Since I often get asked if we do 'more than just kitchens' I thought it might be a great idea to feature a couple of jobs we finished recently that aren't kitchens, but workspaces for a couple of very lovely and creative clients. Plenty of my work time is spent at my desk in the studio so I know how special it is to have a little bit of space that works for you, comforts you and inspires you too, just like a good kitchen I suppose!

Both of these projects were created with chain of custody certified plywood varieties playing off each other to create some considered lines and shapes in the spaces, creating required open and closed storage and desk platforms. The liney laminations of the plywood edge were deliberately exposed in shadow lines, shelving and cut outs for handles. I don't know quite what it is but plywood seems to suit creative spaces, and I am a massive fan of the detail of an expressed plywood edge.

Thank you to T and T for the privilege of helping you to create your creative spaces, I really enjoyed it and am so glad you are happy with the results of our efforts.

Take care, Druce

As a part of my duties as Ambassador for the Planet Ark 'Make It Wood' Campaign I was the subject of this '5 Minutes With' Article in a recent issue of Green Lifestyle Magazine. Very glad to be getting the word out there on the use of responsible timber for building and renovating and pretty chuffed they chose to feature the Queensland Jamie's Ministry of Food Truck Kitchen I designed because it was made entirely of recycled or Forest Stewardship Council certified timber products as advocated by the campaign. I am so super proud of the kitchen in that truck!

A big thank you to everyone who 'dated' me at the Alternative Technology Associataion's Speed Date a Sustainable Designer Event on Saturday. It was lots of fun and such a joy to meet some passionate sustainable renovators and builders. It was also great to meet the amazing team behind Sanctuary Magazine, who do such a lovely job and provide fabulous inspiration for building responsibly. Just quietly the latest issue is a corker!

Take care, Druce

I am really looking forward to attending the Alternative Technology Association's 'Speed Date a Sustainable Designer' event this Saturday May 18 in the Kedron Room, Brisbane City Hall 2.30pm to 4.30pm. It is a great opportunity to pull up a stool, say gidday and have a natter about your renovation project with someone who can give you some awesome hints and tips about how to make your reno sustainable and wonderful. You do need to register to arrange a 'date' at the website: www.sdsd.ata.org.au/brisbane

Although not your traditional lovey dovey 'date' (there is no kissing apparently) I am sure there will be plenty of love in the room, love of designing and building with the environment in mind that is!

I had the pleasure of joining fellow passionate sustainable designer Mark Thompson of Eco Effective Solutions on Rebecca Levingston's brilliant evenings show on 612 ABC Brisbane last night to have a chat about the event, which was heaps of fun. You can listen to audio of our interview here: http://blogs.abc.net.au/queensland/2013/05/speed-date-a-sustainable-designer.html

Take care, Druce

Wow, it has been a long time since that last post. So long I nearly (pretty much did) forgot how to work this blog. Thankfully I managed to remember the password miraculously and the basic doings and I am back at it! I am such a massive fan of blogs, and have a few real favorites in my bookmarks (that is you at number one design files daily!) that entertain and inspire me all the time. So I thought I'd get back into mine.

Plenty of things have happened for me and Greener Kitchens over the past year or so, more jobs with Jamie, an ambassadors role I am really enjoying (more on that later), lots and lots more kitchens, a few bathrooms here and there, a cafe, a new studio and the consistent privilege of working with amazing clients who are as passionate as I am about doings things with the environment in mind.

My passion for ensuring I am designing the most responsible of spaces has me constantly on the lookout for new, more recycled, more recyclable, more local, lower emission, more responsible and more robust materials. And I can proudly say at this moment I have access to THE largest range of the most environmentally responsible products I have ever been able to recommend to my clients. This means there are more manufacturers out there getting on board with making materials that are healthy for homes and the environment, which is a really good thing, really good. It is also very exciting. More on great new materials and fabricators I have uncovered in later posts.

