green home remodel | kitchen
What is a Green Remodel?
It’s an approach to home improvementwith the goal of not only making yourhome look better, but making it work better–for both you and the environment.Want a healthier home? Lower utilitybills? Reduced maintenance? A cleanerplanet? A green remodel helps you realizea range of far-reaching benefits from asingle smart design. With carefulplanning, you can create a living spacethat combines beauty, efficiency,comfort and convenience with healthand conservation.
Why Consider a Green Remodel?
Energy- and water-wise designs andproducts reduce monthly bills. Efficient,durable, and enduring home elementscan last longer and cost less to maintainin the long run. Also, by making spaceswelcoming to various ages and abilities,your home will be marketable to a largerpopulation (a key benefit for resale) andless likely to need costly modifications asyour own abilities change.
MAKE A HEALTHIER HOME
A green remodel can be good for you,physically and emotionally. Health-focused designs maximize fresh air andnatural light, while reducing the risk of injury. Potential problems like molds,allergens and toxic chemicals are identifiedand addressed early–a strategy that is moreeffective and usually much cheaper thanfixing them after they develop.
REDUCE ECOLOGICAL IMPACT
Remodeling is an opportunity to create ahome that enhances the environment,instead of depleting it. You can make yourliving space more energy and water-efficient, minimize waste, and recyclewhat’s left over to reduce the amount of materials ending up in landfills.
The kitchen is the heart of the home, aplace for everything from cooking andeating to socializing and entertaining. Thisguide discusses the considerationsinvolved in orchestrating a green kitchenremodel, so you can create a game planthat works for you.A kitchen remodel can be complicatedand expensive. A 2002 study by theNational Association of Realtors pins thecost of a
kitchen remodel inSeattle at over $45,000, while an
one averages nearly $73,000. So it makessense to do things right the first time.Fortunately, there are ways to reduce boththe cost and complexity of a kitchenrenovation, while increasing the room'senvironmental efficiency and humanperformance.
Cover photo: Robert Harrison Architects. Above photo: JAS Design Build (photo
John Granen).Photo contents page top left: VELOCIPEDE architects (photo