Green Kitchen and Bath Makeovers, Part III

If you’re looking for a quick fix to spruce up your kitchen or bath, check out my previous post, Part I of this series.  For information on saving energy and water with new appliances and cool gadgets, click here to see Part II.  In the remaining posts for this series, I’ll delve into options for [...]

Bamboo Countertops

In a previous post, I wrote about the pros and cons of bamboo used as a flooring option.  The pros seem to outweigh the cons, as bamboo is a durable surface material not only for flooring, cabinetry and wall panels, but also for countertops.  When using this fast-growing grass (yes, it’s a grass) for an [...]

Surplus, Salvaged and Green Building Materials

Planning a weekend home improvement or remodeling project?  It’s a perfect opportunity to use salvaged and surplus building materials.  Green building warehouses and architectural salvage yards are popping up across the country and are full of interesting, new and used items.  These building elements have been donated by local businesses and residents, as well as [...]

Furniture Artfully Created from Junk Cars

It may sound hard to believe, but artist Joel Hester and his crew at Dallas-based company, The Weld House, salvage steel panels from junk automobiles to create marvelous pieces of functional furniture.  The rough and ravaged pieces of weathered steel are transformed into cool coffee tables, beds, armoires, and artwork.  Some of these modern masterpieces [...]

The Pros and Cons of Bamboo Flooring

Bamboo is a fast-growing grass which is typically ready to harvest every 5 or 6 years, when it reaches optimal hardness, as opposed to hardwoods which take 60+ years to mature.  It regenerates itself and new shoots will start to grow once the harvested bamboo is removed.  Different manufacturers utilize varying methods to process the [...]

The Quiet Beauty of Cork Flooring

The cork oak tree is remarkable in that its outer bark (cork) can be stripped off allowing new bark to grow in its place without harming the trees.  The harvesting of this cork can be done numerous times over the course of the 200 year life of a cork oak tree, making it a sustainable, [...]

Light Fixtures Crafted from Recycled Materials

If you’re looking for unique and eco-friendly light fixtures, you’ll be happy to learn that there is a wide variety of styles available.  A few innovative companies are integrating recycled metals and glass, as well as sustainable woods, into stunning new designs, many of which accept energy-efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs.

Green Cabinetry, Part II

It’s certainly getting easier to find cabinetry made with sustainable materials that have less of an impact on the environment than conventional materials.  In Part I of my series about eco-friendly cabinetry, I highlighted the benefits of cabinets made from a rapidly renewable resource–bamboo. Here, in Part II, FSC-certified cabinetry will be the focus.  FSC [...]

Green Cabinet Options, Part 1: Bamboo

Renovating that old kitchen and looking for some sleek, sustainable options?  In this series of posts, I will shed some light on various eco-friendly cabinetry options for the kitchen, bathroom, office, or media room.  One great green choice is bamboo, a member of the grass family and a rapidly renewable resource.  It grows very quickly, [...]

Recycled Glass Makes Beautiful and Durable Countertops

It’s amazing how crushed glass mixed with a binding agent can create such cool countertops for the kitchen and bath.  The companies that make these solid surfaces not only divert waste materials from landfills, but many use sustainable manufacturing processes as well.  These eco-friendly alternatives to granite and quartz  are offered in a wide variety [...]

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