For my first post back I thought I'd have a rattle on about my role as the Ambassador for the Planet Ark 'Make It Wood' campaign this year. I agreed to perform this volunteer role because the message of the campaign is spot on this year and right in tune with my passionate views about wood. I am a timber tragic, and Greener Kitchens has found a real niche in the designing of kitchens with the right sort of wood in them. To me you can't beat the warmth, texture, richness, backstory and all round beauty of natural timber. It is happy in a kitchen because it is robust, renovatable and recyclable at the end of its life. Not many modern kitchen materials can do that! Timber and kitchens are one two of my favourite things so you can only imagine how excited I get when the two get put together!

BUT, it is really, super important that the right timber is used. Using the right timber is something I am passionate about and that is why I agreed to be the Ambassador for the Make It Wood Campaign. The message of the campaign is simple - USE WOOD, but make sure it is recycled or Forest Stewardship Council certified. WHY? Because using recycled timber or FSC certified timber is the only ridgy didge, dead certain way to make sure you are not using irresponsible or illegal timber in your home. Recycled timber is a no brainer, it has had a previous life and using it is ensuring it has a useful new one (rather than cutting down a tree). The FSC is a rigorous worldwide chain of custody certification scheme that follows the tree from the forest to the product being sold, ensuring it is responsibly logged and that we as consumers are made aware of this via their neat tree tick logo displayed on products so we can purchase them. Making these prudent timber choices means we are protecting high conservation value forests and working towards putting an end to illegal and irresponsible forestry practices that wreak habitat destruction and species extinction.

Illegal logging is not cool and I truly believe no-one would not want to support it, even accidentally. The 'Make It Wood' campaign is about spreading the world on how easy it is to make a good timber choice. I have never seen the sense of leveraging our future for the sake of a poorly made kitchen made from uncertified timber products that will end up leaching its toxic glues into the soil in landfill just as soon it has outlived the latest trend. Sadly that is the lifecyle of most kitchens being sold today and the common thinking in the industry. Really sad. Tragic in fact.

The happy news is that it is possible to make kitchens out of FSC and recycled timber in tune with the Planet Ark Make It Wood Campaign, and they can be reasonably priced too. I know because it is what we do at Greener Kitchens day in day out.

Time to get off my soapbox/ high horse (sorry about that), and say bye for now. You might have been unfortunate enough to catch one of the radio interviews I have been doing for the Planet Ark Make It Wood Campaign around Australia, if not, keep an ear out!

I just want to end my return post by explaining the picture above. It is a picture of a cake my Dad surprised me with for Greener Kitchens' fifth birthday in March this year. It really made my day and I got a little choked up just quietly. It is nice to know your old man is proud of what you have achieved. Thanks Dad, and to all the amazing clients of Greener Kitchens past and present that have kept us going. Five years of kitchens that help save our forests makes me kinda proud.

PS cake was yummy

PPS for more on the Make It Wood Campaign see in the side bar for a link ->

Thanks for reading

Druce

New Project Pics to Share

I have been a quiet blogger of late. I am hoping to change that soon. In the meantime here are a few shots of some very special solid recycled timber kitchens we have been designing in Brisbane and Sydney. Love Good Wood!!!

Greener Kitchens loves 'Good Wood'

Kitchens are made of wood.

Despite their often colourful, sleek and shiny exteriors kitchens likely contain the largest concentration of wood product in your home after your framing and your flooring. It seems there is rarely a thought for where this wood comes from. Are you destroying one world to build yours?

Kitchens should be made of 'Good Wood'

Greenpeace are helping us to make responsible choices when it comes to timber products through their 'Good Wood Guide'. It is a wonderful guide that identifies timber products that are responsible and reminds us that as consumers we have the power to save the world's forests and endangered wildlife and put an end to illegal forestry practices. It gently awakens us to the damage we might be responsible for if we do not source 'Good Wood' for our kitchens.

The good news is that Greener Kitchens can help you to create a 'Good Wood' Kitchen. We are very excited to be able to specify a kitchen made entirely from timber product that is defined as the 'best option' by the 'Good Wood' guide. A 'Good Wood' kitchen need not cost the earth (to use a well worn pun), or look any different to the kitchen of you are already thinking about.

