I moved recently and suddenly upgraded to a walk-in pantry; something I haven’t had since I was a kid! I’ve been so inspired from pouring my little ingredients into glass containers and thrifted baskets that I couldn’t help but think about the other Human Design Environments in these little food spaces we have in our homes.

To me, having a pantry is a bit of a luxury, so when writing out ideas, I wanted to include simple practical things, while also peppering the luxurious, dreamy, swoon-worthy and dramatic features in too. This article is designed to get you thinking about the spaces around you differently, helping you to see your Environment Variable coming into play everywhere in your life. Calculate your Environment Variable here.

Luxury fixtures + Automatic custom lighting

When you walk into that pantry space — those lights better greet you and illuminate your whole world! Flipping on switches? Naaaaah. A thing of the past! SO beneath you! ;) Your mere presence brings the light. Get into that elevated Mountain energy every time you step foot in that food space! And on the chance that automatic lighting is just a hint too much for you, investing in a spectacular light fixture can really give this space a moment. Sometimes the closets, storage or small spaces can have an element of surprise that takes things up a notch, instead of treating it like a forgotten space.

Butler pantry

If you have the space, fit in a Butler’s pantry to hold all your storage appliances and hide the messiness of the cooking process. If you like to host dinners and have guests over, a butler’s pantry is an amazing luxury item to build in to keep that part of hosting separate. You can even hire help who sets up in the butler’s pantry to keep your hosting space chic and elevated. Hired help? Yes please!

Marble and stone elements

There is a relationship to the literal cave and mountain, and playing with elements of natural stone and marble can be a great way to play with and experiment with this part of your design. Consider stone floor or backsplash, or investing in marble, crystal or stone counters and wall treatments as an homage to the mountainscape.

Wine Fridge or Coffee station

Whatever your special beverage of choice is, be it a fancy matcha station or an intricate cocktail fridge or custom built-in wine rack, build your elevated preferences into the space to encourage your lifestyle in a way that feels good for you. If you are a non-alcoholic person, or a decaffeinated person, get creative in carving out space into the mountain to hold the touches you are drawn to.

Smart technology

In today’s day and age, there is a lot that technology can do to create an elevated atmosphere, even if that means simplifying things or streamlining things. Consider how having smart appliances, or smart lighting, or smart music could infuse the space with an extra touch that makes things easier or more convenient for you.

Rolling ladders

Get up there! I love the idea of having a lot of storage in the pantry, but keeping items that aren’t used as frequently out of reach. I think reserving the lower real estate for the items that are used the most frequently is the best move for a Mountains Person. Having a chic way to access the higher up items, such as a rolling ladder like you would see in a library, allows you to quite literally physically get up there.

Chic labeling system

One of my favourite ways to take an organization system to a whole new place — is either through colour coordination — or an incredible LABELING SYSTEM! Labeling your containers, canisters or baskets makes things easy to find, keeping stress down in the space; quite the mountainous philosophy. Whether you write on your jars with your practiced calligraphy, order Marie Kondo’s labels and spice containers, or use that trusty label maker you keep in the junk drawer, don’t underestimate the power of labeling things to keep them streamlined.