The Green Kitchen Remodel

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It so much easier today to get a fabulous new kitchen that eco-friendly at an affordable price, than it was just five years ago. The price of many building materials has come down do to innovation and competition, as well as the economic slowdown. In fact, this is a great time to get that new kitchen you have been dreaming about.

When you start designing that new kitchen be sure and include as many earth friendly materials and appliances as possible. There are so many possibilities starting with floor and working up to the ceiling lights.

Eco-friendly Floors
The type, style, color and material of a new green floor is nearly unlimited. Lets start with stone and tile. These are both eco-friendly as they can be recycled and are made for or are natural materials. Stone and tile flooring is available in every color of the rainbow and patterns designed for any style and décor. They are as close to maintenance free as you can get. Dirt is totally maintenance free. You never have to clean it and if you wear a hole in it, just kick some more dirt from the corner into the hole. I don’t know about you but I prefer the minimal maintenance and absolutely beautiful look of stone and tile floors.

Wood floors are a great choice, as well, especially the new “engineered wood” flooring. It is a renewable resource and requires very little maintenance. An occasional damp mopping and it looks brand new. The surface is sealed at the factory with a super hard coating and the wood is layered together to prevent warping and splintering. A great choice of wood for an eco-friendly floor is bamboo. Bamboo is actually a grass and like most grasses has phenomenal growth rate. It is available in a variety wood tones to compliment the rest of your new kitchen.

Cabinets and Countertops
Stick with the wood for cabinets and drawers. It can be recycled and is a renewable resource. Countertops of natural stones are durable and add no contaminants to the environment during the process of becoming your new counter.

Appliances
When replacing your refrigerator, range, dishwasher, garbage disposer and microwave be sure the appliances carry the Energy Star? sticker. You may be surprised at the amount of water, gas and electricity these fabulous new appliances can save. That means lower utility bills and that means your kitchen pays for itself quicker. I recently replaced my ten year old top load cloths washer with an Energy Star front load with a larger capacity than the old washer. My water bill dropped over $50.00 the first month and has stayed down ever since.

Lighting
A kitchen needs good lighting and plenty of it. Your new lighting fixtures should use fluorescent, halogen or LED bulbs. These bulbs deliver the same amount of light as an incandescent bulb at half the power. The new low voltage LED systems are terrific. They operate on about 24 volts or less and add ambiance to any room. Be sure and let your kitchen-remodeling contractor your goal of being environmentally responsible.

by Hal Major