Things You'll Need:
- Kitchen appliance choices.
- Kitchen surface choices.
- Kitchen storage options.
-
Step 1
Modernize your kitchen with these handy ideas:
Kitchen surfaces are eco-friendly and creatively bring variety to your kitchen.
Flooring
-Bamboo brings environmentally friendly material into your kitchen floor with a 3 layered lamination process that creates strength, durability, and comes in 54 shades. (Duro Designs)
-Cork flooring, hand harvested from the Mediterranean, is a glueless floating flooring that can be layered over hard surfaces. Known for its strength and durability and is offered in nine colors. (Expanko)
-Laminate made from recycled banana fibers offers a dimensional texture to its surface. Available in ten colors. (Abaca from Lamin-Art)
Countertops
-Made primarily from 100 percent recycled paper, plant and cloth fibers this solid surface is scratch, bacteria, stain, and water resistant.. (ShetkaStone)
-Made with 50-percent recycled old corrugated cardboard/ 50 percent Pacific Northwest softwood pulp this non-porous countertop is a dense and durable surface material. It is scratch- and heat-resistant, and its brings warmth to a room with no added dyes or pigments. (Richlite OCC from Richlite Company)
-This new surface line is crafted from a colored cement left-over architectural window plate glass, that often ends up in landfills. (Vetrazzo)
Walls
-Tiles crafted entirely from post-industrial and post-consumer glass and do not contain any additional oxides or colorants. Each jewel-like variety of tile is handmade. (Blazestone from Bedrock Industries)
-Wall coverings are printed on recycled acrylic coated paper which carries a Class A fire rating making the custom colors ideal for the kitchen. (Carolyn Ray)
-The handcrafted tile pieces are made with recycled aluminum and the oil used to heat up the metals during production is reused car oil. The pieces incorporate warm and cool glass hues set into metal to create geometric patterns. The tiles are available in various sizes, 36 colors, and three finishes: brushed, sand blasted and vibrated. (Erin Adams Design)
-Combine marble, limestone, silver and gold, and Italian artisans etch patterns into the tiles and then apply gold and silver leaf. Two styles offered. (Walter Zanger)
-Mosaic tiles, that are created from 100 percent closed-loop scrap recycling, gives new life to previously unused resources. These tiles are scratch, stain and scorch resistant. Available in 20 colors. (Cosentino's Silestone Muro) -
Step 2
Modernize your kitchen appliances with technology that provides convenience in cooking and ease in cleaning.
-Touch-and-Turn Cook-top - Features a removable magnetic dial to set the power level. Eliminates the need to clean around dials. (Bosch NES)
-Zone Pan Sensing Cook-top - Automatically turns cooking element on and off when sensing a pan. Pan sizing activates proper zones. (Thermador)
-Microwave Easy - Swipe the barcode on your food package and the microwave will interpret and know the cooking time. (Beyond scanner microwave)
-Lift Oven- A push button function allows the oven's base to lower directly down to the countertop where food dishes can be easily loaded and unloaded. An ideal option for small kitchens or to free up significant space. (Gaggenau)
-Cold Entertainment - Combine refrigeration and a 15-in. LCD television screen. (LG)
-Bring the entertainment center to the kitchen. Installed beneath a wall cabinet the flip down screen, with Internet, television, and musical entertainment, allows you to check e-mail or follow along with TV chefs while cooking your dinner. (IceBox from Salton)
-Keep your dinnerware and stemware organized, clean, and free of mineral spots with a dishwasher in a drawer. The two drawer-like compartments also have a built-in water softener. (Fisher & Paykel)
-Home personal vending machine keeps your beverages cool and labeled in this smaller than traditional vending machine. In black or gridiron platinum finishes, with a child safety lock to restrict unwanted use. (Maytag SkyBox) -
Step 3
There is never too much storage space in a kitchen but there may be too little.
Maximize kitchen storage space:
-Install a wire wall grid to keep kitchen tools handy.
-Divide your drawer space with adjustable inserts.
-Adjust shelves to fit specific contents.
-Hang a wire basket from shelves to store more items.
-Build shallow drawers into the toe-kick space below lower cabinets
-Wrap a wire storage unit around plumbing lines and ductwork.
-Add shelves to the end of a cabinet run.
-Use a pullout towel rack with more than one bar to air-dry and store towels.
-Mount small appliances beneath cabinets to free up counter space.
-Install a shallow closet pantry if you have a free wall. This is a fantastic option to create space that does not take up a lot of room. Use a sliding mirror door to disguise the closet and create the illusion of space in your kitchen.
-Use the cabinet doors for food wrap racks, pot lid racks, or magnetic spice tins- Spices and herbs are stored neatly in tins with a magnetic back. Attach a magnetic sheet to the inside of your cupboard door and save cupboard space. Velcro could work, also.
-Move kitchen items you don't use every day into other rooms.
-Have a basket for items belonging in other rooms. Empty basket daily.
Comments
joni04 said
on 2/28/2009 I like the basket idea and emptying it out everyday. *****
Codebreak said
on 2/28/2009 Great article!
slphilbrick said
on 9/12/2008 Lots of great info, especially number 3 with a number of smaller, but very useful, ideas !
02SmithA said
on 9/2/2008 I don't know much about kitchens, but I do know that storage space is absolutely a huge need at all times. Nice post!
momofour said
on 9/2/2008 Great article! I would love to know how much it would cost to do the entire kitchen using these products though! I shutter to think of how many articles I would have to write to pay for it! LOL