It seems like everyone is making an effort to live their lives a little greener these days. If you are looking for ways to make your home a little greener, the kitchen is a great place to start, especially if you are planning a few remodeling tricks to give the space a new look for spring. Here are a few easy to implement ideas.
Well, perhaps not literally, unless an actual green kitchen is your thing, but by having the space repainted using low VOC paints. Not only will you be giving your kitchen a face lift but you will literally be reducing the number of toxic fumes in the air as well. Replace any incandescent bulbs you still have in use in your kitchen with Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL) bulbs. They use 50% less energy. Another benefit is that the light they emit is of a better color temperature these days as manufacturers continue to make efforts to produce a better CFL bulb.
If you are having your whole kitchen remodeled choose natural materials instead of man made ones. Eco friendly counter top options include granite or wooden counter tops and if you really want to score green points consider kitchen cabinets crafted from bamboo. Just remember to make sure that any cabinets you choose have been finished with low VOC varnishes and/or stains.
Traditional hardwood flooring does not always work well in the average kitchen as the moisture levels and potential for water spills is a little too high. Cork is a very eco friendly alternative though and the added advantage of cork flooring in the kitchen is that it has that extra give that is so comfortable if you are standing at the stove or counter top preparing and cooking meals.
You truly love your granite kitchen counter tops. Even though they have been installed for a few years now they still look as good as they did the first day they were put in. Too bad you cannot say the same thing about your kitchen cabinets. They are, quite frankly, ruining the look of the whole kitchen because they are so old and outdated. You wish you could replace them but the thought of giving up your beautiful granite counter tops to do so is not one you want to entertain at all. The good news is that with the expertise of a good kitchen cabinet installer, one who knows their kitchen counter tops as well, you can replace your old kitchen cabinets without harming your granite counter tops.
In order for such a project to be a success though their are certain steps that must be followed. The first is that the new kitchen cabinets you choose will have to follow the same “footprint” as the old ones when installed. This may limit your new kitchen cabinet choices a little but to keep their granite counter tops this is a trade off most home owners are happy to make. The second is finding an installation company that really cares about the quality of their work and is willing to put in the extra effort and care it will take to get the project done. Some kitchen remodelers will tell you “no” right away if you ask them to undertake such a job because they simply don’t want to deal with the extra hassle.
The biggest challenge when replacing kitchen cabinets while reusing the same granite counter tops is the safe removal of the granite counter top The Myst from the old cabinets. Granite is indeed very tough stuff but if you drop a slab of it it is still likely to crack or chip with the force of the fall. Re – installation after the new kitchen cabinets are in place can be just as tricky, but not so tricky that a confident and experienced installer cannot handle the task.
