Green kitchen design of the future :: Recycling

I made a decision a few years back to try and reduce my families household waste as an experiment. I was quite surprised at what you could achieve if you set your mind to it and think of different ways for purchasing and ideas for recycling. We even managed to reduce our weekly bin waste down to just one shopping bag! 

Below are a few things I found quite simple to put into place.

• I have the following bins in my kitchen - 1 for recycling packaging, 1 for food veggie scraps and 1 for common waste.
• I am now in the habit of saving all my scarps for the compost.
• I buy food in smaller amounts and with minimum packaging (against the wish of my local fruit and veg store who prefers me to buy veggies in multipacks!). 
• I fixed a "No junk mail" to my mail box. This was the best thing! My paper waste has been dramatically reduced and what waste paper we do have I shred it and use in my compost. 
• I drink loads of tea and throw the tea leaves onto the base of my garden herbs. 
• I use glass jars for storage of ingredients, pens and stuff.
• I still recycle any packaging that's left over.

I would like to share with you what the future may bring for recycling in our kitchens...

"The Ethical Kitchen," a project by Alexandra Sten Jørgensen

The i Green kitchen concept was designed by Indian designer Nilay Shah in collaboration with Italian brand Veneta Cucine

Outdoor Kitchen designed by landscape designer Jamie Durie for Australian home appliance company Electrolux

The Ekokook by Faltazi

These kitchens all have the following in common:

• There is no refrigerator - timber trays are used for storage of foods with air ventilation through the crates. Also the user only purchases minimum quantities, reducing waste and less need for refrigeration. 
• Air flow - the kitchen will open to the outdoors to vent the heat in the summer and open to the rest of the house in the winter to keep the house warm.
• Water is recycled at the kitchen counter and used for growing herbs, plants or veggies. 
• Disposal of waste is processed and integrated into composting or worm farms thus reducing your household organic waste. 

Literally, food for thought...

How many of you regularly recycle your packaging, save your veggie food scraps for composting or grow your own herbs and veggies? I would love to know of your kitchen recycling ideas.

Have fun.

Recycled timber furniture

Today I am going to interrupt my flow on kitchens but return next week with food recycling ideas for your kitchen...

Yesterday I spent a delightful morning strolling around the Bangalow Markets. I love these markets as you never know what local craft talent you will discover.

I am currently in the process of renovating our 1950's bathroom so I have been on the look out for a piece of recycled furniture, a table or a cabinet that can be restored and used as my bathroom vanity storage unit. It has been months and has been a difficult task to source this item as the item needs to be no bigger 350mm deep and requires storage space. Most furniture is a lot deeper than this and with limited storage.

So I was excited to discover Johnny from Plank Furniture, a local furniture maker who makes custom built furniture made from recycled and reclaimed timber materials. He uses mostly local Australian Hardwood timbers such as Tassie Oak, Ironbark, Camphor, Silky Oak, and Cedar sourced in the Northern Rivers area of NSW.

His talents not only lie with making furniture but he can also build recycled timber kitchens and kitchen counters!

images via Plank Furniture

I will definitely be interested in pulling together some recycled timber furniture ideas for my bathroom and will let you know how it all progresses.

Next week I will return with how to incorporate food recycling options within your kitchen.

Have a great week.

Eco friendly counter tops and splashbacks :: Recycled glass

I just had to add this selection to last weeks list of alternative kitchen counter top materials.

Recycled glass countertops and splashbacks -

For an alternative to natural or quarried stone.

These products are by Trend and range between 59% to 80% pre and post consumer glass waste. They not only produce counter top materials but also recycled glass mosaic tiles which can be used for kitchen splashbacks. This material is not just avalible overseas but also in Australia.

images via Trend

Its great to know that I can still enjoy a glass of wine or my Bombay Sapphire and know that the bottle could end up recycled in someone's kitchen!

Have fun.

Eco friendly kitchen counter tops :: Recycled glass counter tops

Technically the greenest kitchen counter top is the one you already have... However if yours is bright yellow (we still come across a few) or beyond repair or you are unable to source a recycled kitchen then you may need to look for a new kitchen joinery and a new countertop.

Firstly, your counter top material should be of good quality, durable, water resistant, non porous (this excludes most natural stones) and something that is a timeless design that you are happy to live with for many years. If your kitchen is a neutral design and of a good quality it is likely to be around for a while, thus reducing the need to consume more materials with buying a new kitchen.

I have selected a few alternative counter materials below. Some of these brands may not be available in your country but there may be other similar products available by local suppliers.

Recycled glass countertops - For an alternative to natural or quarried stone. 

Whilst granite and marble counter tops have a luxurious finish they are not very environmentally friendly as they are a quarried from natural stone. Nowadays engineered stone has become quite popular as a practical stone substitute but their manufacturing process is not so eco-friendly and their recycled component is fairly low.  However, some stone composite brands are now incorporating higher recycled content options. For an alternative to natural stone or non recycled composites try:

1. Squak Mountain Stone - A fibrous-cement material made from recyled paper, recycled glass and low-carbon cement.

2. Fuez - Made from 100% curbside recycled glass.

3. BottleStone - Made from 80% post-consumer curbside recycled container glass.

4. Vetrazzo - Made from cement and 85% recycled glass from curbside recycling programs. Some of the glass comes from  windows, dinnerware, stained glass, laboratory glass, building demolition glass, traffic lights and other unusual sources. They even provide a certificate of transformation that tells you where the glass came from!

