Installing a sustainable kitchen

All kitchens are different but kitchen designers are paying much more attention to efficiency, convenience, quality and productivity of your operations, whilst incorporating elements that are good for the environment.

 

ABOVE and BELOW: It may come as no surprise that this client’s favourite colour is lime green, but the palette is green in more ways than one.

High-efficiency lighting and appliances notwithstanding, it includes a host of eco-friendly finishes, including LED lighting, bamboo cabinets, Eco resin cabinet panels embedded with bamboo rings and thatch, cork tile flooring, and a silica tile backsplash.

The countertops along the walls are made with 80 percent post-consumer recycled glass. Continuing the no waste mantra, the cabinet and drawer pulls were fashioned out of leftover Eco resin scraps.

The kitchen is the main culprit in any home when it comes to sustainable design and green practices. You use electricity and natural gas for your appliances. You use water in your washing machine and dish washer. Your fridge is stocked with foods grown and transported from all over the world that require chemicals, water and fuel to be produced and transported. And then there's the non-recyclable packaging that goes straight to a dump.

A green kitchen

If you are planning to update or remodel a kitchen you are probably planning to install new cabinets, marble or tile for countertops, and perhaps some new tile or wood flooring. These standard materials consume resources and contain many toxic chemicals. Fortunately there is a very different way to design and build your new dream kitchen-- a way that is sustainable, healthy and jaw-dropping gorgeous. We'll show you how.

First you should find an architect or an interior designer who is skilled in working with sustainable materials and knows how to build in an eco-friendly manner.

Recycled design

Everyone automatically thinks new cabinets when they start to plan a kitchen remodel. But cabinets are often made from wood harvested unsustainably and saturated with chemicals used in sealing, gluing, and painting. Many of the chemicals used can be cancer-causing and can 'pollute' your home with volatile organic compounds (VOC's) for years. Fortunately there are safe alternatives.

First, save whatever parts of your existing cabinets that are still serviceable. Are the shelves okay but the fronts have to go? Already, you've saved a lot of wood and money. For the new cabinet elements, you can use reclaimed wood, or bamboo.

ABOVE and BELOW: Henrybuilt kitchen systems would be any homeowners dream come true with their gorgeous lines, perfect curves, gentle colour contrasts and modern sensibility. Cabinet carcasses and parts are crafted from bamboo and are solid bamboo throughout. Additionally, should the surface of a bamboo cabinet ever show signs of wear or damage, the durability of the material allows it to simply be refinished.

Walk in the right direction

Marmoleum is not your grandma's linoleum. It is made of linseed oil, rosins, and wood flour, affixed to a natural jute backing. It is durable, comfortable to walk on and comes in a mind-blowing array of colours and patterns.

Another great sustainable flooring option is bamboo. Bamboo is a fast-growing grass and is very renewable, durable and attractive.

Bright ideas for lighting

Consider the installation of a skylight or solar tubes for a south-facing or dark kitchen - natural is better for you and for the environment. If you do need artificial lights, compact fluorescent lights use 1/4 the energy and last up to 10 times as long as standard bulbs.

ABOVE and BELOW: Danish designer Knud Kapper believes that "a well designed kitchen should simply invite you to cook well and thus enrich your everyday life." Inspired by the work of some of Denmark’s and Europe’s finest chefs, his Hansen Living kitchens are designed with equal parts functionality, beauty and sustainability. His recipe: take beautiful, sustainably-harvested solid wood, add a pinch of classic Danish modern sensibility and top with non-toxic adhesives and finishes.

 

Solid wood is a natural and lasting material. Wood becomes more and more beautiful with time. It radiates warmth and a sense of quality.

ABOVE and BELOW: How can we create a kitchen that serves all the possible functions, takes up less space and is more flexible than kitchens designed today? How can we recycle materials classified as waste even if they don’t look like waste? With the growing population and increasing immigration to larger cities, our private spheres will become increasingly limited. In spite of this, the current trends paint a different picture; our kitchens have become bigger and flashier and more material is needed to build them.

The aim of Fredrik Ohlen is to create a kitchen that can be modified as needed; a kitchen that helps you separate your trash and reduce the amount of wasted food, a kitchen that takes up less space and uses the space in a more efficient manner.