Greener Kitchens can help you create your world without destroying another, which is a pretty good thing we think. So if you are thinking about a new kitchen, please contact us to find out how you can make a difference and be part of the solution, not the problem.

For more information on the Greenpeace 'Good Wood Guide' visit www.goodwoodguide.org.au

West End Greener Bathroom

It is very exciting to finally feature this project on the blog! This 'Greener' bathroom is a part of a renovation and extension of a beautiful old Queenslander in West End, Brisbane. Thanks to the determination and vision of a very inspirational client, the renovation stands as an absolutely stunning example of how beauty, modernity, functionality and sympathy for the environment can harmonize in the construction of a family home.

It was a great joy to work together with the client on the design of a number of new spaces defined by the renovation, including the bathroom, shown in the picture above.

We set out to achieve a bathroom with a very low environmental impact but not without a healthy dose of the 'wow' factor.

A view of the tree-tops outside (through the glass ceiling in the shower no less) gave us the inspiration for a natural colour palette for the bathroom, suggesting serene greens and earthy brown tones. The subsequent combination of 'greener' materials chosen for the bathroom included hoop pine eco-ply for storage solutions, locally salvaged recycled Australian hardwood for shelves and a window seat and low emission two pack paint to add splashes of colour.

We designed bespoke storage stools especially for this bathroom , fashioned from recycled timber. The stools move around the bathroom as a platform for clean clothes, a resting spot for the dry towel within reach or (dare I say it) for books next to the best reading spot in the house.

The bathroom has an abundance of natural light (I mentioned the glass ceiling in the shower didn't I) and natural cross ventilation, ensuring power bills are reduced and indoor pollutants are discouraged.

Of course the design also included universal design principles to ensure the space can adapt to the family over time, ensuring easy access into the shower, comfortable access to the vanity basins and storage options above the reach of small children.

I was very pleased with the tranquil and organic feel of the finished bathroom and the knowledge that it will provide a calm, healthy and inspiring space for the family for years and years to come.

Stay tuned for more pics of the project including the kitchen made from 70% recycled materials!

Till then, take care, Druce

Sustainable House Day 2010 at the Spring Hill Enviro Cottage

How fitting that such a beautiful spring day set the scene for the open day at the Spring Hill Enviro Cottage for Sustainable House Day 2010.

I wandered down to have a peek at proceedings this morning and was excited to find a large number of people queuing up to take a tour through the inspirational home. Tagging along on the tour myself, I learned even more about the amazing thinking that has gone into the building, including the incredible efficiencies of the water and energy systems, that will enable the building to be self sufficient and not attract water or energy bills. I was also very proud to see the interest in the kitchen, where our 'greener' joinery has made a home for some fabulous energy efficient appliances that contribute to the self sufficiency of the home. I would encourage anyone interested in sustainable building to take the opportunity to have a look through the house at open days planned for the coming months.

Above are some photos I took today, including a pic of the crowd of people checking out the 'greener' kitchen! For more information on the kitchen please take a look at previous posts down the page. There is also a picture of the ensuite bathroom through the reflection of the shading screens where you can just see the little shaving cabinets we made out of recycled timber.

I would very much like to take this opportunity to thank our clients, Phil and Cath for inviting us to be a part of the project and for their support of Greener Kitchens. It has been a privilege to work with such lovely people.

Take care, Druce

Dee Why "Little Wonder"

This is one of our 'Greener Kitchens' that found itself the star of a magazine article in the June 2010 edition of Australian Home Beautiful, where it was referred to as the "Little Wonder". Part of the text appearing in the article, writen by Lee Suckling, reads:

When Ian and Kirsten bought their home on Sydney's northern beaches, the dark, outdated kitchen was the only question mark. "It was livable, but not functional" explains Kirsten. Determined to live an environmentally sustainable lifestyle, the couple wanted a great looking, easy to use kitchen that didn't cost a fortune to achieve - or to enjoy. "We wanted to find a way to use fewer resources in our home, not just spend less money" says Ian.

