Experts are currently focusing efforts on developing kitchen design and other home spaces in ways that are wholly conducive to positive feelings and better educational performance for children, according to the Yorkshire Post. The newspaper claimed that a team of built environment specialists at Salford University were attempting to create emotionally intelligent kitchen and home spaces, with Manchester City Council hoping to boost ailing school performances by targeting the home environment.The team is working on the idea of happy spaces that reduce aggressive or depressive feelings through warm and welcoming layouts, with simple factors like the smell of home cooked food and a warm hearth said to create a kitchen environment conducive to positive thought.Working on the Salford Univeristy project, American sociologist John Zeisel and British kitchen designer Johnny Grey were said to have developed the happy spaces theory, taking into account light, colour, safety, personal mess, shared household and even eye contact in calculating the right kitchen format.The Yorkshire Post reported the comments of Mr Grey, who rejected the modern trend of slick, minimalist kitchens, claiming that a warmer space was needed for such an important living space.Theres still a horrible trend towards minimalism which doesnt make a kitchen a comfortable place to be, he reportedly said.