Most people understand that driving a fuel-efficient car can help the environment and adding more insulation to your home can save energy, but how can you go green during a kitchen remodel? It’s actually not as difficult as you might think – there are plenty of kitchen remodeling materials made from sustainable or recycled products and using them can result in a beautiful eco-friendly makeover for your room.
Eco-Friendly Bamboo RTA Kitchen Cabinets
If someone had told you 30 years ago that you had bought bamboo kitchen cabinets, you might have imagined something sold at an import retailer specializing in incense burners and offbeat furniture and you might have been right. Bamboo has been used to build furniture for many years, but is usually best seen in a casual setting or with tropical motifs. Along the way, however, people realized that bamboo was not only highly durable, but could also be used to create beautiful, high-end furniture and cabinetry that would look right at home in the most elegant of settings.
As attractive as bamboo can be, why would anyone choose it over the more traditional woods used for cabinetry, such as cherry, maple, or oak? The answer is very simple: bamboo is a sustainable material that grows in a fraction of the time it would take for a cherry, maple or oak tree to mature. If you are concerned about saving old hardwood forests, bamboo kitchen cabinets may be the perfect option for your remodeling project.
While each line of cabinets will have slightly different features, here are some of the most common ones to look for from top brands:
• 3/4-inch solid bamboo doors, drawer fronts and cabinet fronts
• Plywood cabinet boxes and shelves – no particle board used in construction
• Six-way adjustable hinges that are hidden from view
• Undercounter full extension drawer slides with soft close hardware
• Solid wood drawer units fitted with plywood bottoms
Bamboo is used in everything from custom to semi-custom cabinets, and even the latest trending ready-to-assemble (RTA) or stock cabinets. RTA Bamboo kitchen cabinets feature the same easy-to-assemble features as other ready-to-assemble kitchen cabinets: all you need is a screwdriver to assemble. You don’t have to sacrifice looks to make your kitchen eco-friendly when you choose bamboo cabinets.
