I have retained a new client. She came into my office a few weeks ago with a signed contract and retainer and said, “I can not wait to get started working with you on designing my dream kitchen!” How exciting, so far this New Year has brought three kitchen renovations into the office. I would like to explain how I met this woman and also how she has come to be a client.
Eight years ago, I became acquainted with Green Meadows Farm in Hamilton, MA. It had just become a certified organic CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) and they were seeking members. I noticed that they offered a work-for-share membership in addition to a paid membership. It excited me to know that I could work four hours per week in exchange for organic produce that could sustain my family for that week. From April through October, I worked in the fields for our weekly produce pick up. I arranged my business schedule to accommodate this addition to my work day. It really wasn’t a problem, except for the days when I had a client meeting scheduled on an afternoon after working the fields and couldn’t clean the dirt out from under my finger nails! After three years of field work, I was promoted to working on the retail side. I worked and continue to work in the farm stand on Saturday mornings to better fit with my design business schedule. It has been a great experience. I have learned a lot, met some interesting people and made some lasting friendships.
One of the friends I met was the organic baker, Kim Gregory. She had previously owned a cafe that provided organic foods and baked goods to her customers. She had scaled back her business and was now providing local establishments with her wonderful baked goods. Whoopie pies, chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies, scones, brownies, etc. All made with 100% organic ingredients. She provided baked goods to Green Meadows Farm for the first several years I worked there. She then took her business in another direction and we would occasionally run into one another around town.This past spring while Juli, Matt and I were manning our Connect-The-Dots booth at the Hamilton Wenham Green Living Fair we reconnected and had time to talk about the changes she had made within her life. She had known about my business, but hadn’t really thought about how I might be able to help her until she saw several images of kitchens I had designed posted at the Fair.
She shared with me that she had recently obtained approval from the town of Beverly to build a commercial kitchen at her residence. She had pages of ideas, but needed assistance to make it all happen. Between myself and a trusted contractor, we agreed that we could construct her kitchen. She had one major requirement for going forward – to use as many reclaimed, recycled, repurposed and eco-friendly materials as possible in this design. The space she planned to use was her existing four car garage that had been originally built to accommodate her ex-husband’s custom bike shop. The structure was sound and the space was large enough to allow for a functional and creative environment.
We have had our initial meeting with the contractor and I have taken measurements of the space. I will begin design development in the coming weeks along with researching equipment, cabinetry, flooring, counter surfaces, lighting, and various other requirements. Currently from her rear windows, there are views of her backyard where there is a micro apple orchard, honey bee hives, egg laying chickens and a sustainable garden filled with vegetables, herbs, fruits and edible flowers. She would like to continue to grow her business by providing her delectable creations to restaurants and local businesses as well as provide a unique environment for offering cooking/baking classes sharing her skills with the local community.
My goal over the coming months is to share through my blog the progress of this project, including the trials and tribulations of creating an eco-friendly kitchen with Kim. It is interesting for me to reflect back eight years ago when I began my residential design business. I don’t think I ever would have envisioned designing an eco-friendly commercial kitchen for a friend! How fortunate to have this opportunity and experience.
With thoughts of kitchens, cooking and baking, what better way to end this blog than by sharing a family favorite recipe. My mother-in-law would make this wonderful strawberry pie as soon as the first strawberries of the season were ready for picking. It’s great to have at home or to bring to a pot luck. Enjoy with vanilla ice cream or fresh whipping cream!
FRESH STRAWBERRY PIE
EASY AND GOOD PIE CRUST
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients and mix in an ungreased 9” glass pie pan. Flute edges. Prick shell with a fork and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 10 minutes until lightly brown. Let cool while making the filling.
STRAWBERRY PIE FILLING
Boil until thick: cornstarch, water and sugar. When thick add candy hearts and jello. Stir well until all are incorporated. Cool glaze, on counter or place in refrigerator for 20 minutes. Arrange strawberries in cooled pie shell and pour cooled glaze over entire pie. Place in refrigerator for at least an hour or more, serve with vanilla ice cream and/or fresh whipping cream.
