Kitchen Makeover / A Well(ness) Designed Kitchen
This is a writing sample from Scripted writer Milly Barker-DeStefano
A dated and uninspiring kitchen is transformed into a wellness focused, healthy, and clean cooking and entertaining space in this remarkable kitchen transformation. The original kitchen did little to encourage time to be spent in the space, nor to invite the delights of home-cooking, hosting, and homeliness into the environment. To liven up this space and encourage homeowners to take as good care of themselves as they do their home, we focused our efforts on a simple yet powerful paint job and some key wellness design upgrades.
Most of us fail to recognize the immense power our homes have in inspiring positive action in our lives. Researchers at the University of Minnesota have even proven that our environments have an impact not only on our mental health, but our physical health, too. The kitchen is one of the most important rooms in the home in this regard, so keep reading to discover how we undertook some straightforward changes to transform this rather drab kitchen into an inviting space that inspires health and wellness.
Our kitchens face some of the most intense use of all of the rooms in our house. It's where we gather in the mornings before we head to school and work, where we collect our thoughts in the mid afternoon, and where we end the day before heading off to bed at night. In recognizing this, we need to makeover our kitchens with products that are robust.
In this makeover, we chose KILZ 3® Premium Primer because it has unparalleled adhesion and, in being mildew resistant, provides the most resilient coverage for moisture-prone areas like kitchens where water, steam, and even tough liquids like oils are commonplace. This primer is also ideal because it is high-hide, meaning you can use it directly over old colors (even darker ones!) and still be able to paint a bright white topcoat to finish.
Once that key foundational layer was in place, we used True White - Interior Paint, part of the Joanna Gaines' Magnolia Collection, to add a fresh and renewing sense of cleanliness to the space. In providing such a stark blank canvas, this paint leaves everything else in the kitchen to shine. There is, simply, no distraction from what you need the space to be. It is calm and mindful, and it provokes in those present a sense of purity and renewal.
With the walls reset, our focus shifted to the palette for the room. Our goal here was to create a kitchen where wellness was the true focus, meaning no singular color could take precedence and influence the feeling in the space. To achieve this, we relied on a natural and unassuming combination of white, brown, and black, with a few appliances providing some gentle reflection in silver. Dark colors are kept to a minimum, with key mid-century modern accessories like the classy lampshades, the low rise barstools, and the beautifully simple white ceramic food canisters providing aesthetic accents in key areas of the room.
To encourage homeowners to spend more time in this space, both as a family and as entertainers for friends, we increased the size of both the kitchen island and the main dining table. The kitchen island size increase is, however, purely illusionary, with the white surround making the island seem much bigger than its original size. This light trick is an excellent way to turn a limited space into something much bigger, simply by using the natural reflective properties of the color itself. The old circular dining table, on the other hand, was completely replaced with a contemporary rectangular piece that invites long intimate chats over carefully prepared meals, and the sharing of funny stories old and new among friends.
The core of this kitchen makeover was all about wellness, and the combination of the above makes this focus effortless to maintain. The subtle color psychologies of the white with key gold and silver accents give the impression of grandeur, abundance, and health, which are influential signals to stay on track and keep improving day by day when the granularity of everyday life usually wears us down.
If, like so many others, you are trying to transform your home into a more wellness infused space where you can truly get back to what matters, it is reassuring that a simple paint job and accessory upgrade can make all the difference. If you are wondering what a particular color would look like in your space, use the KILZ® COLOR PERFECT™ tool to upload digital photos and 'virtually paint' your room without spending a dime on materials!
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