National Relaxation Day: Head to Your Kitchen to Unwind

August 15th is National Relaxation Day. We all know how important it is to have downtime and space for reflection. However, it’s an incongruous truth that no one ever relaxed by being told to relax! So, come the 15th August or indeed any day of the year, we look at why the kitchen is ideal to truly unwind! Not only this, but find out how stone worktops play an integral role in keeping this room calm, understated and elegant.

Baking

The therapeutic effects of baking bread, pastry and cakes are well documented. So this National Relaxation Day, perhaps you plan to head into your kitchen to clock out of the hectic bustle and lose yourself in cooking up a storm. If so, that’s great news for those with stone worktops! Always cool to the touch, a granite, marble or quartz worktop is ideally suited to the baking process. No matter how hot it gets in the kitchen, your dough won’t be compromised by the work surface.

Calming Colours

In order to feel relaxed, out senses need to be eased into a state of calm. Audio and visual senses are key here. Play your soothing soundtrack or just enjoy the natural sounds of your garden through an open window. The colour palette of your kitchen matters here. If you enjoy natural colours, then marble and granite are ideal. Hues of green, beige and grey are  grained with the natural features of this mined rock. This cultivates both an elegant and serene atmosphere to your room.

Natural Light

The diffusion of natural light makes for a space that inspires mental positivity and calm. If you’ve chosen a reflective quartz, your worktop will maximise the light that enters the room. So whether your kitchen is naturally abundant in natural light or not, your worktop can elevate its illumination.

Outdoor Connection

A connection to nature can encourage a state of relaxation. There is no better room in which to do this than the kitchen. Perhaps your kitchen refit has included bi-fold doors that blur the boundaries of inside and outside. Or maybe you’ve chosen to adorn your kitchen with greenery across the top of cabinet units and on work surfaces. Both are techniques that bring nature close to you and can increase a sense of calm.

Aesthetic Importance

To be relaxed in a space it is important to love it. In this way, the aesthetic appeal of your kitchen has the power to make you feel serene rather than stressed. Choose the elegance of natural marble, or the vivacity of reflective quartz. Or perhaps you love the timeless appeal of granite. Try to keep worktops clear of clutter so that you can enjoy the natural appeal of the stone. In this way, the aesthetic beauty of the stone itself can enable a relaxed environment.

What Cleaning?

There’s nothing that disrupts serenity more than the obligation to clean! Sealed granite and marble have minimal porosity and quartz is non-porous. This means that there is no need for extensive cleaning. Your stone worktops maintain their lustrous hue with a simple wipe down. So you can kick back and enjoy the space!

Social Space

No one said that you have to be alone to relax in your kitchen! For some of us, social connection is integral to relaxation! So if you’re an entertainer by nature, your shiny new stone kitchen is the obvious place to play host. From afternoon to evening, a beautifully refitted kitchen is a joy to show off to friends and family! You may want to catch up over a coffee at your kitchen island, or offer up dinner by candlelight. If this is your happy place, then your kitchen should be your focus!

There really is no more versatile space in which to relax than your kitchen. At Zenstone, we think that stone kitchens provide the ultimate surroundings for supreme calm. With a cool feel, low maintenance and a huge range in natural and soothing colours, your kitchen will be a true haven.