Linda Jennings



Many of us agree that the kitchen is the heart of the home. But if that is so, how healthy is your kitchen? Not just in how clean or eco-friendly it may or may not be, but also in terms of kitchen d'cor and design style, does your kitchen reflect you as a family or who you are?

Often we cannot afford a major renovation of a kitchen with new cabinets or countertops and new major appliances but we can make smaller changes that can have a dramatic affect on our kitchen and how we feel in them. How you may ask can small changes make such a difference? Think about this.

In the little details of your kitchen, the dinnerware in your cabinet that you use on a daily basis, the flatware, the small appliances that you have for all of the different processes and jobs in your kitchen, are they reflective of a healthy vibrant kitchen that makes it a joy to be in and a part of on a daily basis? Are your small appliances out of date? Do you need more storage?

As you look around and realize that you are still stuck in another place and time, do you need to update your kitchen? Are you using the same coffee pot, teapot, or cookware and/or bakeware that no longer meet the demands of cooking in the 21st century? Do you reach for cooking utensils that have lost their usefulness and are more of a hindrance than a help as you go about preparing the meals for your family and friends?

If you find yourself answering yes to any of these questions there is a great resource available at www.bearlymadeit that will help with lots of product options and ideas for not only your kitchen but your dining room as well.

And while this article focuses on your kitchen, the dining room is such a vital extension of your kitchen. I think most will agree that even though some of us may not have a formal dining room we all have some sense of a dining area in our homes either in the kitchen area itself or a breakfast nook located near the kitchen. Regardless we should not neglect the importance of both the kitchen and dining room working in tandem to meet our decorating needs and providing us with the home d'cor that announces to all who enter that the heart of our homes are truly healthy and ready for family and friends to come in and stay a while.