Sustainable kitchen concepts: 12 methods to an eco-friendly area
Designing a sustainable kitchen must be an integral a part of your plans in case you are remodelling, and because of the newest improvements and supplies, it should not be the uphill battle you would possibly assume.
Whether or not you’re keen on the sophistication of smooth, trendy designs or gravitate in direction of the timeless model of farmhouse designs, just a few easy modifications and acutely aware choices will aid you to make it possible for your kitchen concepts do not value the earth.
Sustainable kitchen concepts
In terms of designing a sustainable kitchen there are two approaches. A few of us like our kitchens to look sustainable, closely drawing on reclaimed and pure supplies that not solely have the environmental credentials but in addition exude an air of being at one with nature.
Others choose the engine room of their house to attract on trendy kitchen concepts, having a sleeker, extra up to date look whereas resting secure within the information that their on development design will not be harming the planet.
However putting in a sustainable kitchen is without doubt one of the best and largest eco house enhancements you can also make. This is how.
1. Incorporate antiques and classic furnishings
(Picture credit score: Clayton Cupboards/Darren Chung)
One of many key tenets of sustainable dwelling is to cut back waste: whether or not that is wasted power or wasted assets. In the event you design your kitchen with the purpose of lowering waste, it’s a surefire manner to make sure that it’s extra sustainable. Nevertheless, this does not imply that you must put up with previous items that you just hate, or that you would be able to’t have the kitchen of your desires.
As an alternative, contemplate promoting unloved furnishings to provide it a brand new house elsewhere or studying easy methods to paint wooden furnishings that will help you breathe new life into previous items. You may also search for vintage furnishings that is brimming with appeal, or see whether or not components of your new kitchen could possibly be sourced from reclaimed supplies.
‘Incorporating vintage furnishings and reclaimed supplies into your kitchen design is a extra sustainable strategy that places much less stress on the surroundings,’ says cabinetmaker Nick Clayton, director, Clayton Cupboards (opens in new tab). ‘We regularly salvage and reuse supplies from the property we’re engaged on, or close to our personal workshops; supplies that will in any other case be headed for landfill, too. Decreasing supply distances has a constructive affect on the undertaking’s carbon footprint. Nevertheless, we do use trendy fittings and know-how when they are going to profit on a sensible entrance. For instance, on this reclaimed island the drawers have trendy soft-close runners for straightforward entry and a pop-up socket for small home equipment.’
Antiques needn’t value the earth both, the truth is, it’s usually a cheaper solution to adorn your property. Take inspiration from the inside designers with their prime tips about adorning with antiques.
2. Select freestanding over fitted
(Picture credit score: deVOL)
Freestanding kitchen concepts have been a rising development over current years, nevertheless, additionally they current a sustainable solution to design a kitchen. The flexibleness of an unfitted kitchen permits you to change issues round or add new items with out having to tear out a complete fitted kitchen.
‘The unfitted kitchen is extra of a furnished room with home equipment and kitchen objects included than a generic kitchen. It has the great thing about feeling way more atmospheric and distinctive as a result of it can inevitably have some totally different types and supplies. I like the way in which it turns into a room that’s lovely and timeless and never so fully totally different to the remainder of the home. You may add classic cabinets, you may change issues round and you may swap and reuse cabinets in several methods, supplying you with flexibility. One thing which isn’t potential in a model new fitted kitchen,’ says Helen Parker, deVOL (opens in new tab)‘s Inventive Director.
3. Go for reclaimed flooring
(Picture credit score: Maitland & Poate)
Reusing previous materials not solely saves power and assets, however will imbue a house with historical past and character that’s unimaginable to emulate with new purchases. Flooring is a good alternative to include reclaimed supplies into your area, particularly in terms of kitchen flooring concepts as they’re usually extra sturdy than newer merchandise.
‘Terracotta tile ages fantastically, its pure vintage patina showcased in reclaimed tiles simply provides a singular piece of historical past and appeal to any room,’ says Chris Gulson-Brooke, founding father of Maitland & Poate (opens in new tab). ‘It’s equally low upkeep, being produced from a pure materials it’s microporous so all newly laid flooring will want sealing to guard it however reclaimed classic tiles have benefited from a few years earlier sealing and care. They merely require a mild mopping as soon as relaid to maintain them wanting vibrant and contemporary.’
