If You Are Environmentally Responsible, Your Kitchen Can Be Too

What can you do, as a homeowner to help save our environment? There are the obvious things such as recycling, not using household products with aerosols, not wasting water, etc. But most people don't know that they can help save the environment when remodeling their homes as well. Designing with the environment and energy conservation in mind is important to many people because protecting the world around us has become vital. Within the design and construction industries, there is a constant search for products that use less chemicals, are safer in manufacturing, and are made from recycled materials.

Materials we use every day such as woods, plastics, aluminum, and glass are all products that we can reuse and recycle to build new products, instead of filling up the landfills within our communities.

Within our homes, there are many items that can affect the amount of energy we use and the environment around us. By utilizing today's superior heating systems, air conditioning systems and insulation products, as well as energy efficient appliances, you are already helping to protect your environment.

Many of us already have things in our homes that help protect the environment, for example, energy efficient dishwashers and refrigerators with the Energy Star (TM) rating. While you surely know that these help reduce your FPL bills, they are also helping to protect the environment! Refrigerators with built in ice and filtration systems, relatively common in today's kitchens, also help to conserve energy. In terms of fixtures, l ow consumption water flow faucets help to conserve water usage.

Here are some examples of some more unique appliances on the market that are environmentally friendly:

•  Whirlpool's Polara line, which includes a refrigerated range that has a chilling system built into the oven so you can leave food in it all day and then program it to switch to heat at a designated time.

•  Some refrigerators have separate compartments with different temperatures to keep certain foods like fresh vegetables and meets fresh for longer periods, while not wasting energy on foods that may not require such a cool temperature.

•  The GE Advantium uses microwaves for speed and halogen lights for browning to cook food up to eight times as fast as conventional ovens.  Manufacturers such as KitchenAid  and Whirlpool have similar products for cooking in half the time by combining microwave and convection cooking.

•  Fisher & Paykel make the "dishdrawer" which comes as one or two drawers and can be used to do small loads while using a fraction of the water of a traditional dishwasher.

There are many interesting and beautiful materials on the market, for countertops, flooring, cabinetry and more, that would also be considered environmentally sound. The following are some environmentally friendly materials to consider in your kitchen remodeling project. For more products available, your certified kitchen designer can help you and you can find information at most home centers and lumber yards as well.

•  Bamboo is actually a grass product that is renewable in approximately six or seven years.

•  Bark of cork oak is also renewable as it grows back in a few years as well.

•  Certified wood is recycled wood and salvaged wood used in cabinetry, furniture and flooring.

•  Corian's Zodiac is natural countertop material that has been technologically enhanced and made in accordance with environmentally sound practices.

•  Sisal and Seagrass floor coverings.

•  Insulation made from shredded denim, charcoal and cotton .

•  Natural fiber fabrics like cotton, wool and silks.

•  Recycled glass tile.

•  Natural stone and slates for flooring and counters.

•  "Cultured Stone" veneers.

The concept of Universal Design (which I have written about before in this column), designing for the lifetime of a family, is also tied into the philosophy of environmentally friendly design. This is because homes or kitchens designed with the rules of Universal Design will not need to be remodeled as a family grows and ages. This eliminates the use and disposal of building and construction materials.

At Allied Kitchen and Bath, we partner with the non-profit organization, Habitat For Humanity of Broward. When we remodel a home, whatever the client does not want to keep or reuse, we donate to the organization. Habitat then sells the donated products and uses the money to build new homes for families in need. Items like old cabinetry, counter tops, appliances, sinks and faucets and anything of even the slightest value can be reused or recycled, keeping useful items out of the landfills. If you are interested in donating to the Habitat Re-Store, call 954-763-7771 for more information.  

Creating and designing for with concern for the environment is not always that simple, but it is truly important. Trying to create the look that you want, while using more simplistic or natural materials can be challenging. But, consider all the natural resources around us as well as the new, technologically advanced, energy efficient options available to us today. Most importantly, preserving the earth for future generations makes environmentally friendly design certainly worth considering.