This Green House

How do you use your kitchen? There are many different lifestyles led in our modern society, but all of them center around meals and the preparation of them. Kitchens are where life takes place today. They function not only as a place to cook and prepare meals but as family gathering spots, social gathering points with friends, organizational centers, homework centers and much more. Kitchens have become the place that most reflects a family’s personal aesthetic. They are the most detailed room in a home and can reflect a style not unlike the clothes chosen to wear in the morning. A style that shows who you are and what you are about — to your family, your friend — to the world. Homes and kitchens in particular, because they are where everyone goes in a home, whether you live there or are visiting, have the ability to elevate our souls, to lift our spirits when we are in them. A kitchen that is made to work for you and how you live and reflects your personal style can deliver so much more than people generally think about. So….how do you use your kitchen?

These are photos of our new custom concrete counter tops in our showroom. I LOVE them!! They are 80% recycled content. They were custom crafted by “Alpha Stone” out of Turners Falls Massachusetts. Dan Gobillot and his right hand man Bobby Turk, are true concrete artists and craftsmen. More of their work can be seen at www.alphastoneconcrete.com.  The finish is hard to appreciate in photos so come in and see them live! It has many surprises as they hand grind used bottle and other stuff up themselves for the aggregate mix and replace some of the cement content with fly ash. The fly ash gives the mostly charcoal finish a slight green tint. As an added bit of detail they added brass shavings from a friend who works in a machine shop. After curing the finish is then ground and sealed. It is a very beautiful and subtle finish.  It reminds me of something that was mined from a lava flow under the ocean. Very cool!

This is an interesting article on what kinds of projects people are doing that have good value .

6 ways to ensure a remodeling project pays off

Let me know what you think!

Check out this photo portfolio:

Edward Burtynsky OIL
Corcoran Gallery of Art

The photos are both a beautiful and disturbing commentary about how our society has regarded and treated the environment we live in. Post your comments, I’ll be interested to hear what you think of them.

Sprayed in open cell foam insulation fills all of the voids and minimizes any air leakage. It’s also superior for sound proofing for the same reasons, it leaves no place for the vibrations of sound to leak through.

I found these wonderful stone knobs for our bamboo storage cabinets in the showroom. The knobs are water-tumbled stones from rivers and beaches around New England from a company called Sea Stones.

The search is on for more unique and earth-friendly knobs and handles.

We are finishing up on the wood floors and are really pleased with how they look after a good sanding. Bio-Shield offers some great green products for the home…the showroom floor uses their hard oil finish with a hard wax finish on top. It is old fashioned approach with updated ingrediants for what Bio-shield says is a commercial grade durable finish. It is lovely!

“The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving.” Oliver Wendell Holmes

The showroom is beginning to take shape! We’ve had Paul Moretti and Mark Nash in to work on the kitchen displays, display cabinets and wood floor patching over the holidays. Christine and I have started to talk about marketing the showroom, signs and educational programs that could be held in the near future. And, we’ve had C.A.M. Electric from Acton in to work on wiring; including showroom LED spotlights. It’s been a busy place and we know it will get busier!

Just received some samples for a wonderful new line of natural fiber carpets including sisal, seagrass, coir (made from coconuts), and hemp. They are very beautiful. Here are some images of them. The seagrass has a soft silky texture; very cool! Click on the images to enlarge; you can see how yummy they are!

Painting the walls of the showroom stair well and entry with clay paint from Bio-shield. I love the color, it looks like soft doe skin with the technique I used. It is brushed on in a random arrangement so that bits of the light color of the previously painted wall show through.

I’m going to try milk paint made in Groton MAss with a crackle finish in the main kitchen display room.