Druce Davey of Greener Kitchens and Bathrooms helped the couple achieve their goal; they decided to stick with the kitchens original layout, remove part of a wall to bring in more natural light and replace the old, tired cabinetry, benchtop, splashback and appliances with truly eco - friendly alternatives.

You would never guess from the pristine white exterior that half of this kitchen is made from recycled materials.

It was a great kitchen to have featured as it demonstrates our ability to create a new kitchen that very successfully hides the 'greener' secret that it is made from more than 50% recycled content, derived from a combination of pre and post consumer waste. For instance the white engineered stone benchtop is comprised of 72% post consumer recycled glass and the cabinet doors are a robust melamine faced panel comprised of 55% post consumer recycled cardboard.

Our motivated clients didn't stop with the kitchen materials being responsible but embarked on research with us to find appliances that operated with reduced energy and water use to match the responsible materials. The article states:

"We went one step further here, installing a vent above the fridge which enables the hot air it produces to convect out of the cavity", says Kirsten. This means the fridge itself remains cooler and uses significantly less energy.

Although we are obviously biased we think the kitchen is a 'little wonder' as well. We were chuffed to have our work recognised and the little bit of special attention the project received was a wonderful way to finish off a successful renovation.

A great big thank you to the fabulous clients for their inspiring passion for doing things in a more sustainable way, and to Home Beautiful for shining a light on the possibilities of creating a 'greener' kitchen worthy of their pages.

More Spring Hill Enviro Cottage

This is a closer look at the kitchen joinery we created for the Spring Hill Enviro Cottage, with its doors and drawer faces made from recycled Australian hardwood floorboards, finished with a low emission, natural clear coating made by Oikos (that was an absolute joy to apply!). We also harvested a quantity of discarded low emission board panels for this kitchen that had been rejected by others because they had been scratched in transit. Instead of resigning them to pollute in landfill, we used them as a very responsible carcass material - which is the part of the kitchen that goes unseen (and often made of the cheapest, nastiest and most irresponsible board material being produced in the world).

The home, in the inner suburbs of Brisbane, will be open to tour and inspire on Sustainable House Day this year, Sunday September 12. There are certainly a host of fabulous 'green' ideas to be investigated in the house, including the beautiful little medicine cabinets we made for the bathrooms and magical laser cut screening enveloping the house that mimics the shading properties of a deciduous tree.

For more information on the Spring Hill Enviro Cottage and information on their public tour dates visit www.envirocottage.com.au

Enviro Cottage Sneak Peek...

This picture is a little sneak peak of a project we have been busy on over the past few months. We were fortunate enough to be chosen as the joinery partner to the 'Spring Hill Enviro Cottage'. It has involved the renovation of a typical Queensland inner city worker's cottage into a benchmark for an environmentally responsible modern home.

We constructed the kitchen, glimpsed in the photo above, out of some of the most exciting sustainably sourced materials we have ever used. The star of the kitchen are doors, drawer fronts and panels fashioned out of leftover recycled Australian hardwood salvaged from the demolition of a local bridge. The timber's graceful aged patina has been enhanced with the use of a natural oil to finish it. The recycled timber is a beautiful textural contrast to the shiny modern materials that surround it making it a stunning decorative element in the space.

The project will soon be open to the public to tour. Watch this space for more details and some more glimpses of our joinery....

A Greener Family Kitchen

This is very exciting blog entry for us here at Greener Kitchens as it is the first from our fabulous new designer, Francine Lafebre. Francine designed this amazing kitchen transformation for a family living in Stafford, she writes:

"A young family with two young children were crying out for a more open plan feel for their kitchen that would allow them to be together at all times. Increasing the opening in the dividing wall between the kitchen and living area provided not only more natural light in the kitchen but it also gave a real feeling of integrating it into the living and dining area without imposing on it.

With a love of home cooking and baking and involving the children, the benchtop was designed to run through the opening and have a slight overhang on the dining side to provide an place for the kids to sit, eat and help mum.

