The kitchen is one of the most visited spaces of the traditional household. Whether you’re cooking, washing the dishes, or grabbing a quick snack, the kitchen is the room where all these activities take place.
With how frequently one may find themselves in the kitchen, it doesn’t hurt to make it a point of attraction in your home.
While the decor elements are ultimately a personal choice, choosing sustainable materials is something every designer and homeowner should strive to do.
And with the vast array of sustainable kitchen renovation ideas, you can find online and in magazines, incorporating sustainability into your kitchen renovation isn’t that hard to do in this day and age.
Ready to give your kitchen a facelift? Read the list below for seven of the best sustainable kitchen ideas for your upcoming renovation!
1. Use Eco-Friendly Paint and Coating
Looking to give your kitchen a makeover? Consider dedicating a weekend to painting key areas of your kitchen a more appealing colour. While neutral tones like white and pale yellow get the job done, it can get boring seeing the same coloured walls over and over again.
If you want to break away from the monotony, consider changing your wall’s coating to something that strikes your fancy. Whether it’s green, blue, or red, the choice is yours! Of course, this time around, be sure to pick paints that are specifically labelled as low-VOC (a reading of fewer than 50 grams of volatile organic compounds per litre) or completely VOC-free.
These sustainable paints use ingredients that don’t interfere with the room’s air quality.
This not only helps keep the environment safe, but it also removes any potential risks from breathing in dangerous chemicals in traditional paints, particularly xylene, formaldehyde, benzene and ethyl acetate.
2. Opt for Sustainable Kitchen Appliances
Has your oven or gas stove been with you since day one? While they’re definitely tried and trusted appliances, they may be notorious gas guzzlers and could be contributing quite a big chunk to your electricity bill. If you’ve got extra cash to spare, discard these appliances and replace them with more energy-efficient ones. For example, you can get a convection oven in place of your gas-powered one.
Not only will a new fridge or oven work at its top capacity when brand new, but it could also save you electricity and money in the long run.
If you care about reducing your carbon footprint, opting for these sustainable kitchen appliances is the best way to take action.
Need a lead? Check out ArchiPro kitchen and laundry products to browse through a gallery of sustainable and eco-friendly items you may find useful for your kitchen.
3. Choose Energy-Efficient Lighting
If you’re blessed with a big window in your kitchen area, make use of it and harness the power of natural lighting. Don’t hide precious sunlight behind curtains during the day! Utilising this light source is by far one of the best ways to be sustainable since you’re not wasting any energy.
That said, artificial lighting is something that can’t exactly be dismissed altogether. Given this, it’s best to choose lighting that’s energy-efficient and relatively low-powered. LED lights consume 75% less energy than incandescent lights, making them perfect for kitchens and spaces around your home overall.
Besides their energy efficiency, LED lights also last longer than incandescent lights. As such, installing them in key areas in your kitchen is one of the best ways to integrate sustainable elements into the space without too much stress.
4. Choose Eco-Friendly Backsplash and Tiles
In addition to paint, another consideration to make for your kitchen renovation is the backsplash and tiles. Besides the aesthetics the right backsplash and tiles can provide, different types also carry with them variances of sustainability. Hence it’s important to pick the right ones.
Recycled materials are some of the best options for tiling and backsplashes. Clay, glass tiles, and aluminium are all viable options for tiles in the kitchen. Porcelain and ceramic may even be considered if you want to exude a luxurious feel in your kitchen.
As for backsplashes, reclaimed wood, stone, and stainless steel are all elegant options. By picking these options, you’re contributing less to landfills and making your kitchen look great too.
5. Stash Up On Reusable Containers
If you’re regularly using disposable plastics to store your meals, it might be time to rethink this habit. While convenient, these single-use items can end up in landfills and last for thousands of years—which is the exact opposite of what you want to be doing.
Instead of using Ziploc to pack your sandwiches, for instance, you can use containers made from glass and stainless steel to pack them instead.
Besides being more eco-friendly, the right ones also retain heat and keep your meals fresh throughout the day. Furthermore, they also come in various shapes and sizes, making it a highly versatile option regardless of what you’re planning to eat.
6. Install Hidden Drawers
Do you have a lot of plastic drawers scattered around your kitchen? While there’s definitely no shame in stocking up on a tonne of herbs and produce, having these items overflow in your kitchen can be quite messy, to say the least.
To save up on space, install hidden cabinets inside your countertops and sink area. This way, you won’t continuously have to purchase plastic storage containers to store your perishable goods.
You’ll also reap the benefit of having a cleaner-looking kitchen, which can make various kitchen duties feel more worthwhile and approachable.
7. Create an Indoor Herb Garden
Growing your own herbs is a fantastic way to uphold sustainability practices at home. Not only are your herbs fresh from the root, but you also cut down on plastic waste and emissions since you’re no longer relying on store-bought produce.
There are multiple ways you can start a herb gardening project. For instance, you can create a mini-garden by your kitchen windowsill and grow thyme and basil. If you have a bare wall in your kitchen, you can set up a vertical wall installation to grow even more herbs.
If you want to take it a step further, you can even use your kitchen waste and repurpose them as compost. This way, you’re reducing organic waste and making the most out of your ingredients.
And, if you’re into designing the layout of the garden, there are more than enough ways to make your mini kitchen garden look stunning too.
