The Post-COVID Kitchen

COVID-19 has changed the landscape of our lives in myriad ways. Certainly, our responses to germs have changed since the beginning of the year. With COVID continuing, and regular flu-season upon us again, it’s time to contemplate what changes you might need to make your home as healthy, comfortable and stress-free as possible. I’ve put together these 5 tips to consider when thinking of remodeling your kitchen. 

1. Has your cooking changed?

Panel-ready refrigerator drawer options from Sub-Zero Wolf

If you have more cooks in the kitchen, are eating more fresh foods or pre-packaged meals, you might want to consider adding a refrigerator or freezer drawer in your prep area.  It helps keep all ingredients handy for whatever you need.  Maybe even in a breakfast bar area or baking area.  Speaking of baking areas, how about this tricked out drawer to hold all your baking needs?  Talk about reducing countertop clutter!

2. Do you need WFH space?

Do you need to carve out some WFH or remote learning space?  We can do that in a number of ways.  From commandeering an under-utilized pantry or corner nook to incorporating charging drawers for laptops, tablets and phones, we can help you keep your sanity with a dedicated work area that seamlessly flows into the rest of the space.

3. What about light and air quality?

Wolf Downdraft

Air quality is so important. Good ventilation not only removes cooking odors and grease, but harmful gasses that are created during cooking. Whether it’s a down-draft, chimney hood or one that’s built into cabinetry, good ventilation is a must. Regarding lighting options, there are so many great options these days to light up the interiors of cabinets to help you find everything you need, and I always encourage clients to have multiple light sources to enhance function in the kitchen. Check out the lighting in this blind corner unit:

4. How about clutter control?

When it comes to controlling clutter, Greenfield and Siteline cabinets allow me to help clients customize the interiors to keep countertops free of “stuff” and make working in the kitchen easier. From dedicated plastic container storage to unique ways to access and utilize the cabinet above the fridge, there is something for just about every storage need. 

5. How do you promote cleanliness?

We’re all more concerned with cleanliness and reducing the spread of germs, so here are some great options for you to consider.  The first one is a trash drawer that opens when you break a beam of light with your foot.  No more chicken hands touching the trash handle!! To close it up you can just wave your foot underneath again or give it a gentle push with your knee.  Or how about this handy step-stool to help the little ones get to the sink for washing their hands? When not it use, simply fold it up and slip it back into the slot beside the sink.

Lastly, one of the most anti-microbial surfaces you can use in your kitchen is (drumroll, please) manufactured quartz countertops like the Cambria samples you see here! They are far less porous than granite countertops and so easy to maintain and they come in so many gorgeous styles.

These are just a few helpful tips of things to consider when it’s time to make your kitchen a family-friendly place! For even more ideas, including video clips of innovative new products, check out our pinterest board.

Reflections on 10 Years in Business!

Throughout this month, I’d like to post things I’m grateful for as I look back over the last 10 years.

I’m so grateful for:

  • The many clients whose homes we’ve been honored to transform
  • The vendors and collaborative partners we’ve gathered along the way who have helped us to bring our clients a fabulous experience
  • The business advice and nurturing received from many mentors and colleagues
  • The organizations like ASID, NKBA, Northbrook Chamber, EPWNG, and PowerHouse SMART who have not only helped me hone my skills but have been wonderful resources for referrals and like-minded professionals!
  • Ongoing support and encouragement from family, friends, and my biggest fan – my husband
  • All the educational opportunities that keep me current on new materials, services, and ways of doing business
  • New technology that keeps my brain active and helps me streamline my workflow
  • The many assistants who keep business humming along so that I can focus on creating a client experience that wins awards!  Namely:
    • Barb Tedder – my long-time social media assistant.  Without her, I’d be adrift in posts and blogs!  I am so, so grateful to have worked with you for so long!
    • PC’s Soup 2 Nuts – my IT “department”.  Whether it’s a call that the printer isn’t working or assistance with a new computer, Sharon is always there
    • Caroline Van Wassenhove – my bookkeeper and sanity keeper when it comes to all of the accounting work!
    • There are many other firms and partners that are and have assisted along the way – THANK YOU!

Check out our pinterest board looking back at projects like these that we’ve loved designing so much through the years.

A WELL – Designed Kitchen

Now more than ever, we are focused on creating healthy meals for our family. As we’ve been spending more time in the kitchen you’ve probably noticed where your kitchen falls short in helping you do this easily.

Here are 5 suggestions for planning ways to support not only the creation of healthier meals, but a healthier place to create them.

  • Plan for less clutter – Seeing clutter actually stimulates the production of cortisol – the stress hormone.  Plan for ways to keep counters free of excess clutter by creating a place for everything.  Small appliances like toasters and juicers can live in countertop garages that close up when not in use. Consider fewer wall cabinets and more below-counter storage.

