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Posts from the ‘Kitchen’ Category

Jul 5

Selecting the Right Appliances

Now that the home is certified, it’s time to catch up on some blog writing! I frequently get asked about the appliances. After extensive research, we opted to use Bosch kitchen and laundry appliances. Bosch was a logical choice because they manufacture energy efficient and well designed equipment. The one exception is the range hood, which Bosch had on back order and we couldn’t wait, so we chose a stainless steel Whirlpool model instead. Selecting appliances involves a number of factors, including energy efficiency, aesthetics, size, warranty, and cost.

For the Green on Gift home, all appliances obviously needed to be ENERGY STAR qualified. We also had space constraints for the refrigerator, which needed to be counter-depth, and stacking laundry, which needed to fit into a specially constructed laundry closet in the bathroom. One of the overarching project goals was to balance energy efficiency and home performance with usability. For instance, we wanted to try out condensing clothes dryer technology, which is not terribly common in the United States and functions without an external vent. Conveniently, Bosch is a leader in condensing clothes dryers, and they also stepped up as a project sponsor.

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Jan 14

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Farewell, Kitchen Floors

Today we decided to remove the original kitchen floor. I had hoped to keep it, but after removing around 10 layers of vinyl, linoleum, and tile to get to it, the actual floor was riddled with rot and nail holes, which makes for a costly repair. Here’s what the kitchen looked like pre-renovation.

The kitchen pre-renovation.

The kitchen pre-renovation looking towards the living room.

Here's the kitchen pre-renovation looking from the living room towards the side door. The ceiling beam is where they had combined two rooms at some point.

The pre-renovation kitchen looking from the living room towards the side door.

Here’s the kitchen as of this afternoon. The ceiling beam is where they had combined two rooms at some point. I’m guessing these were the original kitchen and dining room. We are going to scrap about half of the floor and use the other half to patch sections around the house.

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