5. Seeta by Torzo - A formaldehyde free composite made from sunflower seed hulls.

6. Caesarstone - On a few colours only, 42% recycled content from production off cuts.

Nowadays there is a wider selection of different surface materials that adopt recycled principals, FSC certified timer products and green building council certification. This is still a growing market a lot of green wash with some materials claiming that they are eco and green when they are not. If you give yourself some time to research thoroughly and check the products technical credentials then you should be able to find your perfect alternative counter finish.

Have fun.

Kitchen design ideas :: Recycled & second-hand kitchens

Before you venture off to your local kitchen display centre, have you ever considered adapting old materials and pieces of furniture to form a new recycled kitchen or even finding a second hand kitchen?

Recycled or mix and match kitchens

Why not use an inherited piece of furniture or salvaged materials for a new purpose, mixing and matching them to form your kitchen. Many items can be used like recycled timber to make the cabinets, old wardrobes to make a pantry and even old timber trays can be used to make shelving. 

Here are just a few examples below:

image via living etc 

image via living etc

image via style files

Before and after by Dilettante Studios

Dilettante Studios have taken it one step further by using recycled pieces of timber, old doors and frames to make these interesting new kitchen cupboards. 

If this is too time consuming, or a bit too out there, another option is to adopt a second-hand kitchen.

Second-hand kitchens

Nowadays recycling businesses are more common and some even specialise in buying and selling previously loved kitchens. They can also remove your old kitchen so it can be spruced up for a new owner. You could also source a kitchen online and adapt to your kitchen space. Either way this could give you a cost effective option to finding a new kitchen. 

You will be surprised what you can find. Here is a modern design I have just found from Second Hand Kitchens.

Always talk to your cabinet maker to see how an older kitchen can be fitted to your current kitchen arrangement and layout.

If you have found a second-hand kitchen or you would just like to freshen up your existing kitchen you could always look at changing a few things with the following upgrades.

Easy kitchen upgrades:

• Re-facing Kitchen Cabinets - Changing cabinet doors, hinges and pulls can give a kitchen a completely new look. Check with a local cabinetmaker for an evaluation to see what’s possible. There are also companies that will will re-spray your old cabinet doors (avoid particle board and fibreboard and insist on low VOC cabinetry and paint finishes).
• Replace the cabinet hardware - Remove the old door handles and replace with a ones that fit in with the overall style of your new kitchen.
• Replace the kitchen counter - There are solid reconstituted stone materials available to direct stick to your existing counter top. These materials are not as thick as a traditional solid surface or stone products and have been developed as a thinner material for renovating older kitchen counters. 
• Add a kitchen island - If your kitchen has room for it, adding an island or a preparation bench can be attractive and useful. You can pick one up at a secondhand furniture store or even Ebay. If you're pressed for storage and preparation space in your kitchen this is a great option as many kitchen islands have storage that can provide you with the extra room you need for more kitchenware.

As you can see from the kitchens above most things are possible when it comes to recycled or second-hand kitchens.

Next week I will check out the options for kitchen counter top materials in more detail.

Have fun.

7 Recycled Christmas wrapping ideas

I am sure you have been very organised but if you are anything like me you may still have some Christmas presents to wrap.

Throughout the year I tend to collect preloved pieces of ribbon, buttons, scrap pieces of fabric and used tissue and wrapping paper so I can recycle them for wrapping presents. I usually use brown paper as the base and use my recycled items for extra wrapping and decorative features.

Not only can you save money but you can also reduce the amount of rubbish going to landfill by using recycled items to gift wrap presents with. Here are some ideas...

images via hgtv, the willows home and garden & design sponge online

image via Compaiblog

1. Brown Paper – I always start wrapping gifts in plain brown paper. You can tie them with string, ribbon, fabric, rope, string handles from clothing bags or pieces of news paper Basically anything that would wrap around.

2. Brown paper bags – I keep all my brown paper bags or the bags that you are given from fashion retailers. I remove the string handle and flat pack the bag until needed. The bag can also be reused as a gift bag with new ribbon or turned inside out and used as wrapping paper.

3. Newspaper or magazines – This can be a very cheap way to wrap presents. Use an image, comic sketch or colored pages to wrap a present. Finish with a natural twine,rope or recycled ribbon.

4. Cloth bags & fabric gift bags – I reuse all my plain or suppliers fabric gift bags. These are great for wrapping clothing or books. All I need is to use some ribbon or twine and a tag to tie it up into a parcel.

5. Plants from your garden - Depending on the season there can be many things you can use in your garden.You can use flowers, herbs, leaves, twigs, driftwood, petals or basically anything you can find in your garden. They can be used fresh or dried and tied with rope, ribbon or twine.