Here’s to a wonderful summer season! If you have any questions about eco-friendly kitchen inspiration, please feel free to contact me at (978)335-1140 or email at [email protected]
My Mother would spray Lysol® in our home all the time while I was growing up. It’s purpose is to clean, disinfect and remove odors. I remember getting a headache if I walked into the “cloud” as she sprayed. I also remember the perfume my Mother wore, Chanel #5 and later Liz Claiborne. I know that if a stranger walked by wearing either fragrance today, I would stop and thoughts of my Mother would bring a smile to my face (and then I would probably sneeze!). When I think of Christmas time, I immediately have aromatic thoughts of the scent of cookies baking, applesauce on the stove top simmering with cinnamon and the smell of the freshly cut pine tree in our living room. Whether I smell the fragrance or think of a setting, scent is a very important aspect of my memories and feelings regarding my surroundings. When I am designing spaces for my clients, I like to think that I am helping to create beautiful visual spaces for them to live in along with touching upon their other senses for a full experience.
As I have shared in past blog postings, I have learned that I have chemical sensitivities to certain products out-gassing within my living and working environments. I have also realized that “perfumes” and certain fragranced products give me headaches as well. Once I discovered essential oils about 6 years ago as an alternative to perfumes, I was able to wear scents again and I also learned how to incorporate these essential oils into my environments through aromatherapy.
Aromatherapy may have origins in antiquity with the use of infused aromatic oils, made by macerating dried plant material in fatty oil, heating and then filtering. Aromatherapy is a form of alternative medicine that uses volatile plant materials, known as essential oils, and other aromatic compounds for the purpose of altering a person’s mood, cognitive function or health. Distilled essential oils have been employed as medicines since the invention of steam distillation in the eleventh century. The effectiveness of aromatherapy is yet to be scientifically proven, however some evidence exists that essential oils may have therapeutic potential.
The modes of application of aromatherapy include:
An essential oil diffuser enables you to diffuse essential oils throughout your home or office. Diffusing is a simple and effective way to use essential oils. I use an air pump diffuser model for diffusing oils in my home and office. With a diffuser, oils are dispersed in a micro-fine vapor, allowing them to remain suspended in the air for extended periods of time. The diffuser disperses the oils without heating them so they retain their natural benefits. You can leave the diffuser on for a few minutes or for several hours. When inhaled, the oils are easily absorbed through the lungs. Depending on the oil used, diffusing can cleanse the air of odor, calm one’s mood and possibly help in one’s health regimen.
Essential oils that are inhaled into the lungs offer both psychological and physical benefits. Not only does the aroma of the natural essential oil stimulate the brain to trigger a reaction, but when inhaled into the lungs, naturally occurring chemicals may supply therapeutic benefits. Diffusing eucalyptus essential oil to help ease congestion is a great example.
Essential oils are natural and contain the true aromatic essence and other naturally beneficial properties of the plant the essential oil was distilled from. Essential oils are not the same as fragrance oils, perfume oils or potpourri oils. Essential oils contain only the distilled essence of a plant, perfume and fragrance oils are artificially created fragrances, containing artificial substances or are diluted with carrier oils and do not offer the benefits that essential oils offer. Look for products that contain pure essential oils on their ingredient list and avoid those that have words like fragrance. Some sellers of good-quality aromatherapy blends do not list their ingredients because they are worried that others may copy their creation. Good suppliers should be happy to provide you with a list of the ingredients. They understand that some individuals must avoid particular oils due to health problems.
General Household Freshening – Add a few drops of essential oil to your trash can, laundry wash, drain, vacuum bag filter, or on a tissue for placement in your drawers.
Bug Repellent – Many essential oils including citronella, lavender, and peppermint act as a natural repellent against insects.
When thinking about the interior air quality of our environments, I believe that using products that employ natural essences compared to artificially created fragrances are a must. If you are interested in learning more about aromatherapy, purchasing an oil diffuser, or other questions related to interior design, please contact me at [email protected] or call me at 978-335-1140.
Here are a few of my favorite companies for essential oils and their other offerings: