The Eco-friendly Modern Kitchen coming soon!

What does an eco-friendly kitchen look like?  Well, they come in different sizes and shapes but they’re always beautiful and of course, almost harmless to our planet.  In today’s blog we’re going to discuss the things that can make remodeling your modern kitchen eco-friendly in design and building materials.  These eco-friendly building material ideas will work for any kitchen, including small & galley or open and spacious kitchens.  Let’s kick off this eco-friendly kitchen remodeling discussion with cabinets.  If you’ve ever purchased kitchen cabinets before you probably know the choices and supplier types are endless.  Now a days, modern kitchen cabinets come in all different styles, quality levels, toxicity levels, and manufacturing locations.   You can affordably buy pre-made cabinets that were made overseas with toxic glues that contain loads of formaldehyde.  If you have a little more room in your budget you can have custom cabinets made on a local level.  But watch out because custom cabinets can also be loaded with formaldehyde.  When it comes to eco-friendly kitchen cabinets it all starts with them being non-toxic.  Today, the most eco-friendly non-toxic materials being used for cabinetry are bamboo and wheatboard.  Bamboo is a rapidly renewable material while wheatboard is made from recycled bio waste content, both can be made non-toxic.  Modern kitchen cabinets can also be made from non-toxic plywoods like oak, pine, and maple.  Whether or not wood cabinets can be considered eco-friendly is dependent upon what type of forest in which the wood came as well as your personal interpretation of wood as eco-friendly.  Many experts believe forest conservation would be an important step in combating global warming.  Now don’t forget, eco-friendly can also mean salvaging the cabinets you already have.  Some non-toxic paint or natural stains could help save your old cabinets by making them more modern.  Any time you extend the life of cabinetry that’s eco-friendly in our book.

Onto kitchen countertops, and you probably know what we’re going to say.  Yes, we love recycled paper countertops, it’s out there now!  We love them all over the house but our favorite in the kitchen is EcoTop.   EcoTop is a product that combines both recycled content in the form of recycled paper fibers and rapidly renewable content in the form of bamboo fibers to create a beautiful countertop material that has tons of character and will last for decades.  Another eco-friendly countertop option for the modern kitchen is recycled glass countertops.  Recycled glass countertops are really sharp but be careful in regards the recycled glass countertops that contain cement or concrete.   By many standards recycled glass countertops that are made using cement would not be considered eco-friendly.  Reclaimed wood pieces can make for an affordable eco-friendly countertop. With proper sealants old doors or other wood panels with character could become kitchen countertops.  Creating an eco-friendly backsplash might be the easiest thing to DIY in your modern eco-friendly kitchen.  If you can find an old pallet with nice patina you can create a reclaimed wood backsplash that’s unmatched.  Or if you’re the artistic type can try creating a backsplash out of recycled glass pieces and resin.  If you have some room in the budget for a kitchen backplash, you could consider eco-friendly panels made from recycled plastic or handmade tiles created from recycled porecelain tile.  Let’s not forget the floor!  Bamboo, cork, or reclaimed wood can make for beautiful eco-friendly kitchen floors.  Always check to see what’s under your current floor before you buy any materials, there could be an old wood floor underneath that can be brought back to life with some sanding and finish.  Another eco-friendly option in modern kitchen flooring would be marmoleum which is a non-toxic eco-friendly lineoleum made from bio waste and other recycled materials. Oh, and don’t forget some modern LED lighting, that always brightens up a modern eco-friendly kitchen.  Whatever your eco-friendly tastes we’re sure your eco-friendly kitchen will look great!  And the planet will thank you for it, thanks for reading!