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While most people would agree that a “healthy home is a happy home,” this seems particularly true when discussing the kitchen.

Health-oriented kitchens – especially those built on “green” design principles – can offer kitchen and bath professionals a chance to not only provide clients with health benefits, but also economic advantages, as well.

Indeed, this was the subject of the recent National Kitchen & Bath Association’s (NKBA) Design MasterClass Green Fusion conference held in Montreal.

“This is not a trend – this is the way the industry is moving,” notes Victoria Schomer, ASID, LEED A.P. of Asheville, NC-based Green Built Environment. Schomer, who co-lectured a discussion at the event with Lucinda Jennings, ASID, LEED A.P. and programming/resource staff director at the Office of University of Architect for Virginia Tech, adds: “Every major manufacturer is looking at their emissions and environmental policy commitment, and their bottom line, and they are realizing that it is smart to design green.”

So, whether it’s improving indoor air quality or supporting conservation, kitchen designers are finding that healthy designs can lead to healthier profits.

Another presenter at the event, Robert Blakeman, LEED A.P., architect and senior v.p. for Warren, NJ-based PS&S, explains: “Now you can market your company and hire people and retain people because of your green philosophy.”

He continues: “[It is important that design professionals] look very strongly on the kitchen side for reducing energy consumption by using Energy Star performance fixtures and reducing water usage in the kitchen and bath.”

There is quite a bit at stake, the panel added, noting that toxins and mold – which accumulate wherever moisture is present – can lead to asthma, allergies and other health hazards and infections.

In addition, formaldehyde and other volatile organic compounds (VOC) in particleboard and other wood products can be irritants and are actually classified as carcinogens.