Cooking Up Creativity: My Journey With Biophilic Design

For those who know me, cooking is not my forté. It is not for lack of trying – I am simply a total disaster in the kitchen. The most important culinary tool I own is a fire extinguisher, which is fortuitous since the last time I attempted a salmon dish with wine, I set the kitchen on fire (thankfully for only 2 seconds, but enough to freak my dog out and create black smudge all along the backsplash). My cooking ineptitude has been a long-running joke in my family, since they are all involved in the family business of food service and culinary expertise.

Thus, as we gather this week for Thanksgiving, I will once again be relegated to the store-bought or stove-avoiding simple hors d’oeuvres and salads, since I lack the chef gene. But this does beg the question – why am I enthralled by one of the most famous chefs of our age, Julia Child? When I was researching my first book, which was published the year I turned 50, I came across an article on the iconic queen of PBS and cooking, Julia Child. What was encouraging for me is that Julia wrote her seminal book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, that turned American housewives from cooks into French chefs, at age 49, and debuted her iconic TV show, The French Chef, on the local PBS affiliate station in Boston at age 51. I felt a kindred spirit with Julia and was encouraged – you can chase your dreams even after 50. This feeling has spurred me on ever since.

Lessons From Julia’s Kitchen: Designing For Wellness

In 2019, I was speaking at a conference in Washington DC and I made a side trip to see Julia Child’s famous kitchen in The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. I was just beginning my research for my upcoming book, The Snug Home, and I was inspired by some of the things I spotted in Julia’s real-world kitchen where the PBS show was filmed the last few years in the 90s. Julia Child wrote an essay for Architectural Digest about her kitchen, calling it “the beating heart and social center of the household” – both practical and beautiful, a working laboratory as well as a living and dining room.

Adapting For Comfort And Accessibility

Standing 6 feet 3 inches, Julia adapted her countertops to her tall height to avoid constant stooping and back aches. Her 38-inch high instead of the standard 36-inch countertops are a perfect example of adaptation, which is the essence of universal design. As well, Julia, who loved the history and purity of French cuisine (with enough butter, anything tastes good), was not shy of using the latest technology to help out a busy chef. She was an early adopter of new tools such as Cuisinarts and KitchenAid mixers, calling these devices the “new French Revolution.”

Labeling For Independence And Ease Of Use

Since Julia loved new technology, I believe she would have been game to install the adjustable height counters that we see today in universal design homes. She also would have been on board with the smart plugs that allow existing kitchen appliances such as toasters, coffeemakers, microwaves and more to be turned into smart kitchen devices. And although Julia loved her Big Garland commercial gas range, she liked the handiness of her electric wall oven, which had become a popular option for kitchens in the 60s with Julia as one of its earliest fans. The convenience of having an oven that can be opened without stooping and inserting or removing heavy or hot pans at a waist level appeals to all ages.

Julia was a big believer in making her own prominent labels and having utensils out of drawers where they could be easily found. She used crocks set on countertops to house all her utensils and gave them fun names – “Spoonery,” “Forkery,” “Wooden Things,” and “Spats” for spatulas. Whether it is utensils or pantry items, labeling is helpful for dementia adults living at home.

Bringing The Outdoors In

A big home design trend for 2022 is to blend natural elements – wood, water, air, fire – into home design, whether you are a fan of modern farmhouse, coastal, traditional or eclectic style aesthetic. Julia’s countertops were maple butcher blocks to make food prep and cutting easy anywhere around the kitchen, even though she also used cutting boards. This natural wood element in kitchen design is both practical but also healthful, as natural elements are part of the biophilic design philosophy for creating enhanced wellness in every space of the home.

Fans of Julia’s TV shows will remember she had three distinct paintings hanging in the kitchen that spoke to her affection for cats, asparagus and artichokes. These framed art pieces hung near the busy stove area and were attached to the front of the cabinets. While some may like cleaner, sleeker looks in the kitchen, Julia embraced eclectic design for inspiration. These visual reminders are great hung in a place where you work or spend a lot of time – they help boost mood when you face frustrations or stress.

Julia’s blue-green kitchen cabinets are almost as famous as her recipe for beef bourguignon. In fact, the paint color is one of the most popular visitor questions the Smithsonian receives. For would-be Julias looking to recreate her kitchen magic through the inspiration of paint colors, the actual original paint color is unknown. Some contend Paul Child mixed the exact color to his wife’s delight, and she was interviewed in Smithsonian Magazine saying, “It’s certainly the soul of our house and that’s one reason Paul designed it the way he did with nice colors. It’s an attractive room I think. It’s a work room that’s good looking.”

Expert designers point to more color in the kitchen as a major design trend for 2022. Green, which is in the middle of the visual color spectrum, is not only easy for aging eyes to distinguish, but also incorporates the biophilic design principles for calming yet energizing colors. In fact, green is THE color chosen as color of the year for 2022 by several paint manufacturers and was found to be the most optimistic color according to a study published in Psychology and Aging.

Creating A Stress-Free Thanksgiving With Julia’s Wisdom

For family caregivers, holidays can be frantic, particularly if you are hosting family and friends, gathering kids together to see the grandparents, or prepping and cooking the meal. If it helps lighten your load from thinking everything has to be homemade and perfect, take this secret tip from America’s most famous chef – Julia Child.

Despite her fame for French cooking, the All-American Thanksgiving was a holiday made for Julia Child, with her mouth-watering roasted turkey recipe on the top of every cook’s list. In fact, she inspired so many cooks on this special day that a New York Times article reported that Julia refused to remove her home phone number from the telephone book, taking calls all day long from anxious, frantic cooks across the country.

However, renowned for her culinary skills, Julia was not too snooty for store-bought goodies. According to her nephew Paul Prudhomme, one of Julia’s favorite and long-standing Thanksgiving hors d’oeuvres was goldfish crackers, served alongside husband Paul’s magical “reverse martini” cocktail, also known as the “Upside Down Martini” – vermouth on the rocks with a floater of gin. Now that sounds like a recipe even I could manage. As Julia would say, “Bon Appétit” and Happy Turkey Day everyone!

In conclusion, my journey through the lens of Julia Child’s iconic kitchen has been a revelation. From adapting her workspace for comfort and accessibility, to embracing the power of natural elements and color, Julia’s design choices exemplify the principles of biophilic design – prioritizing human wellness and connection to the natural world. As I embark on my own design projects, I’ll be taking a cue from the legendary Julia, infusing my spaces with warmth, functionality and a touch of joie de vivre. After all, as she famously said, “With enough butter, anything tastes good!” Here’s to bringing that same spirit of creativity and celebration into our homes and lives.