10 Wellness Kitchen Design Trends

10 Wellness Kitchen Design Trends

1)  Kitchen Garden

Kitchen gardens are a key component of a kitchen designed for wellness.  A kitchen garden allows you to grow your own healthy food.  Growing your own food encourages healthy eating, reduces your dependence on grocery stores, and brings happiness and calm into the kitchen.

There are so many ways to incorporate a garden into your kitchen, from plants on a window sill to a hydroponic 'refrigerator'.  I love the idea of hanging your herb planters as seen in the photo above.  This gives instant access to your plants as you're prepping your healthy meals.

If you want to grow a lot of veggies indoors, I think hydroponic is the way to go.  Unless you live in a sunny climate with consistent light levels year round, you'll probably need grow lights to improve the veggie output.  These lights are pretty bright, and give off a blueish glow that you don't want to be exposed to in the evening.  Because of that, I think a hydroponic garden is best suited for a room that can get closed off in the evening, such as a pantry.

So if you're designing a new kitchen and pantry area, and like the idea of growing your own veggies year round, consider making room for a hydroponic garden within the pantry.

2)  Compost

Composting is a wellness kitchen design trend that keeps getting less stinky!  Innovative compost bins help conceal food scraps without adding smell or fruit flies to your kitchen.  There are many benefits to composting from reducing landfill waste to keeping your own garden healthy, so it is a perfect fit for a wellness kitchen.

Make sure to plan for a compost bin during the design process of your kitchen to ensure you have one in the right location and one that suits your needs.  You can add a compost drawer at your prep zone for easy disposal, like the photo above.  You can even add a hole to your countertop at the prep zone to drop food scraps into a compost bucket below.

Learn more about the Prep Zone with this helpful article.

Click here for more ideas on how to create a wellness kitchen without going through a kitchen remodel!

3)  Social Kitchen

One big component of a wellness kitchen is the social connection it creates.  So an important wellness kitchen design trend is creating kitchens that allow for multiple people to work, interact and socialize in.  

A perfect way to do this is to design a large kitchen island that has room for food prep so multiple people can help with the food making, room for standing to converse, and room to sit and converse.  

A social kitchen design works well in an open concept kitchen/living space, but there are many other ways to create a social gathering space in the kitchen.

I love how the kitchen in the image above is semi-private, but begins to 'peak into' the living room next door.  This allows people to gather at the edge of the kitchen while still creating a distinct boundary between the kitchen and the living room.

4)  Natural Materials

Natural materials are becoming more and more popular in kitchen design.  Humans thrive on a connection to nature, so bringing nature into the kitchen will bring you happiness and a feeling of calm.  

Bringing nature in doesn't have to be just about house plants.  You can bring nature in by choosing materials that are found in nature.  The wood and soft stone kitchen above is inviting and relaxing.

Natural elements can also be combined with modern elements as seen in the kitchen above.  Since I don't recommend wood for a countertop material (see why HERE), putting wood on the side of the island is a great way to add a touch of nature to a modern kitchen.

5)  Pocket Doors

If you read my post about kitchen open shelving, then you know that a wellness kitchen should limit the amount of open shelving it has.  This helps reduce dust and keeps clutter at bay.  But if you really like the look of having an abundant amount of open shelves, then pocket doors might be the perfect solution for you.

In the photo above, pocket doors are added to shelving units to open up the kitchen.  This allows easy access to all stored items during meal prep.  When access is not needed, the doors can be closed to keep the items on the shelves dust-free.  

Pocket doors at shelving are also quite useful if you are having a dinner party and your shelving has become a bit of a mess.  You can easily close the doors during the party to hide the disarray, and clean up afterwords.  

6)  Glass Door Refrigerator

Another important way to encourage healthy eating habits is to be able to see the healthy food you have on hand.  This is why glass door refrigerators are perfect for a wellness kitchen.  

A glass door refrigerator allows you to see the veggies in your fridge, and when you can see the veggies, you are more likely to eat them.  

A fridge with glass doors also helps reduce food waste since the food isn't getting buried and lost inside the fridge.

7)  Hands-Free Faucet

I LOVE my hand-free faucet.  It is a necessity in a wellness kitchen because it helps prevent the spread of bacteria.  It also makes turning the faucet on when you have messy hands quite simple.  

I have the Essie faucet by Moen, pictured above.  I love that it has the motion sensor on the side of the faucet opposed to the front.  This way, the faucet isn't constantly turning off and on as I try to wash my hands.

Hands-free faucets are also amazing when you have young kids.  The amount of sticky, griminess around the sink has been reduced dramatically since we installed the hands-free faucet.

8)  Ergonomic Dishwasher

Safety plays a big part in a wellness kitchen.  A constant concern in most kitchens is the amount of bending required to load and unload the dishwasher.  This is a problem for anyone with back pain or other mobility issues.

To combat this problem, Electrolux has created the ComfortLift dishwasher where the bottom rack easily swings up to the same level as the top rack.  No more bending over to do the dishes.

Another option for a more ergonomic dishwasher is to raise the height of the entire appliance.  If you do this, make sure both the top rack and bottom rack are at a comfortable height for you.  The photo above is an example of building the dishwasher higher into a cabinet.

9)  Electrolux Cleancut

These next two wellness kitchen design trends are not currently on the market, but they have such potential, I see them being available soon.

The Electrolux CleanCut is a cutting board and knife cleaner built right into your counter.  How cool is that?!  The cleaner uses steam to clean and sterilize the board and knife.  This will make your time in the kitchen easier, it will cut down on water usage, and will help prevent the spread of bacteria because it will be so easy (and fun!) to quickly clean your cutting board between multiple food items.

Curious how it works?  Watch the short demonstration video HERE.

10)  Electrolux AirGarden

Alright, I saved the coolest trend for last.  This wellness kitchen design trend is all about creating a multi-use appliance.  The Electrolux AirGarden is a silent range hood that doubles as a kitchen garden.  You can't get much better than that.

Watch the Electrolux short demonstration video HERE.