When I say cooking space, I’m talking about the literal kitchen in your home. But since the third Human Design Environment is also called Kitchens, I didn’t want to create something that read like “Set up your Kitchen for a Kitchen” — kind of thing.

When it comes to setting up the kitchen space in your home, you may not have the ability to so easily change up some of the room’s elements, like appliances, counters, etc.

In this series, I’m sharing ways to work with the space available to you, while keeping your Environment in mind. I’ll also share some ideal setups for the rare opportunity you may get to highly customize a space to suit you!

One Entry Point

A girlfriend of mine remodeled her kitchen and the designer was trying to get this Caves Gal to create a passage and walk-thru on either end of the kitchen. NO WAY my Caves GF said; she wanted to tuck into the space and have one way in. I totally got it! She created a Western wall of cabinets, a Southern wall of high end appliances and sleek floating shelves, lower shelves and a sink with a window on the East wall, and a small peninsula in the North where the entrance to the space was.

Drawers and lower cabinets

Consider storing your dishes or food in lower drawers rather than stacked high in a cabinet. Having upper cabinets that feel carved into the wall are ideal, but focusing on high quality organization in the lower half of your cooking space keeps everything very primitive and simple.

The Pantry Room

What a dream room for a Caves Person. These are usually small dark rooms with no windows and only one door in. The pantry can double as an emergency space to hide in — think of Charlotte hiding from her kids in the pantry in one of the Sex and the City movies. Eating in this actual little den is likely very comforting as a Caves Person, too. Good thing there are snacks in there!

Invest in great knives

The Cave is the most primitive Environment and really focuses on what’s available in the immediate space around you. Having simple high quality tools is VERY Caves of you. The first thing I consider as a simple high quality tool — is the knife. I was just at a Lakehouse Italian cooking class and learned German Wusthof and Japanese Shun knives are some of the best available tools due to the quality and durability of the steel they use. And Chef says, don’t put your knives in the dishwasher!

Invest in a great vessel

Is it a pot? Is it a wok? The vessel you do most of your cooking in is also very important and should be considered with great care. Your knives and your vessel are your most primitive essentials and should be highly prioritized. Invest in good stuff in these areas.

Butcher Block

The way my Caves husband made us invest in butcher block! I find it so bulky in the best way, simple and primitive. I just love it for his Cavey-ness. Butcher block counters are also a very Cavey investment if you get the opportunity to customize your cooking space. We can cut on every surface! After all we want to protect our fancy Caves knives.

Order local meat and/or produce

So many places have mealboxes or farm orders that support local growers, keep their economy growing, and offer some of the freshest ingredients available. We like pure, simple ingredients in the Cave — when it comes to our supplies, tools and anything else available in our immediate surroundings.

Try glow lights on kick plates

One of the chicest most luxe things I’ve seen in kitchens recently is lighting beneath lower cabinets — creating a soft cave-like glow throughout the space. I find this trend to be so Caves, reminiscent of the low fire light found in the original home.