The old dresser was also to be replaced, being careful not to make this wall look like it was also part of the kitchen we decided that glass framed wall units and a reclaimed timber benchtop would help create a ‘transition’ piece from kitchen to living and dining. The beautful reclaimed timber top adds warmth and reflects the polished floor boards that run throughout the house.

The clients, being very environmentally conscious were keen to have their kitchen made from the lowest emission materials possible and with their energy efficient appliances, create a healthier, sustainable kitchen for their young family to grow up in.

It was as important to us to use the right materials as achieve our goals in meeting the design brief. The internals of the units were made to suit the client, adding and internal drawer in the pantry for extra storage and making sure that mixers etc all fitted in the drawers, designed to the appropriate height to accommodate these. We also opted for a handleless design, giving the kitchen a streamlined, modern feel, and make a material saving.

We would like to thank the clients for being part of working for a more sustainable future and giving us yet another wonderful opportunity to show that you can achieve practical, functional as well as stunning design by using innovative building materials with a reduced environmental impact.

Above is a couple of before and after shots of the 'Greener Family Kitchen' illustrating the way in which it opened up the kitchen to the rest of the house and the family."

Vanity is not a sin if it's greener!

Jane Austen once said that vanity and pride are different things but this is certainly not the case at Greener Kitchens + Bathrooms!

We are incredibly proud of the vanity cabinets we are creating because they are made of beautiful low emission, responsibly sourced materials. For instance, we made both of the vanities shown above from timber veneers that are labelled with a certification ensuring they have been derived from responsible forest management practices. Such practices ensure that long term forest management strategies are implemented to protect high conservation value forests, waterways, wildlife habitat and worker safety. Similar labelling schemes are now being applied to other products with wood content such as toilet paper and outdoor furniture.

So, don't let your loo paper down, make everything in your bathroom environmentally responsible!

Wilston Greener Kitchen

This was a very exciting kitchen for us, built as a part of a new addition to an existing post-war cottage in Wilston.

We carefully designed the kitchen to make a feature of an exciting new material we have been developing the use of this year. The material is a hoop pine eco ply door material, with a core of post consumer recycled cardboard. The result is a very strong, stable, extremely light kitchen door with the warmth of a locally sourced renewable timber. The material is extremely low emission as the cardboard core of the product is VOC free. A practical advantage of the cardboard core is that it does not swell if exposed to moisture, unlike typical compressed board materials used in kitchen construction, adding to the longevity of the kitchen.

We used the cardboard core ply doors as a feature material to help define the carfully composed lines of the kitchen design and add a textural depth to the kitchen palette. The remaining doors in the kitchen are a warm white low emission melamine faced material with a satin gloss finish (that is inexpensive, long lasting and very easy to clean). As usual, we 'rescued' the engineered stone for the benches and used very low emission Australian made carcass material.

As with a number of our kitchens, the splashback is punctuated by a window sitting behind the cooking area, providing energy efficient natural task lighting and framing the greenery outside (and in this case revealing a lovely view of Mt. Cootha in the distance).

We would like to thank our fabulous client for embracing our passion for creating built environments that are sustainable and for trusting us to use recycled cardboard to make her kitchen!

Paddington Greener Kitchen

We have recently finished this beautiful kitchen just down the road and around the corner from our new studio.

The first picture is an early three dimensional drawing we composed during the planning phase of the project to represent the idea of the completed kitchen to the client. The following two pictures are of the same kitchen once completed and styled for the photo shoot.

The kitchen has been constructed of our typical low emission, responsibly sourced materials such as an acrylic two pack paint finish as well as rescued stone benches. The kitchen palette and design was purposely restrained in order for the view of the greenery outside to imbue the space with interest and life. I am very pleased with the way the windows in the kitchen invite the calming hues and interesting shapes of the garden into the space as well as providing natural task lighting and ventilation.

It was great to be involved in such a local project and we look forward to walking to site visits more often!

Our New Studio!