4. Decide plastic-free paint
(Picture credit score: Edward Bulmer/@digitalrenovation)
There’s extra to choosing a paint than simply deciding on a shade you’re keen on. Do you know that typical paint options microplastics as their binding agent? Every time you wash your paint brush, these microplastics go down the sink and ultimately into the ocean.
‘180,000 tonnes of microbeads from paint pollute our oceans yearly, solely 30,000 tonnes come from cosmetics, but microbeads are banned in cosmetics,’ explains consultants at Edward Bulmer (opens in new tab).
Eco paints, alternatively, provide a sustainable different. For instance, Edward Bulmer’s paint, makes use of the pure Silicic Acid and surfactants from vegetable oils (rapeseed and castor oil) and plant supplies excessive in sugar to bind their paints in addition to buying and selling chemical colorants for pure and earth pigments. Moreover, every ingredient is listed on their web site together with the place they’re sourced from and the position they play in creating the paint.
Now you have selected the kind of paint you will use, the following step is to pick out a shade. Fortunately there are many painted kitchen concepts and coloured kitchen concepts to assist to encourage you.
5. Store native
(Picture credit score: Bare Kitchens)
Procuring domestically will look totally different to everyone as every native space could have its personal distinctive set of retailers and suppliers. From a sustainability perspective, purchasing domestically will cut back the airmiles of each the supplies and the completed product, nevertheless it can additionally create the sensation of a bespoke kitchen for a fraction of the price. Go a step additional and choose handmade merchandise to essentially channel your kitchen’s individuality. Figuring out easy methods to store sustainably is crucial when adorning your property with the surroundings in thoughts.
6. Change your bulbs to LEDs
(Picture credit score: David Hunt Lighting)
Probably the most environment friendly of the kitchen lighting concepts, LEDs provide 95 per cent effectivity, consuming very low quantities of energy. Utilizing much less power reduces the demand from energy vegetation and reduces greenhouse gasoline emissions. In addition they provide the next high quality of sunshine distribution that means fewer lights are wanted to attain the identical degree of brightness as conventional lighting.
A worthwhile funding, LED lighting boasts a lifespan of as much as six occasions longer than different varieties of lights. Make a press release of your lighting with elegant shades, similar to this design from David Hunt Lighting (opens in new tab).
7. Go for bamboo in terms of window remedies
(Picture credit score: Hillarys)
If you’re in search of an environmentally pleasant window therapy concepts to your kitchen, then look no additional than bamboo. ‘Bamboo grows extremely quick. It self regenerated from its root making it a sustainable different to different supplies attributable to its naturally renewable properties,’ explains James Chilton, product supervisor at Hillarys (opens in new tab).
Bamboo window blind concepts carry the identical aesthetic enchantment as wooden however with much more sustainable credentials. ‘There’s an intrinsic heat about wooden that brings a comforting addition to any house. It mimics the consequences of spending time exterior in nature and research identification that the presence of wooden indoors is related to an enhanced feeling of well-being,’ continues James.
8. Save power with a boiling water faucet
(Picture credit score: Searle & Taylor)
Boiling water faucets have seen a spike in recognition in recent times, however do you know that also they are a sustainable selection?
‘One of many predominant advantages of getting a Quooker faucet is that it’s going to save water. The faucet will solely ship the precise quantity of water you’re utilizing, whether or not it’s for a big pot to boil pasta for the entire household or for a single cup of tea. With a kettle, alternatively, you’ll usually find yourself boiling extra water than is required or determine to re-boil water as a result of it has cooled down, losing plenty of power. What’s extra, the Quooker combi-tank delivers not solely boiling water, but in addition scorching water, that means you may have scorching water immediately, with out letting the faucet run,’ says Stephen Johnson, managing director at Quooker (opens in new tab).