  • Light it up – Take advantage of as much natural light as you can. Maybe it’s time to consider adding some windows or moving a door to allow more natural light in.  It is also important to choose the right artificial lighting, incorporating energy saving LED’s and especially those that have a warm-dim component to them.  These allow you to change the color of the light throughout the day to assist our bodies adjust to their natural circadian rhythms.
  • Biophilia (What?!) This means bringing more of the outside in. There are many ways to do that, some listed above but you can also consider bringing some plants into the kitchen – a garden windowsill for growing fresh herbs or even a “green wall”.

  • Keep it Fresh – with more emphasis on fresh fruits, vegetables, and meatless meals, consider your refrigerator. Do you really need a lot of freezer storage, or are your needs for fresh food storage greater? There are so many options today that can assist you with keeping your fresh ingredients fresh and accessible.

  • Materials Matter – Choose the right materials to keep your kitchen healthy. Select cabinetry that is made with low levels of formaldehyde (which occurs in nature so you can’t eliminate it entirely) and FSC certified (good for the environment). Wood countertops and man-made quartz countertops have anti-microbial properties and please, please, make sure your hood vents to the outdoors to keep the air in your kitchen fresh.

These are just a few ways that you can make a healthy difference when you remodel your kitchen. Please join me on Wednesday, May 27 at 2:30 pm for a Facebook Live chat with special guest Alisa Bloom of Live Your Best 365! We’ll be talking about food choices to quell inflammation and how the design of your kitchen can add to your health!

Planning for Your Luxury Home Remodel

As many of you are now considering areas in your home that need some changes, we thought we’d re-issue these tips for the planning phase of your project.

For some of us, there may be the extra excitement of planning for a remodel in the new year. Congratulations! In our blog Tackle Home Design with a Star Lineup, we brought you some guidelines on building your team: the architect, the contractor, and the designer. Planning a luxury home build is a huge endeavor with spectacular results. Planning is essential.

Where do you turn to get information about budgeting for your remodel or new home? Take a look at the Home Trust International’s guidelines. They are leaders in the luxury home industry and a great resource to help you figure out your luxury home investment. Here’s a brief summary of their article:

1. Budget up to 35% of the value of the finished home for interior design services, project management and furnishings.
2. Interior design firms generally earn one third of the total investment.
3. Variables include renovations, art or furniture you may be bringing from another home.

CS Designer
Catherine Schager, AKBA, ASID Allied Member

A good designer can guide you through this process to help you figure out where to splurge and where to save. I offer a great outline of my process on my FAQs page and you can quickly schedule an initial phone meeting with me from my Contact Us page if you are ready to explore further.

sweet home 3

The most important goal is to end the process with a gorgeous new home that feels like HOME SWEET HOME to you and your family. You can best reach that goal with good planning and realistic budgeting guided by a team of professionals who want to help you with your achieve your dream. Happy new home dreaming!

Designing Better Sleep

During these challenging times when we are not only working from home but being Chief Educator, P.E. teacher and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer, our stress levels can skyrocket leaving us worn out yet unable to sleep. Interior Designers focus on making your home healthy and safe as well as beautiful. We study data collected in university studies that tells us how to create sleep spaces that promote healthy sleep because we know that good sleep is the foundation of healthy living. I recently participated in a Facebook Live interview with acupuncturist Amy Landolt of Northshore Acupuncture to talk about how considering design elements in your bedroom can help you have better, more restful sleep. Click here to watch on Facebook and ask questions in the comments, or scroll to watch the embedded Youtube video below.

Here are some additional thoughts:

  • Screens in the bedroom- as I talk about in the video, I’m not a fan of having computers, TV’s or phones in the bedroom as they emit light that disturbs our body’s production of the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin. What they also do, as studies have shown is emit EMF’s or electro-magnetic frequency waves (even if turned off) which disrupt our brainwaves, causing them to cycle higher than they should for sleep.
  • Sound attenuation- when selecting new furnishings for your bedroom consider softer elements like upholstered beds or headboards along with adding in soft window treatments that block light when closed and reduce the amount of noise that comes through the windows.
  • Light- As I discuss in the interview, the type of lighting in your room is important for creating a space that promotes sleep. If you only have overhead lighting, please consider adding a dimmer switch so that in the evening you can dim the lights to promote melatonin production. CFL or compact fluorescent lighting is not conducive to good sleep (or good lighting- but I won’t get on my soapbox just yet..) If you have LED lighting in the room, consider warm-dim bulbs that are now more accessible. These are LED’s that might have a 3000K color temperature (closer to the color of daylight) that can be dimmed down at night to 2700K (the color of light later in the day and the golden color of incandescent lights). Sorry, I know a bit of nerdy technical info but helpful information when you are lighting your room.

Here’s how I pulled these concepts together in my own bedroom. As mentioned in the video, I choose the soothing choose Benjamin Moore Providence Olive HC-98.

I could go on and on but in the interest of brevity I’ll say that there are many ways to promote healthy sleep but don’t forget design elements which can be the foundation for helping all of the others. Check out our pinterest board for samples of ideas from the video. Sleep healthy, my friends!