Finally, here is the post I intended to finish up the “Kitchen Remodel” series but never got around to. I believe I was busy having a baby. But since it’s Earth Day, I thought it might be appropriate to revisit it.

As we remodeled the kitchen, we wanted it to be as eco-friendly as possible, within time and budget constraints. Here are some of the things we did:

Demolition

We donated the old cabinets, countertops, range, microwave/range hood, and unbroken floor tiles to Habitat for Humanity for their ReStore, so these things won’t end up in the landfill. The dishwasher went to friends who needed to replace theirs. And the broken floor tiles went to a lady who wanted them for crafts.

Cabinets

We originally wanted to purchase wood that was certified by the Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) for our cabinets. However, we discovered that most FSC-certified wood is shipped from the northern regions of the US or from Canada. So we went another route. Another way to be eco-friendly is to purchase locally, so our cabinets are made from alder wood that was grown and milled right here in Arkansas.

Countertops

The countertops are a solid-surface material made with up to 40% recycled materials. There was a surface available that was made from 100% recycled quartz, but I think it also cost about 100 times as much… well maybe that’s an exaggeration, but it was definitely beyond our budget.

Flooring

Despite its lack of popularity around here and our not having the experiences of others to draw on, we went with cork flooring. Cork is a renewable resource harvested by removing the outer bark of the cork oak tree. This doesn’t harm the tree; the cork grows back and can be harvested again every nine years until the tree is 150 years old. Additional benefits: it is naturally water-resistant, anti-microbial, resistant to wear from friction and impact, and much softer to stand on and more noise-absorbing than tile or hardwood.

Lighting

For the main lighting, we decided to reuse the fluorescents that were in the old kitchen. We won’t win any decorating awards for it, but that’s not what this kitchen remodel was about.  Fluorescents use much less energy than incandescents or the current popular choice, recessed or “canned” lighting. Plus, what is more eco-friendly than using what you already have rather than buying something new? We also went with fluorescents for the under-cabinet lighting. And the light fixture over the dining area will probably have compact fluorescents in it after the original incandescents burn out.

Paint

We used the same paint we have in the rest of the house, a low-VOC paint. This paint releases fewer harmful chemicals into the air and, consequently, our lungs.

Appliances

We purchased a new fridge, dishwasher, range, and range hood. All are Energy Star appliances, which are not that hard to come by, but it’s worth a mention.

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We finally got our cork floor installed! Back when Sarah’s birth was quickly approaching, we decided to get the kitchen to a point where it was usable, then put it on hold until after she was born. So we’re trying to get it finished now.

Now we just need quarter round, paint touch-ups, and eventually a row of tiles for the backsplash. I think that’s all.

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A little bit of order, finally! Some pics with the countertops in:

And Anna helping Daddy install the garbage disposal:

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Well, we are almost at the end of our frozen food supply, but we are almost at the end of needing it! We now have an unfinished but fairly functional kitchen. The cabinets, countertops, sink, and stove are in, and all the electrical work is done, so we are moving stuff into the kitchen now and preparing to use it. It still needs a floor, some trim, some paint touch-ups, and probably some other stuff I’m not thinking about, but we’re getting it livable for now since the baby is coming in two weeks. The floor may have to wait until after that. I’ll try to post pics with the new countertops soon, when I get them cleared of all the stuff we’ve been unpacking.

My goal for tomorrow is to finish putting stuff away and cook a nice dinner. We’ll see how it goes.

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The cabinets are finished, as of tonight. A couple from our church who have a painting/staining side business did our cabinets for us, and they are gorgeous! The pictures don’t really do them justice, but you can get an idea. They actually are a little darker than the pictures show. (If I would ever take the time to work on photography, I could have gotten more true to the color.)

The countertops go in on Monday morning, the cabinet maker will come put the upper shelves in on Monday afternoon I think, so we should be able to start moving stuff into them Monday night or Tuesday! There’s still work to be done, but it will help a lot to start moving stuff in and clearing out the boxes in David’s office and the family room.

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Cabinets went in today! And they are gorgeous—we are very impressed with the workmanship. If you need cabinets built in the Conway area, let me know and I’ll give you our cabinet maker’s name. They should be stained next week.

Here’s the big empty room ready to be filled (with a guest appearance by Sydney):

Our new alder wood cabinets:

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It has been a loud, messy week so far at our house, but stuff is happening! The wall separating the kitchen and dining room is knocked out, the soffits are removed and the ceiling replaced after it fell down (yes, really), the electrical and plumbing is done, and the new doorway is opened up ready for a pocket door to be installed next week.

Before:

All opened up:

I’m really excited about this part. No longer will you have to walk through the laundry room to get from the kitchen to the family room. It will make a bigger dining area and a nicer laundry room as well. (The family room was the original garage, in case you were wondering why it was laid out that way.)

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If you’re going to be without a kitchen for any length of time, you need to set up a temporary spot with some basic stuff so you can get by for a while. As I mentioned before in my cookathon post, I cooked and froze a lot of stuff that we can reheat in the microwave or toaster oven. It has been nice to have home-cooked meals even with the kitchen being in the state it’s in!

We moved the kitchen table into the family room to serve as a “prep” area, and set up the smaller card table to eat on. The prep area consists of the microwave, toaster oven, knives and cutting boards, paper goods like zip-locks and foil, and a few other things. Under the table I’ve stored things that I shouldn’t need to get to very often but still wanted to have available. (The rest of the kitchen stuff is packed up in David’s office.) Next to the table, we put the pantry with all our food, and next to it a small china cabinet to hold a few dishes, utensils, etc. The fridge is in the laundry room, where it’s been since we moved in. The dishwashing station is in the nearby guest bathroom.

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Ok, I just thought we were committed when I posted the last post. I suppose, if something had happened, we could have just replaced the floor and still had a kitchen. But now we’re really committed! We donated the cabinets, countertops, and appliances to Habitat for Humanity, and they sent someone out to pull it all for us! Yea! Free demo, and the stuff will end up in their “Re-Store” and get reused instead of going in the landfill.

Construction should start first thing Monday morning. We are hiring a contractor do to stuff like knock out the wall, remove the soffits, move the doorway, and do the electrical/plumbing. Then the same guys who textured the ceilings before we moved in will come back, so the kitchen will match the rest of the house. Then the kitchen should be ready to fill with cabinets, countertops, appliances, flooring, and whatever else we haven’t thought of yet.

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I guess you can say we’ve started the renovation! David spent the evening taking up the lovely 80s tile floor, revealing an even lovelier 70s vinyl underneath. Man, what a mess! We are grateful to our neighbor Isaac for loaning us the proper power tool for the job.

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