you don’t need to use a Bar Dresser purely to host wine-tasting sessions. Each one is similarly adept as a cocktail cabinet or a whiskey cabinet. Either way, these elegant showpieces pair well with freestanding kitchen islands and stimulating company.

Adventure Holidays

As many of us discovered back in 2020, it’s difficult to simulate a life-changing adventure at home. That said, showcasing your travel mementos will extend the perception of luxury travel while providing prime conversation fodder for afternoon tea or wine-tasting events.

Indeed, whether you want nearby props to support your Tanzanian mountaineering stories, reminisce over the Balinese culture or marvel at your Uchiwa fans, our Display Dressers set the scene.

Far from your average curio cabinet, Sigma 3 dressers include LED spotlights and a reflective back panel, providing the perfect backdrop for your memories, glinting crystal, unique art pieces, or even collectable comic books – whatever suits your personality.

Beyond Hosting Tea Parties

Hosting afternoon tea is just the start when it comes to living in luxury. After all, we haven’t even touched on hog-roast feasts and garden parties. For those, you need pantries, larders, and all manner of storage.

Thus, if you’re an uber-host and want to live like a royal every day, find your nearest showroom for design help. Or, if you’d simply prefer design tips, welcome guides and lifestyle resources to help you live in luxury, become a Sigma 3 Insider. It’s free!

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