The reason why I created The Honest Table
You know that moment when you step into a room and your body responds before your mind does? It instantly relaxes you, or puts you on edge. There’s no explanation, it’s just there. A feeling created long before you notice the details.
That feeling isn’t accidental, it’s created by design. At its core, design is about problem-solving, but it also influences our well-being in ways we often overlook. Simple example: a poorly designed chair can cause discomfort. An ergonomic chair supports you. Obviously. A beautiful chair invites ease and warmth, while a broken or filthy one creates a sense of unease. Seemingly small details, big impact. They quietly shape how we feel.
This is where my Honest Table philosophy comes from: in knowing that design, atmosphere and nourishment are deeply connected.
Doing something different
Originally, I started my company with nutrition guidance and personal training. Very standard, very “this is what a healthy lifestyle looks like.” I loved working with my clients and cherish the honest conversations around food, habits, belonging, shame and joy.
Those conversations made one thing unmistakably clear: when it comes to health, there is more to the story than what I learned during my education. Health does not fit into “one size fits all. Especially not when it comes to nourishment.
And while the world seemed to fill up with a billion nutritionists, dietitians and coaches all focussing what to eat, I felt pulled toward something else: bringing calm back to the table.
The reason for that lies in my own personal experience with food.
It might seem strange to guide women toward ease around food while having struggled with it myself. And still do sometimes. At fourteen, anorexia slipped into my life and stayed for four years. I recovered, and over time my relationship with food became stable again. A friendship, even.
Obsessed with food again
But when I was twenty-two, I was diagnosed with IBS. Suddenly, food felt like a threat. Every bite carried the risk of heavy stomach pains and bloating. I became obsessed with food again. Counting macros, following strict rules and exercising. I thought I was “healthy,” but my weekly stomach pains told a different story.
Those stomach pains didn’t just limit my life, they created a second eating disorder. One I didn’t recognize at the time. It took me fourteen years to understand that I had been living with ARFID. People with ARFID have a fear-based restrictive eating pattern where certain textures, tastes, or bodily reactions feel unsafe.
ARFID taught me something no textbook ever did: body and mind are inseparable. I started to understand that eating healthy isn’t only about what you put on your plate, it’s also how you eat that matters as well. So nourishment begins long before the first bite.
No broccoli can undo a stressed nervous system
Think about how many hours you spend in your kitchen. At your table. More than you realize, right? Your kitchen and table are more than functional, they are spaces that shape your nervous system, your mood, and therefore the way you receive your food.
The pace, the atmosphere, the sensory around you; they all influence how your body receives the food you eat. You can choose the most nourishing ingredients, cook with the best intentions but if you sit down with tension in your shoulders… with a racing mind…
or a meal that you don’t even enjoy… your body will respond as if it’s under stress. Your body won’t soften. It won’t digest well. It won’t feel satisfied. It won’t feel safe.
So yes, I care about what’s on your plate but I care just as much about what surrounds it. Because no broccoli can undo a stressed nervous system.
Design becomes nourishment
A calming environment lowers stress hormones, supports digestion, increases satiety and reduces the pull toward snacking. So a diner table filled with pieces you truly love, invites safety, presence, and connection. It reminds your body: You are safe. You can receive this. This is where design becomes nourishment.
The plate you choose. The cup you hold. The colors on your table. The textures that surround you. These aren’t just objects. They are subtle regulators; small signals that to your nervous system that influence how you feel while you eat. They shift your state of being.
Most of us save our beautiful pieces for “special occasions,” while we eat our everyday meals from bowls and plates that don’t inspire us at all. But each of your meals deserve a setting that supports you. So everyday life is the occasion.
A good table setting is about atmosphere. A single detail can shift your whole nervous system. A plate you love, a bowl that feels grounding, a color that reminds you.
When your surroundings feel good, you relax. And when you relax, eating becomes the true form of care again.
Use the good plates. Today is reason enough.
This is the heart of The Honest Table; my grounded way of treating mealtimes as moments of nourishment. Living a healthy lifestyle through the environment that holds it.
The Honest Table is my very own little online webshop for tablescaping. Filled with vintage tableware, textiles and accessories that turn your dining space into a place of unhurried moments. Where design, sustainability and atmosphere come together and where food becomes more than just food.
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