Eco-friendly kitchens: What's cooking?
Most consumers have made the switch to fuel-efficient autos. They've installed double-paned windows, and many have added solar panels to their roofs.
But only in the past few years have they begun searching for what it will mean to truly create a “green kitchen.”
“The trick is to understand what part of ‘green' people are interested in,” said Sandra Fairbank, designer at Sonoma Kitchen and Bath in Santa Rosa.
“Some people want to buy local products because they want to reduce their carbon footprint. then, there is the chemical-sensitive crowd that worries about the toxics and off-gases from any material or product. And then others want a kitchen that reuses, re-purposes everything so no resource is wasted.”
Experts say many consumers have moved beyond shopping for the most energy-stingy dishwashers and refrigerators. They've already got that part of the energy equation and search out the Energy Star ratings on new appliances.
Now, they are increasingly likely to pepper veteran kitchen designers and home improvement store sales staffers with questions about materials in cabinets and countertops and about how to be environmentally responsible while remodeling the kitchen.
But going totally green can be expensive, in the $10,000 to $50,000 range. The high side estimate depends upon the extent to which the floors, countertops and cabinets are made of recycled materials, many coming with certification for being environmentally correct and socially responsible.
“Consumers want to do what they can do to make a difference,” said Valerie Williams, kitchen design specialist at Friedman's Home Improvement store. “They want the best they can afford and to make the biggest difference they can.”
Yet, as Friedman's “greener choice” coordinator Rebecca Bautista points out, “when people are looking to conserve energy, they are not looking to compromise on the quality in their lifestyle.”
The yin and yang of environmental consciousness in the kitchen has opened up the market to a whole new array of gadgetry, appliances, fixtures and design elements.
Since many homeowners haven't redesigned their kitchen in the past decade, they probably haven't heard of many of the products that kitchen designers are touting.
- Refrigerators may feature pull-out drawers or compartments so the act of opening the front door won't allow cold air to escape every time someone wants milk.
- Small, instant water tanks mounted underneath the sink can deliver water at the precisely desired temperature so there's no loss of cold water as it runs through the pipes.
- Tubular skylights, 10 to 14 inches in diameter and running vertically between the roof line and the kitchen ceiling, deliver lots of light in food prep areas that need it most.
- Faucet aerators control water flow to reduce waste. some kitchen fixtures sport multiple water sources for a variety of functions, like low-flow use during dish rinsing and another for quick fills like the pasta pot.
- In cabinetry, particle board is out because it uses formaldehyde-based adhesives, while natural and renewable woods such as bamboo and cork are in.
- In flooring, vinyl linoleum is out because it off-gasses linseed oil fumes, and many hardwood-floor finishes can be toxic because of their volatile organic compounds. Bamboo, cork and pre-finished woods are considered greener, although they, too, have drawbacks.
- And when it comes to countertops, there remain differences of opinion whether synthetic surfaces like Corian and Zodiaq are better for the kitchen environment than tile, quartz, stained concrete or Vetrazzo, which is made of recycled glass.
“The point is, you don't have to be doing a whole kitchen remodel to be thinking about conserving water and energy and the environment,” Williams said.
Williams and Bautista said they talk to about a half-dozen customers a week who ask specific questions about the environmental consequences of the products they consider purchasing. some have a hypersensitivity to the materials and toxics in their kitchen; others want to drill down to details of how products were made and under what conditions.
“People are motivated by different things, but mostly it is either the consequences for their health or on their personal values,” Bautista said.
Some veteran kitchen designers credit the 1998 book by Sarah Susanka, “The not so Big House,” with inspiring a movement to “right size” homes during remodeling and think about what is really needed in the kitchen.
“Oftentimes, when somebody buys a house, it is the kitchen that gets remodeled first, and that influences what happens in the rest of the house,” Fairbank said. “It becomes the heart of the home, the social hub. We see a lot of walls come down to make the kitchen the social center."
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