Abrams Design Build  |  202-437-8583  |  

Green Kitchen

green kitchen design

What does a green kitchen remodel look like when it’s finished? Something like this.

Green Kitchens: Design & Remodeling

In terms of taking a green design approach, a kitchen remodel is the most rewarding and fun type of project.  You and your designer may choose beautiful kitchen cabinets and finish materials (flooring, lighting fixtures, tile and countertops) that have been ingeniously fabricated from sustainably sourced, responsibly manufactured, leftover, re-used or “useless” materials.  Your green spec sheet would also include high efficiency appliances, water saver plumbing devices, LED lighting and non-toxic adhesives, sealants, coatings and finishes.

And yet.

All these wonderful ingredients do not a green kitchen make.  Not the countertops composed of recycled paper.  Not the jewel-like backsplash tiles made from recycled glass or cabinets built free of toxic glues and binders.  No, it is not these beautiful, clever products—though they play a part.  What makes a kitchen remodel green is the thought process that goes into it.  A green remodeler takes a systems approach to the project program.  A balanced mix of techniques and materials results in something greater than its component parts and performs to a higher standard than a conventionally remodeled home.

open plan green kitchen remodel with islandGreen kitchen design and remodeling is both science and art.  You might say it’s a bit like the art and science of cooking.  To prepare an exceptional meal a chef must begin with the very best ingredients.  Naturally.  But it is what the chef (or remodeler) does with those ingredients that make the meal (or remodeling project) remarkable.

As a baker of bread, Alan Abrams knows this.  His approach to green kitchen design is much like preparing bread.  The ingredients (flour, water, yeast and a dash of salt) could not be more simple, could they?    The transformation happens with expert handling of these ingredients and the sure knowledge of how they work together with time and temperature to produce the miracle of fresh baked bread.

organic bread like green building is made of healthy ingredientsThe Abrams green remodeling recipe includes generous helpings of intelligent building science and sustainable design transformed by artistry.

And, if you are really nice, you might just receive the gift of fresh baked bread from Alan Abram’s own kitchen (which is, yes, a very green kitchen indeed).