As the weather heats up, we think about eating lighter and healthier. Making a few simple changes in your kitchen will help create an environment that supports a healthy lifestyle and feels great to work in. These design possibilities are easy to implement. Don’t take it too seriously and have fun creating your unique culinary space.
Make healthy snacks inviting and easy to reach. Make unhealthy or fattening foods harder to find. Out of sight, out of mind.
Engage all of your senses. Incorporate music, art and aromatic candles. Enjoy low-calorie tastes and treats. Work with utensils that feel good to your touch.
Color coordinate so that everything in your kitchen matches or compliments, whether out in the open or in the cupboards. This touch gives the kitchen a feeling of design continuity.
Decorate in colors that you love so that your kitchen is a place where you feel good and like being in, without always focusing on food.
Create a dining area to match. Buy table and chairs with consideration to your cabinets and buy decorative dishes, flatware, serving pieces and glassware that you love and that match the kitchen decor. Beautifully set tables makes meals less about eating and more about dining.
Avoid clear containers so you are not tempted by the wrong foods. Choose unusual or unexpected storage containers and coordinate to your colors.
Add a touch of whimsy. Encourage smiles and laughter with whimsical accents. Laughing burns calories!
Create a space for interesting measuring cups, utensils and a scale for portion control. Keep them together on an attractive tray or in a box.
Use lighting to emphasize separate areas and different purposes. Divide task and ambient lighting and add dimmers to create and transform the mood.
Straighten up. Clutter overwhelms and builds anxiety. Keep your kitchen clutter-free with creative containers that match your décor.
Fill beautiful bowls with fruits and vegetables for lovely, healthy counter and table decorations.
Place pretty water pitchers on the counter with lemon or other vibrant fruits for flavoring and color to encourage water consumption.
Create convenient access to appliances you use to prepare low-calorie foods, like a juicer, steamer, wok, blender, food processor and small pots. Store them on easy-to-reach pull-out shelves inside your cabinets.
Scale down plates and serving dishes to encourage smaller portions.
Move while you cook to burn calories and prevent your back and legs from stiffening, too. Everything in one spot isn’t necessarily in your best interest. Spread out if possible.
Personalize it. Create an environment that embraces you and feels good as soon as you walk in.
Barbara Kaplan owns Design Dimensions and Barbara’s Picks. She is past president of the International Furnishings and Design Association and Women At The Top, and an allied member of the American Society of Interior Designers. Barbara is the creator and author of The Bajaro Method: Rooms Have No Feelings, You Do! You can take her free online design IQ test, “The Color and Design Preference Profile,” at BajaroMethod.com or sign up for her free Design & Lifestyle Escape Shopping Tours at BarbarasPicks.com.
Discover more tips to “Design Your Dream Kitchen” at Barbara’s free workshop from 10:30 am to 12:00 noon on July 30 at Allstate Appliances, 15250 N Hayden, Scottsdale. For details and to register visit barbaraspicks.com/events/design-dream-kitchen.