9. Change cupboard doorways quite than entire kitchen
(Picture credit score: Siobhan Doran / Bare Kitchens)
In accordance with Bare Kitchens (opens in new tab), the common kitchen cabinetry normally lasts for 15 to twenty years (some high-end items can last as long as 50 years) earlier than needing to get replaced. Nevertheless, many owners exchange them whereas they’re nonetheless totally purposeful as they discover themselves eager to create a distinct look. In case your kitchen cupboards are structurally sound, then there isn’t any actual want to exchange them. The truth is, simply changing your cupboard doorways is an effective way to breathe new life into the area with out the price or inconvenience of changing your entire kitchen.
10. Go for impartial cabinetry for timeless enchantment
(Picture credit score: Martin Moore)
When in search of your kitchen cupboard concepts, you will need to not solely consider the design you want to obtain on this model of kitchen, but in addition how your cabinetry could possibly be tailored or up to date additional down the road.
Impartial colours and a traditional Shaker kitchen concepts are among the most versatile designs, thriving in a variety of kitchen types. Choosing wooden kitchen cupboards over laminate can even provide the flexibility to repaint as and while you need to rejuvenate your area.
11. Set up a multi-functional vary cooker
(Picture credit score: Brent Darby)
Future-proofing is an effective way to make your kitchen extra sustainable. From wind generators by means of to photo voltaic panels, sustainable electrical energy is on the rise and as such, signifies that electrical energy is essentially the most sustainable selection to your home equipment.
Nevertheless, should you’re trying to improve your home equipment, contemplate a heat-storage vary cooker. ‘We’re all extra conscious of at present’s disposable society and the necessity to cut back waste. A spread cooker can exchange quite a few widespread kitchen home equipment. The recent plate can be utilized to make cheese toasties and to boil a kettle, and the simmer oven replaces your sluggish cooker. To not point out the truth that a lot of our prospects will use a drying rack above the cooker to exchange their tumble dryer. Many of those devices will want changing over time, a variety cooker is constructed to final a lifetime,’ says Man Goring, Managing Director of Everhot (opens in new tab).
12. Small modifications can have a big effect
(Picture credit score: Jane Beiles/Georgia Vikas)
In terms of bigger renovation tasks, it is necessary to do not forget that the answer to a small kitchen will not be at all times extending. Extending requires quite a lot of new supplies, in addition to electrical energy and fossil fuels with a purpose to ship your provides and to finish the undertaking. Subsequently, different avenues must be explored to see if there is a extra sustainable solution to maximize the obtainable area.
On this undertaking by Georgia Zikas Designs (opens in new tab), smaller modifications assist this household create their dream kitchen for a fraction of the ecological prices. ‘Initially our purchasers for this house needed to fully intestine renovate the kitchen as a result of it was so closed off from the remainder of the home. They even toyed with the thought of transferring to a brand new house as a result of the kitchen was so small. We made them understand that by simply making just a few small, sustainable modifications like flattening partitions and repositioning the sink, they may maximize the area, decrease the quantity of supplies they must use and create a phenomenal kitchen that was harmonious with their new open flooring plan,’ says Georgia.
What’s sustainable kitchen?
A sustainable kitchen is one that does not have a detrimental affect on the planet. This ranges from crafting your kitchen out of sustainable supplies, incorporating antiques and repurposing items in any other case destined for landfill and portray with non-toxic paints. A sustainable kitchen additionally options eco-friendly home equipment similar to cookers with excessive power effectivity and LED lighting.
How do you create a sustainable kitchen?
There are a lot of methods to create a sustainable kitchen. Nevertheless, the primary rule is to avoid wasting no matter you may out of your current kitchen and maintain as a lot out of landfill as potential. This could possibly be achieved by promoting stuff you not need or by incorporating them into your new scheme.
When portray a sustainable kitchen guarantee you’re utilizing environmentally pleasant paint finishes which are created utilizing pure pigments. The identical applies to your inside decor, go for pure supplies similar to wooden, jute, cotton or steel over plastics and focus your consideration on the longevity of the items you buy in addition to their ecological credentials.