6. Scrap cloth, buttons, lace & ribbon - Whenever we have to throw away an old worn item of clothing I always save the buttons and remove and save the decorative items like any lace, hems or details or pieces of the fabric that can be used for something else. Again they can be tied with some rope, ribbon or twine around the parcel. Whenever I take up my families trousers I usually have pieces of cloth left over that can be used to bundle up oddly-shaped gifts or used as a fabric feature wrap around a parcel.

7. Toddler artwork – If you have children I am sure you probably have tons of drawing paper scribbled on with coloured pens. You can either use all of the paper to wrap with and tie with matching ribbon or crop some of the paper to make a feature wrapping stripe.

Have fun.

Recycled driftwood Christmas tree

If you are looking for an alternative to the traditional Christmas tree or going away and need a portable tree how about these eco-friendly tree options.

image via All about you

Just gather a few pieces of driftwood and create your tree. Instructions to create this lovely tree can be found at All about you.

Alternatively you can purchase these from Folksy and Karen Miller of Devon Driftwood Designs.

image via Folksy

image via Devon Driftwood Designs

What a great idea for a coastal Christmas holiday or beachside holiday home. This now gives me some time to find enough drift wood for next year. Have fun.

Bathroom design ideas :: Little details

Sometimes it's the little details that make a room...

I have been looking for ideas to add some interest to my small bathroom design. With the high cost of refurbishing a bathroom I am quite keen to introduce some ideas with cheaper recycled elements.

For those like me that live in a warmer climate and do not have a radiator in their bathroom, an old ladder can easily be used to throw those bathroom towels over.

Vessels can also make lovely additions to any bathroom design with a variety of uses. Instead of buying a new vase an old milk bottle, cup or jug can make a lovely vase.

images from Debi Treloar & Baileys Home and Garden 

Similarly, decorative side tables and wicker baskets can and an extra dimension and additional storage to any bathroom design. Have fun.

Three Little Girls and a Boy Named Ted :: Interior design by ifdesign, Brisbane

Just stumbled across the October's issue of Style Magazine Brisbane and seen an article on one of my latest Interior Design projects. 

Three Little Girls and a Boy Named Ted, owned by Charmaine McDonald, is a beautiful young children's clothing store selling Australian, French and Italian labels in Oxford Street, Bulimba.

image by ifdesign

articles by Style Magazine, Brisbane

With an increasing awareness of the benefits of healthy environments and natural materials, we were delighted to work with Charmaine, Greener Kitchens (for the joinery) and Building in Green (the builders) to create a natural and healthy environment one should expect in a Children’s clothing store.

Our inspiration was drawn from an eclectic mix of hand crafted items, fair trade products, reclaimed and natural finishes reflecting the quality clothing and natural fibres available within the store. The use of healthier materials and finishes such as low VOC and no VOC natural paints, low energy light fittings and recycled timber was used to create a healthy and sustainable environment.

I hope to explain the interior design in more detail later on, but in the meantime if you fancy some retail therapy in Brisbane, feel free to pop along to Three Little Girls and a Boy Named Ted, Shop 4, 77 Oxford Street, Bulimba.

Ideas for reusing and recycling glass bottles and jars

According to the CSIRO, currently households dispose of 90 per cent of their glass in recycling bins but only 40 per cent of Australian glass is reused in glass recycling. Although it does help to rinse bottles out at home prior to recycling, it would be even better if we did not send them to be recycled bin but to reuse them in the home or garden.

If you are a glass and bottle hoarder like myself you will be please to know there are many decorative ways to recycle glass bottles and jars in your home and garden without sending them to the recycle centre. Here are a few examples:

1. Glass jar and bottle storage ideas

They can be used to store haberdashery, craft material, dry foods in the kitchen, home office items such as clips, stamps and rubber bands. I use my jars for pencils and pens.

simplyseleta

mabelandviolet

reinventedkb

wholeliving

2. Glass jar photo frames

Instead of buying new frames, how about filling jars with your favourite photos. Full instructions on this lovely idea can be found on Rikki Hibbert's web site.

3. Indoor gardens

This is one of my favorites especially for flowers and herbs from your garden.

marvinblog

thegreenchildren

4. Glass bottle entertaining

This can be as simple as a few candles or as decadent as a cluster arrangement of tall candles in clear glass bottles, perfect for garden entertaining of festive celebrations.

citified

aldeahome

bardbride

5. Glass bottle chandelier

If you feel adventurous this may be a nice project to keep you occupied, alternatively they can be purchased from Pottery Barn.

potterybarn

6. Glass jar vases

These are great ideas for weddings.  

weddingnumberthree

ruffledblog

7. Glass bottle garden ideas

The garden can also be a great place for decorating your entertaining area. All you need is a few jam jars, a bit of wire and some tea lights... so easy. With larger quantities of beer and wine bottles you could recycle them into garden borders.

lexyplexy

nest

Finally, if you have huge quantities of glass bottles you could also use them for the decorating a building, as seen here in this beer bottle Buddhist Temple in Thailand.

greenupgrader

Have fun with recycling your glass jars and bottles,