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Midwest Home: "Red-Hot Green" |
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Red-Hot Green
These kitchen designs are trendy—and healthy for you and the planet.
By James Walsh
Photo by John Christenson
Lynn Rossom spent months researching potential kitchen designs for her Lake Calhoun condo.
She searched for the right look. She searched for the right value. She
searched for the right feel. She wasn’t necessarily searching for a
kitchen design that used environmentally friendly materials, but that’s
what she found. Her Valcucine kitchen, with its cabinets made with
recycled aluminum frames and white oak that uses no formaldehyde is
perfect, she says. And the fact that it’s also “green” is a bonus.
“I wasn’t looking for that,” she says. “But I like it. I like that the
materials used in my kitchen have less impact on the environment.”
Welcome to one of the newest trends in kitchens: eco-friendly design.
Whether it’s using recycled products or incorporating lighting,
heating, cooling, and windows that save energy, a growing number of
designers and contractors are turning green.
“Green is hot right now,” says Michael Anschel, an architectural
designer with Otogawa-Anschel in Minneapolis who estimates that most of
his company’s projects involve some eco-friendly elements.
Why? One reason is skyrocketing energy costs. According to U.S. Green
Building Council estimates, commercial and residential buildings use
nearly two-thirds of total U.S. electricity and more than 36 percent of
primary energy. “While not every client is coming to us saying, ‘Build
me a green home,’ everyone appreciates our energy-saving features,”
Anschel says.
Up front, a green kitchen can cost about 20 percent more than a low-end
kitchen remodel, Anschel says. Often, eco-friendly options—especially
reused components, are less expensive than top-of-the-line
alternatives. Either way, the energy savings will offset initial
expenditures. “Within two years, it’s paid for itself,” explains
Anschel. “After that, you’re saving money.”
Kitchen components produced within the European Union typically are
more eco-friendly because of strict environmental standards that govern
manufacturing there. “In Europe, the companies have no choice,” says
Jean-Claude Desjardins, co-owner of Belle Kitchen in Minneapolis.
“Green is standard.” European options available locally include
Poggenpohl, Poliform, Leict, and Bulthaup, all of which feature
eco-benefits such as water-based varnishes and cabinet recycling
programs.
Italian manufacturer Valcucine produces some of the hottest
eco-friendly products on the market. Consider the Valcucine cabinet.
Framed with recycled aluminum, the extremely lightweight cabinet doors
are covered in glass or steel or laminated plywood that uses less wood
than other manufacturers. The company also has eliminated toxic
chemicals, such as formaldehyde and other volatile organic compounds,
in the manufacture of its kitchens.
The result is a stylish and sleek cabinet that is kind to indoor air
quality. A Valcucine kitchen is fume-free—an important feature in
today’s construction, says Emily Little, a designer in the company’s
Minneapolis showroom. “We’re building [homes] tighter and tighter and
tighter,” she says. “So people really do need to start to care a lot
about indoor air quality.”
Rossom’s kitchen is a stylish case in point. Her lower cabinets feature
gray, matte glass doors that look more like a brushed metal. Her upper
cabinets are a white oak veneer. Stainless countertops and a mosaic
tile backsplash of green glass finish the minimalist look that Rossom
says she just adores. She also loves the improvement in her indoor air
quality. “There is no odor at all, and I am very sensitive to it,” she
says.
Rachel Maloney owns Natural Built Home, a Minneapolis retailer that
sells sustainable building products. Her store offers everything from
kitchen countertops made from recycled paper to dual-flush toilets (one
button for big flushes and one for smaller ones). While she says the
heaviest use of “green” kitchen products is on the West Coast, the
trend toward eco-friendly kitchens is growing here.
And air quality is one of the biggest reasons.
“Consumers are becoming more aware that the products they choose can
have a negative impact on the indoor air quality of their homes,”
Maloney says. “When given a choice, most people will choose the
healthier product for themselves.”
A growing number of clients come to Anschel’s firm with air quality
concerns, he says. “We had a client come in and say ‘Mr. Potato Head
made my kid sick,’ ” Anschel says, citing the toxic gases soft plastics
can emit. “This is not fringe science anymore.”
JAMES WALSH IS AN EDUCATION REPORTER FOR THE STAR TRIBUNE.
Green & Easy
Going green in the kitchen doesn’t have to be complicated. “All it
takes is a little thought, and a little energy,” says Michael Anschel
of Otogawa-Anschel in Minneapolis. He suggests the following:
RADIANT HEAT.
Consider using in-floor radiant heat, which requires less energy than
forced air. For the finish floor, try recycled or recovered boards. A
product called Shade Tree combines end-run pieces of walnut, oak,
cherry, maple, and birch into an interesting, eclectic hardwood floor.
Bamboo and cork are two quickly renewable natural resources.
NATURAL LIGHT.
Use as much as possible. LED lights, rather than recessed cans, also lower energy use.
WALL FINISHES.
Consider using an old-fashioned technology, plaster and lathe, for
walls that are amazingly airtight. Choose low or no VOC paints—not just
for the sake of indoor air quality but because the compounds used in
the manufacture of traditional paints have to go somewhere, usually
into our water or our atmosphere.
RECYLED COUNTERTOPS.
Use remnant granite, recycled glass, or quartz composites.
CABINETS.
If you must have solid wood cabinets, look for Forest Stewardship
Council-certified species, indicating sustainable forestry practices.
Also make sure that low-VOC finishes and no formaldehyde are used. Pick
a local manufacturer to cut down on the energy used to transport the
components to your home.
APPLIANCES.
Look for dishwashers and refrigerators with the Energy Star
qualification from the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S.
Department of Energy, indicating they are energy efficient. —J.W.
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