How to Design a Wellness Kitchen

Kitchens are getting healthier in 2025, reflecting a broader trend towards health and wellness design at home. It makes sense for the kitchen to be redesigned through a wellness lens, considering it’s the space where you typically spend the most time, providing ample opportunity to benefit from wellness features. 

Here is the strategy behind wellness kitchen design and tips on combining features to live healthier in the heart of your home.  

What is a Wellness Kitchen?  

Depending on space availability, budget, and lifestyle, a wellness kitchen may have several components, but some elements are common: indoor/outdoor connection and natural light, a focus on fresh air and/or ventilation, appliances that facilitate healthy cooking and eating, clutter-free counters, and design that encourages social interaction.  

The shift towards wellness kitchens reflects a growing awareness of how daily choices, including the built environment, affect health and wellness outcomes.   

 “Homeowners are curious about how to lead a healthier lifestyle and how to take care of their bodies, learning that design choices are just as important as going to the gym,” says Laura Freeman, principal interior architect and designer, Merits Design Group.  

Promote Good Air and Water Quality  

Air and water are, of course, essential to our well-being. However, both elements are often contaminated inside our homes.  

Good ventilation can greatly enhance air quality, emphasizing the importance of a well-designed system. Freeman states that wellness kitchen design should begin with ventilation considerations and that it is essential to vent appliances to an exterior wall to remove odors and fumes while cooking.  

“Having a working exhaust fan or even simply opening a window when cooking can help,” says Sharon Sherman, founder and owner of Thyme and Place Design.   

A water filter is also important, ideally incorporated at the faucet, but having a whole-home water filtration system is even better, given that water is used for tasks beyond the kitchen, such as tooth brushing and bathing.  

How to Cook (And Eat) Healthier  

Meal ingredients and prep methods directly impact overall health, so features that support these tasks should be prominent in a wellness-oriented kitchen.   

Fresh food is a must, so you need adequate refrigeration space to store your haul from the Farmer’s Market. Some kitchen designs offer an additional fridge just for this purpose, or you might have an oversized single fridge with dedicated drawers. Refrigerated drawers, especially integrated into the kitchen island to make prep easier, are also a good solution.  

 Focus on food preparation that avoids fat or other unhealthy ingredients. Steam ovens and air fryers are excellent options and are even better when they are part of a multi-functional appliance, helping to reduce the number of items in the kitchen and keep clutter down.  

Remember that cooking affects air quality throughout your home. In addition to ensuring proper whole-room ventilation, consider choosing an induction range or investing in an oven designed to efficiently remove pollutants at the source, featuring high-powered, integrated filtration to eliminate odors, gases, and VOCs while you cook.    

Create space for growing your own herbs and vegetables, whether through an indoor container garden on a countertop or windowsill, or in a hydroponic herb drawer built into your cabinets.    

According to Freeman, other appliances that are growing in popularity include sous vide cookers for healthier cooking and compost mills to help with sustainability.  

Clearing Clutter Helps to Clear the Mind  

The minimalist kitchen aesthetic is trending in 2025, partly due to its ability to combat clutter and foster mental serenity in the cooking space. To achieve the sleek minimalist kitchen look for wellness, reduce clutter with smart storage solutions. Take it a step further to truly streamline your workflow and alleviate stress by designing concealed storage that offers additional organizational opportunities.    

Sherman suggests “cabinets outfitted with interior accessories to keep everything right at your fingertips when you need them for cooking, preparing and cleaning up. Have drawers for knives, cutlery, packaged foods and small appliances.”  

Sherman explains that minimizing clutter makes cooking more enjoyable, which in turn motivates the adoption of healthier kitchen habits.  

Foster an Indoor/Outdoor Connection  

Establishing an indoor/outdoor connection embraces biophilic design, allowing the calming benefits of immersion in nature to be experienced indoors.   

In the wellness kitchen, concentrate on ways to introduce natural light, whether through large banks of windows that open, or ideally, through sliding glass doors that extend living and dining areas outdoors. This not only provides ample natural light but also helps to bring fresh air into the kitchen.  

For an authentic indoor/outdoor fusion, include greenery by adding plants in the kitchen, whether decorative or those that produce fruits or vegetables. Plants contribute color and naturally purify the air.    

Wellness Kitchen Design and Decor  

In a wellness kitchen, colors tend to be neutral and calming, and natural materials, such as natural wood, rattan, and bamboo, are abundantly used in flooring, cabinetry, accents, and furnishings.  

In addition to natural light, task-oriented lighting is important because it influences workflow and affects mood.“ Better lighting not only makes the foods you prepare look much more appetizing, but it also allows you to see if the food has not been cleaned properly, if there is spoilage, and helps prevent kitchen accidents with knives and other sharp objects,” says Sherman.  

Social interaction boosts mental health, so ensure your wellness kitchen has a comfortable, usable space for all household members and guests, if you enjoy entertaining. Consider how you use your kitchen and which moments bring you happiness during your daily routine. How can your design create joy?  

Do you and your partner like to cook together? Ensure the kitchen is designed for multiple cooks, allowing plenty of room to move. Do you cook while helping kids with homework? Include an oversized kitchen island with designated zones for seating, separate from cooking areas. Do you start the day with fresh coffee and the daily news? Incorporate a coffee bar with banquette seating, or a bistro set tucked into a cozy nook.  

“Design a kitchen you want to be in. Be inspired to explore the joy of cooking in a kitchen that reflects what you love,” says Sherman.