Sometimes the best design is an efficient design. And nowhere is efficiency (and energy conservation) more necessary than in the kitchen, especially if you live with chronic illness or disability.

There are many ways to make your kitchen more accessible, but here are just a few ideas we’ve come up with in our own home, specifically designed to save me energy while I cook.

(And if you’d like more design ideas, check out my post about overall accessible design).

1. Pantry and Food Storage

Our pantry set-up might be one of my favorite things in our home. It was somewhat accidental, in that we ended up with some space in the corner next to the fridge and decided a full-length cupboard seemed like a good way to fill it. But now that it’s there, it will absolutely be on my list of “must-haves” if we ever design a future kitchen!

_{A white French-door fridge sits to the left of two light gray kitchen cabinets, a tall cabinet, with second cupboard on top. The cupboard doors are open, revealing a variety of food supplies. A blue and white buffalo check floor is seen in the foreground, as well as the edge of a grey island countertop. Photo credit: Livable by Design}

There are several things that make this set-up so great for us. For one, it sits not too far from our front door, which makes unloading groceries extremely easy. We can pile all of our purchases in front of the space and put everything away without traveling far.

In the same way, it makes cooking easy, too! I can collect all of the ingredients I will need for a recipe and set them on the nearby island. Then when I’m finished, it’s all within easy reach to put away.

The cupboard and fridge set-up themselves work well for us too. The very top cupboard is used to store bulk ingredients and extra pantry supplies for the future. The top shelf of the main pantry cupboard is reserved for gluten free items for me. This reduces the risk of cross contamination from things above my food on the shelf, and minimizes the risk that something (or someone) with gluten could get into my food. We have a similar set-up in the fridge, with a top shelf and top drawer reserved for my “safe” foods. The fridge-on-top set up is also ideal for us, because bending and kneeling can be really challenging for me. Since I use the fridge most often, it’s easy to access what I need without bending down. We keep a few things we use often in the freezer bottom (and long-term things are stored in an upright freezer in our laundry room).

2. Seating Near Prep Spaces

Another life saver has been the seating at the end of our island. I anticipated that our kids would spend many hours sitting there walking with us, playing board games, and hanging out–and they do. But I underestimated how helpful that seating could be for me.

_{A kitchen with light gray cabinets and large windows is shown. There is a low set of drawers beneath the tallest window to form a lot seat. A long dark blue island sits opposite the window seat with open space beneath the counter, and four red metal stools are tucked under. Photo credit: Livable by Design}

I love that the stools tuck under the countertop when they’re not being used, which makes it easier for me to get around the kitchen without tripping over the legs. When I’m chopping vegetables, mixing ingredients, or working on food prep, I can easily pull one of the stools out and sit while I work. Because they’re right by the stove, I can also easily pull a stool up to the stove to sit while I’m stirring or tending things there.

3. Window Seat

Our current kitchen is actually a remodeled space, made by combining our dining room and the original kitchen space. Because the front end of the room was intended as a dining room, the windows come down much lower on the wall. That made it challenging to fit any kind of cupboards under the window. That was all right with me, though! I had my heart set on a window seat long before we started designing our space, and it worked out perfectly to put it under the window.

_{A built-in gray cabinet of two drawers sits beneath a tall window with white panes. There are two red cushions on the built-in cabinet, and a wide window ledge holds a plant, a small terrarium, and assorted pictures and blue glass vases. Regular-height cabinets are seen on either side of the window seat. Photo credit: Livable by Design}

In addition to providing a great place for kids and company to sit out of the main traffic area, the window seat gives me a spot to sit and take a break. I often sip coffee there while I’m waiting for food to finish in the oven, or just sit and look out the large window. The ledge gives me a place to grow microgreens throughout the winter, and I frequently change out the decorations around the window with the seasons. The drawers under the seat are a great place to store those things we don’t access very often, but still need from time to time. Although our kids were old enough that they no longer needed step stools in the kitchen, the window seat between cabinets would have made a great place for them to stand as they helped me in the kitchen, too!

4. Close Work Space

The one thing I do sometimes regret is the shape and size of our kitchen. While it’s a fantastic, open space that I love, it can be a lot of walking on the bad days. There’s a reason kitchen designers talk about the “kitchen triangle,” placing appliances in an efficient configuration that minimizes steps. It can use unnecessary energy to walk the length of a long kitchen!

_{A long galley kitchen, with light gray upper and lower cabinets along a window wall on left side, and a long gray-topped island in the center. A white stove sits amid the wall cabinets, with sink next to it, under a window. Red stools are tucked under one end of the island. Photo credit: Livable by Design}

While bigger often seems better, I think my goal for our next kitchen might actually be something a little smaller, or at least more closely grouped together. Ideally, I would love to be able to get from stove to fridge to sink to workspace in as few steps as possible. I would keep all of the things I’ve described above, but maybe change up the configuration just a little bit to make it more efficient for me.

Still, after everything is said and done, I love our kitchen. It’s made our space far more livable for me, and allowed us to stay in a house we love for at least a little while longer. The space has been finished for a few years, but it’s still a breath of fresh air and calm (and you can’t beat my view from the couch on the flare days).

_{The same window seat, cupboards, and fridge are shown through an arched doorway. Dappled sunlight shines through the windows, and the silhouette of a cat is seen sitting on the buffalo checked floor. Photo credit: Livable by Design}

What are some design features that work well in your kitchen? What are the changes you dream of making to create a more efficient, energy-saving space? I always love to hear new ideas! Tell me all about it in the comments below.