Working on a remodeling project in the kitchen is a must do for every home owner
at least once in their life but many people are concerned about how to stay eco-friendly when renovating a room. There are a lot of easy ways to be green when you are remodeling the kitchen and also save money at the same time. You will be able to benefit the environment and avoid extraneous spending by finding ways to salvage old items or reuse and refurbish what you have like kitchen cabinets and countertops. You can create a unique and attractive look that can have a little bit of retro appeal that can be fun to spend time in and put together. Salvaging nontraditional items like school lockers for cabinets can look great and will be a talking point among guests and family members that visit your kitchen.
Another good idea that can save you money and be eco-friendly is reusing your old kitchen cabinets but making them a little different perhaps with some refacing or a simple paint job. You can reuse old appliances as long as they are less than 10 years old and faucets as well as long as they were purchased after 1997 and do not contain any lead. If you do plan on replacing some of your appliances like the refrigerator it might be a good idea to try using a counter depth fridge. This is a type of refrigerator that fits flush against the counter and cabinets so that it saves more energy with its efficient space. It will also give you more room to walk around in the kitchen and look more clean cut and streamlined.
Another important way to conserve energy is by using an energy-efficient lighting system. You can keep the kitchen well-lit while still saving money and using less energy by switching to fluorescent lamps or efficient halogen lights. For people that are conscious of their environmental impact and want to incorporate this into their remodeling efforts, they will also find that they are increasing their potential to save money. It can really pay in the end to go green because you will spend less on your energy bills and the amount of materials you buy for replacement.