We have recently moved into a cosy new studio space at 83 MacGregor Terrace in Bardon. We look forward to meeting with new and exisiting clients in our studio by appointment Monday to Friday, and Saturday by arrangement.

Keep an eye on our blog for plenty of new posts once I get a chance to venture out and take shots of our recently completed jobs. Just have to get over the move first!

Kangaroo Point Residence

This sleek, modern kitchen in a high rise apartment tower in inner city Kangaroo Point is an example of sustainability with altitude!

Every material we used to make this kitchen was chosen because of its reduced environmental impact, including an innovative lower emission acrylic two pack paint finish.

The colour palette of predominantly crisp white is warmed by the inclusion of a stunning timber veneer privacy panel cutting through the space, helping to accentuate a cantilevered section of cabinetry. The veneer used is certified by a respected chain of custody scheme ensuring it has been responsibly sourced. These materials are complimented by high quality energy efficient appliances and light fittings and well as locally made water efficient tapware.

We were proud to achieve a sharp contemporary space set in a dense urban environment while being heavily informed by a respect for the natural environment.

Bardon Greener Bathroom

It was our great privilege to be asked to design this bathroom in a lovely old 'Queenslander' home in the leafy Brisbane suburb of Bardon (just around the corner from our office!). The design was composed in response to a client brief to create a functional, family sized bathroom using materials and fixtures that resonated with the client's desire to live sustainably.

Everything for the bathroom was thoughtfully chosen to achieve our goal of a 'greener' space, with Australian made water efficient tapware (feeding a greywater system) and environmentally conscious joinery and building materials.

We created some textural depth and warmth in the space with the use of recycled timber to form shelving and a baton privacy screen. The timber had been salvaged from local demolitions, such as the Southport Spit. This beautiful timber is embellished with scars and 'character' earned over decades. We finished it in a natural plant based clear oil that allows for reapplication over time, to ensure it continues to grow old gracefully. It was wonderful to give this timber a new home in the 'Bardon Greener Bathroom'.

A water saving toilet was chosen for the bathroom with a basin on top of the cistern, allowing water to be used twice, first for washing hands, then for flushing. It is innovative products such as this that help to create a functional and attractive space that has a reduced environmental impact both in its construction and use.

It was an absolute pleasure to work on this project and continue to explore the possibilities of creating 'greener' bathrooms. I would like to thank the committed client for sharing in a vision for the space and for working harmoniously with us to achieve it.

More Toowong Greener Joinery.....

Our 'greener' joinery for the Toowong House extended to the provision of vanity cabinetry in the bathrooms, such as the main bathroom above. The same sort of thinking that informs our choice of materials in our kitchens applies to cabinetry in other areas of the home. This enables us to help a client put important (and often overlooked) priorities like indoor air quality and the sustainability of materials high on the list throughout an internal fit out.

The bathroom cabinetry above features the use of 'E0' board material as well as timber veneer certified as sustainably grown under a recognised chain of custody scheme. Even the handles were carefully chosen because they are made in Australia of the highest quality solid stainless steel, ensuring they will last for the life of the cabinetry and can eventually be recycled.

Toowong Greener Joinery

Greener Kitchens was awarded the priviledge of supplying the joinery for this amazing home, atop the hill in Toowong, in the inner west of Brisbane earlier this year. We were very pleased with our ability to achieve a very high level of finish demanded by this multi million dollar home using our 'greener' materials with reduced environmental impacts and health advantages.

The joinery is a blend of low emission, environmentally responsible materials and finishes such as Australian made E0 carcass material, waterborne lower emission two pak paint finishes, environmentally responsible certified sustainable timber veneers and 'rescued' engineered stone and marble where possible.

We trust the new owners of this amazing property will enjoy the improved indoor air quality guaranteed by our careful choice of products, and be satisfied that we have invested plenty of care and thought into providing them with an amazing built environment that had the precious natural environment very much in mind. In this way we hope the 'Toowong Greener Joinery' project, is an example of 'class with a conscience'.

We would like to thank the wonderful building team who had enough belief in our vision and work to engage us for this incredible project.