Top Green Kitchen Renovations: How to Create a Sustainable Cooking Environment
November 2, 2009
Sustainable. Reusable. Reducible. These are the new guidelines
of the top kitchen renovation ideas.
Find out how to turn your kitchen into an eco-friendly
environment by investing a small amount of time and money. Also,
discover the "popular" design trends that the true green homeowner
should avoid.
Top Green Kitchen Renovation Ideas
If you're considering a remodeling project, consider going
"green." According to Preston Koerner, green designer and Jetson
Green blogger, these are a few of the top green kitchen renovation
ideas that can make a real difference in the way your kitchen
functions for you. Also, you'll be doing your part to help
reinvigorate the environment by designing green.
- Buy Energy Star Appliances.
According to the National Fenestration Council, Energy Star
appliances consume 10-50 percent less energy than standard models;
pay a little bit more in the store for a lifetime of reduced energy
bills
- Go with Energy-efficient Lighting.
Switch your incandescent bulbs with CFLs or light-emitting diodes
(LEDs); the installation is simple and the savings can be
substantial
- Select Green Cabinets and Fixtures.
Improve indoor air quality using cabinets made of healthy
materials
- Change to Low- or No-VOC Paints.
Despite the fact that they're a little more expensive, low- or
no-VOC paints are head and shoulders about standard mixtures
- Increase the Green Insulation.
Adding more insulation should increase the energy-efficient
benefits
Kitchen Renovations to Avoid
Philip Higgs, green designer and blogger with Lime.com, reveals a few of
the kitchen renovation ideas that you should avoid if you're
serious about staying true to the environment. These are his
suggestions for making sensible purchases and arranging your
kitchen to maximize its natural benefits.
- Do Not Buy Granite Countertops.
Stone is a finite resource and the mining process damages the
environment; instead, use recycled glass, recycled marble, recycled
tiles or even waterproof, recycled paper panels.
- Do Not Buy Bamboo Floors. There's
no reliable way to verify the methods used to create them. However,
history posits that foreign sweat shops use child labor in their
edification. And even if yours weren't, they may not have been
produced on sustainable farms.
Don't underestimate the power of green design. These simple
changes in the way you renovate your kitchen space may even extend
to other rooms in your home. Before you realize it, you'll become a
model of eco-friendliness for others to follow.
About the author: Kelly C. Richardson,
MEd is a freelance writer and manic do-it-yourselfer. He
specializes in home improvement projects ranging from savvy
landscaping to house repair and beyond.
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