Skip to content

Top Navigation

Cooking Light Cooking Light
  • Recipes
  • Cooking 101
  • Eating Smart
  • Healthy Living
  • News

Profile Menu

Your Account

Account

  • Email Preferences

Manage Your Subscription

  • All Access Subscribers
  • Magazine Subscribers
  • Cooking Light Diet Subscribers
Login
Logout
SUBSCRIBE
Pin FB

Explore Cooking Light

Cooking Light Cooking Light
  • Explore

    Explore

    • 31-Day Healthy Meal Plan

      Our 31-day calendar of meals and tips shows you how to cook more and love it with fun, family-friendly meals that come together quickly and deliciously. Read More
    • Dinner Tonight: Quick and Healthy Menus in 45 Minutes (or Less)

      Hundreds of delicious recipes, paired with simple sides, that can be on your table in 45 minutes or less. Read More
    • Our Favorite Healthy Air Fryer Recipes

      Who ever said that chicken wings, doughnuts, and pizza couldn't be healthy? Read More
  • Recipes

    Recipes

    See All Recipes
    • Breakfast & Brunch
    • Lunch
    • Dinner
    • Drinks
    • Recipe Makeovers
    • Quick & Healthy
    • Diabetic
    • Gluten-Free
    • Vegetarian
    • Cooking Light Live
  • Cooking 101

    Cooking 101

    See All Cooking 101
    • Essential Ingredients
    • Cooking Techniques
    • Meet the Chef
    • Cooking Resources
    • Budget Friendly
    • Smart Choices
  • Eating Smart
  • Healthy Living

    Healthy Living

    See All Healthy Living
    • Weight-Loss
    • Health
    • Fitness
    • Home
    • Travel
    • Nutrition 101
  • News

Profile Menu

Your Account

Account

  • Email Preferences

Manage Your Subscription

  • All Access Subscribers
  • Magazine Subscribers
  • Cooking Light Diet Subscribers
Login
Logout
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

  1. Home
  2. Health News
  3. A Fresh Place to Gather

A Fresh Place to Gather

By Cindy Hatcher February 22, 2016
Skip gallery slides
Pin
Credit: Photo: David Schmit
Seamless design encourages a Minnesota family to eat well. By: Cindy Hatcher
Start Slideshow

1 of 9

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Something for Everyone

Credit: Photo: David Schmit

Bloggers Alicia Lacy and Bruno Bornsztein estimate they've seen thousands of kitchens in their time at the helm of Curbly.com, a DIY design community. So they were able to set clear goals when it came time to renovate their own St. Paul, Minnesota, kitchen.

These goals—making the room a family space, creating a seamless design that integrated into their home, and crafting a clean and put-together look—were essential to the couple, as they use their kitchen daily to prep healthy food for themselves and their two young children, Ayla, 6, and Zev, 3. "Everything was done intentionally to encourage cooking and make it more fun. We have a very organized kitchen, where ingredients are easy to find and accessible," Alicia says.

1 of 9

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 9

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

A Family Affair

Credit: Photo: David Schmit

Because Bruno and Alicia's house has an open floor plan, with the kitchen visible from most rooms, they imagined their new kitchen as a space where everything from homework to arts and crafts to entertaining to their blog work could take place. The family also grows herbs and produce in a small garden just outside the back door

2 of 9

3 of 9

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Keep It Close

Credit: Photo: David Schmit

Easy access to tools and equipment was a priority for Bruno: "This helps me be creative and not feel constrained," he says.

3 of 9

Advertisement

4 of 9

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Pantry Plus

Credit: Photo: David Schmit

Aristokraft's Pantry SuperCabinet aids the kitchen's family-friendly mission. "The kids can reach healthy snacks without help," Bruno says.

4 of 9

5 of 9

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Add Pops of Color

Credit: Photo: David Schmit

Go neutral for bigger items, like paint, tile, and countertop colors, so you can easily add bursts of color via accessories and artful displays.

The couple chose Carrara marble in a trapezoid shape for their backsplash. "It's a modern shape, but the marble gives it a traditional look and feel," Alicia says.

5 of 9

6 of 9

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Make Small Changes, Yield Big Results

Credit: Photo: David Schmit

If you're not ready for a full renovation, there are simple, affordable tweaks you can make, like adding a window treatment or a rug in a fun pattern. "Wool rugs are very durable and easy to clean," Bruno says.

6 of 9

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

7 of 9

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Bypass Trends That Don't Work for You

Credit: Photo: David Schmit

The couple considered open shelving, a popular trend, but instead opted for closed doors and lots of drawers for storage. "One section has glass cabinets, and that's our compromise. We can put more special dishes and colorful things there," Alicia says.

7 of 9

8 of 9

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Be Open to New Things

Credit: Photo: David Schmit

They wanted to maximize counter space and were hoping to build a spot for a microwave into the upper cabinets, but their designer suggested Sharp's Microwave Drawer Oven instead. "It's easy to clean, and we don't even know it's there most of the time. It's so cool and makes us feel like we're in Star Trek," Bruno says.

8 of 9

9 of 9

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Consider Cleanup

Credit: Photo: David Schmit

Tidying up is not the most fun part of cooking, but Bruno and Alicia love their Kohler Touchless faucet. A quick wave of the hand turns it on, useful when hands are messy with pizza dough. And their Kohler Indio sink comes with a cutting board that fits over the sink to make cleanup easier.

9 of 9

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

By Cindy Hatcher

    Share the Gallery

    Pinterest Facebook
    Advertisement
    Skip slide summaries

    Everything in This Slideshow

    Advertisement

    View All

    1 of 9 Something for Everyone
    2 of 9 A Family Affair
    3 of 9 Keep It Close
    4 of 9 Pantry Plus
    5 of 9 Add Pops of Color
    6 of 9 Make Small Changes, Yield Big Results
    7 of 9 Bypass Trends That Don't Work for You
    8 of 9 Be Open to New Things
    9 of 9 Consider Cleanup

    Share & More

    Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message
    Cooking Light

    Magazines & More

    Learn More

    • Customer Service this link opens in a new tab
    • Advertise
    • Content Licensing
    • Accolades this link opens in a new tab

    Connect

    MeredithCooking Light is part of the Allrecipes Food Group. © Copyright 2023 Meredith Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Cooking Light may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
    © Copyright Cooking Light. All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.cookinglight.com

    View image

    A Fresh Place to Gather
    this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.