In light of all the craziness in the world and not even knowing where to begin to fix it, may I suggest that we start at home in our very own kitchens?
An open kitchen can be a place where we keep the peace and share the love. Just think of all of the everyday opportunities and exchanges that can happen in this particular space in the home. A quick hug as the husband grabs a cup of coffee on the way out. Last minute help with my daughter’s homework before sending her off to school. A school-day recap with an afternoon snack. A relaxed conversation with our whole family while we all pitch in to make dinner, enjoy a meal and do the dishes after.
No doubt the kitchen is a space filled with life’s most memorable moments. The open kitchen celebrates my natural love language, which is to show others I love them through my actions (Find your love language here if you haven’t). In the kitchen this plays out in meal prepping, cleaning, fixing and slaving through the dishes and preparing early morning breakfasts and lunches for the day. All of this productivity takes place as my family is seated at our kitchen island or in our breakfast nook (or even sometimes next to me lending a hand or taking charge of a task!). They can SEE my love.
“Reflecting on the open kitchen, I’m reminded that the little things that we architects and designers do to create environments for mutual support and love are significant.”
As a doer, I feel lucky that I also slowed down enough to discover the importance of a just a really good hug when my daughter was very young. This past June, I came across some research that totally backed up my theory (read more here) and reaffirmed why my family gets daily hugs from me. They can FEEL my love.
Reflecting on the open kitchen, I’m reminded that the little things that we architects and designers do to create environments for mutual support and love are significant. It feels like if we can give and receive the very basic moments of nourishment at home, we can go out into the world with all that good in our hearts to share.
Here’s to the Soul of Home
---Ashley
