We all look for ways to design an eco-friendly kitchen, and in fact, various kitchen design ideas are entirely sustainable that you can use to minimize the exploitation of Earth’s resources. You can describe all the green kitchen design ideas you need to make your kitchen eco-friendly, and a professional kitchen designer will go to a deeper extent up to the level of sustainability you desire. If you are at the beginning of the stages for a kitchen renovation or update, you need to consider the following areas where your choices can make a huge difference in terms of long-term sustainability –
Reface Your Cabinets if Possible
In almost every case, refacing a cabinet yields the same look as the custom cabinetry has with them. Refacing a cabinet uses less than a single tree’s worth of wood while keeping your furniture in a well-definite structure. As a result of the strengthening process, your existing cabinets can have much stronger and durable boxes than ever, which allows you to save a lot of money since refaced cabinets actually cost less than half of the new custom design options. Refacing your cabinets is again an eco-conscious design choice, but you will not always get a space as you have desired. You will need to determine if refacing is a viable option for you, but your design consultants can make the right determination if you don’t have a satisfactory answer.
Go with Quartz or Corian Countertops
Both quartz and Corian countertops are considered sustainable options, and the best thing is their production doesn’t leave any significant impact on the mining needed for the granite. When you go with their maintenance-free virtual qualities, you need to consider that they will not need any toxic sealants to last a lifetime without even getting cracked or damaged. You can say that choosing quartz or Corian are the lasting choices for the countertops, and these can leave you entirely satisfied.
Thinks about the Recycled Material
From the use of recycled products to the quartz slabs, there are enormous products that you can use to style your kitchen with the use of material manufactured with recycled ingredients. You need to keep recycled items in mind for your kitchen décor choices that can enhance your kitchen style perfectly as needed. Renovate and re-purpose items wherever possible, and you can create a spectacular design piece while contributing to a greener planet.
Create a Timeless Kitchen Design
Another important thing you need to consider along with sustainability is longevity. The more you have to re-do or replace, the less sustainable, the more resources to manufacture replacements. Products also need more toxins to be produced to paint, finish, and seal them, but you also have to consider the fact that you will be using fuel to ship and transport these items to and from different locations. Designing a kitchen also needs a long-view approach, and you may want to design a timeless kitchen that will be extremely comfortable, functional, and beautiful as it will be ten and even 20 years from now. You need to go with a kitchen remodel that does not need any significant work or replacement accessible for everyone in the entire family.
Energy-efficient Kitchen Lighting, Fixtures, and Appliances
The great news is that energy-efficiency is a serious priority that you need to consider today. When it comes to HVAC systems or the appliances and lighting fixtures with the symbol showing Energy Star, it ensures that they actually exceed the current guidelines for energy efficiency. Adding dimmer switches to lights allows you to adjust the wattage, and you can even decide when it will be brighter which saves energy in the entire process. Likewise, when you replace your bulbs with the use of LED bulbs, they become more expensive at the outset, but these can last longer, so you can get money back through energy savings and fewer lifetime replacements.
Eco-friendly Technology
Today, various modern advances in kitchen appliances are aimed not only to streamline tasks but also to make them more environmentally friendly as needed. A boiling water tap not only works to provide hot water when needed but also tackles the waste generated in the electricity boiling kettles that allow you to contribute to the greener environment. With the growing innovations in cleaning appliances, cooking and cooling equipment reduces the consumption of power needed, which means they use less water. Every appliance comes with an energy rating label that works great to analyze the cost of running it efficiently while considering an estimated amount that it actually consumes when in use. Always keep in mind that the appliances are available in different sizes – these can use different amounts of electricity as well, so choose the suitable that can go well with the regular kitchen uses.
Following these steps can deliver a great help to plan your eco-friendly kitchen remodeling in Chicago while saving you a larger sum for the longer run. The green kitchen doesn’t have to be boring as the latest style trends consider the environment, and our professionals can help you get a sustainable, efficient, and stylish kitchen design.