By Coco Clayman-Cook
With all the talk about recycling, reducing and reusing it's important to remember one of the most essential elements of living green, which is thinking green. Let's face it we have all gotten used to doing things one way and it's hard to break old habits. But if we simply start to "think green" it won't be long before we find our selves "living green". All it takes is asking yourself, "What can I do today to reduce my carbon footprint." Notice I didn't say "erase my carbon footprint". If we simply think about what we can do, not what we should do, change can actually happen.
I have a friend who is very successful and very busy. When I told her about my passion for living green she looked at me like I had sprouted 4 heads. "I don't have time for that!" she told me. More importantly, she believed it. Fast forward two months and my friend was redoing her dining room. I asked her if there was a way she could use reclaimed materials. She hooked up with my good friend and brilliant designer Erin Ferucci who helped her to create a fabulous dining room with entirely reclaimed materials. Her dinning table is amazing, hand crafted from antique beams reclaimed from a barn. The entire room is unique, gorgeous and "Green".
All because my friend was willing to "think green".
Challenge yourself to think green and see where it leads you!
By Coco Clayman-Cook
Two important elements in any green kitchen design are countertops and flooring. There are ample choices in green countertops depending on your taste and budget. You can even utilize recycled tiles reclaimed from demolished sites. You'd be amazed at what you can find. There are also tiles and other countertops made from recycled paper, hemp, engineered stone, even concrete. This is a fast growing market so there is already a wide array of color choices to choose from.
Green flooring is also seeing a grand expansion. Bamboo is one of the more popular floorings on the market. It is a rapidly renewable resource and is available in a wide range of durable styles. Cork is another popular alternative for much the same reason. Linoleum is surprisingly seeing a resurgence in the green design market. Made of all natural materials this versatile inexpensive flooring is once again finding its way back to the kitchen floor.
Designing a green kitchen is not only good for the environment it is also good for your family's health and can ultimately be a great deal of fun.
By Coco Clayman-Cook
More and more people are seeing the light and using reusable shopping bags. Why? What harm can a little plastic shopping bag do? You'd be surprised. Plastic and paper shopping bags require a great deal of energy to create. Once they are used they clog landfills and the plastic bags pose a threat to sea and wild life. As the bags decompose they shred into smaller pieces that animals mistake for food. Ingesting the bags can make the animals sick and potentially kill them. The cost of recycling plastic bags is significant. It is much smarter to use the new, hipper reusable shopping bags.
If you haven't noticed stores have risen to the design challenge warranted by the occasion. There are some very cute reusable shopping bags available right now. Whole Foods Markets has rolled out a wide variety of bags, they are even having guest designers make limited edition bags. More and more stores are combining fashion, advertising and ecology to create functional, fashionable bags that reduce global warming. If you haven't already jumped on this band wagon, it is worthwhile!
By Coco Clayman-Cook
If you are redoing your kitchen or just ready to purchase some new appliances you will want to think "green". Traditionally the kitchen is the room in the house that uses the most energy and frequently the most water. It is worthwhile to invest in appliances that utilize these resources with the least waste. Even if you pay more for the appliance the savings on your utility bills should make up for the added expense.
One easy way to shop for appliances is to look for the energy star label. Appliances that wear this label have been rated by the EPA to be 10%-50% more efficient than traditional appliances.
Water saving appliances are equally important. Two quick fixes for water consumption are a tankless water heater which use between 10%-20% less energy than traditional heaters, and dishwasher drawers. If you have a small family a dish washing drawer allows you to wash a smaller load and therefore save on energy.
Saving energy and water, even is small amounts is greatly beneficial to both the environment and your wallet.
By Coco Clayman=Cook
One of the benefits of the worldwide interest in green construction is the wide variety of green products that are newly available. In the coming years we should continue to see an increase in colors and styles of green design elements. One of the rooms in the home that could most benefit from a greening is the kitchen.
One huge element of Kitchen design is the cabinets. Most cabinets contain urea-formaldehyde which is not beneficial for the environment or your family's health. The market is just starting to offer alternative materials such as wheatboard. Solid wood is another green choice although is tends to be very expensive.
Talk to a green contractor about choices in your area. I had a client recently redo her kitchen with solid wood cabinets reclaimed from a home in the Midwest. She bought them on line, had them shipped and refinished with an eco friendly varnish. They look fabulous and ended up being less expensive than new cabinets.
Stay tuned for future installments about green kitchens!
Top Performer in the sale & marketing of Westside Luxury Real Estate. Specializing in low rise condominiums, high rise condominiums, new projects, consulting with developers and the art of negotiation
ActiveRain Corp. is not responsible for the accuracy of the site's content (which is written by members of the ActiveRain Real Estate Network) and does not endorse the views of the real estate agents, mortgage brokers, and others listed here.
Powered by the ActiveRain Real Estate Network
© 2009 ActiveRain Corp. All Rights Reserved
