green kitchen renovation ideas
kahi lee: hi. i'm kahi lee here withthe zimmerman family. i'm helping them find greensolutions to reduce waste and save energy. the zimmermans love theirkitchen and want to punch it up and make it the centerof the house. so we'll transform it intoa green dream kitchen. [theme music playing] kahi lee: carla, sam,meet my friend al.
he's-- al marcotulio: hello. nice to meet you. kahi lee: --going to help us. carla zimmerman: niceto meet you. al marcotulio: how you doing? you going to help me today? kahi lee: yeah. sam zimmerman: yeah.
i'm going to help. al marcotulio: good,good, good. kahi lee: so al's goingto walk us through. we have some tile i've pickedout to show you. so i hope you like it. al marcotulio: excellent. here's the pumpkin color. the other one is marmalade. carla zimmerman: oh,it's gorgeous.
kahi lee: how doyou like that? carla zimmerman: oh,it's beautiful. kahi lee: it's recycled glass. carla zimmerman: really? kahi lee: i think it worksperfect with your wall colors that you've picked out. al marcotulio: absolutely. sam zimmerman: that'lllook great. al marcotulio: and by usingrecycled glass, we don't have
to take out the oldcountertops so nothing in the landfill. we'll add. carla zimmerman: ok. oh, really? kahi lee: we're going togo just right on top. carla zimmerman: right on top? al marcotulio: right on top. kahi lee: is thissam-approved?
sam zimmerman: i approve. kahi lee: oh, yeah! al marcotulio: sam approved. that's great. al marcotulio: we disconnectedthe plumbing. the sink's ready to come out. would you like todo the honors? sam zimmerman: sure. kahi lee: let's do it!
why don't you comein and help? ok. we're just going to lay outthe tile so i can find out what i have to cuton this end. al marcotulio: so if you couldjust take the tiles and spread them out in a line. and we'll go back and we'llput the little spacers in. carla zimmerman: what exactlyare the spacers for? al marcotulio: that way we havespace for the grout to go
in between the tile. al marcotulio: ok. we're finally readyto set some tiles. so now, just because we're goingeco-friendly, and we're being green, doesn'tmean you have to sacrifice on your choices. unlimited choices outthere nowadays. carla zimmerman: itlooks beautiful. wow!
kahi lee: what do you think? carla zimmerman:it's wonderful! kahi lee: you like it? carla zimmerman: yes. kahi lee: ok. carla, so all we have to do islet this dry a little bit. put the wood trimon, grout it. and then you'll have abrand-new countertop. carla zimmerman: yay!
i think everyone should go greenbecause it is not as expensive as people think. and it's also much easierthan people think. kahi lee: all right, sam, youthink you can plop down the new shiny sink? sam zimmerman: all right. let's plop her in there. beautiful. sam zimmerman: itfits perfectly.
kahi lee: now it's time forthe faucet, which is a low-flow faucet. which-- do you knowwhat that means? sam zimmerman: no. that means it restricts the flowof water so you use less water but it doesn't affectthe pressure. so you still have alot of pressure, just not as much water. wow.
check it out. what do you think? sam zimmerman: that'svery shiny. it looks new. kahi lee: all right. carla, it's time fora new light. carla zimmerman: ok! al marcotulio: i'mgoing to go up. i'm going to disconnect it.
and if you'll hold it for me,i can pull the wiring apart. kahi lee: and because thecompact fluorescent light bulbs don't give off as muchheat as your traditional bulbs, you're not goingto spend as much on cooling costs. carla zimmerman: oh, ok. kahi lee: and another greatthing about these is that they last a long time. they last 8 to 10 times longerthan the standard bulb, so you
don't have to changethem out as much. carla zimmerman: oh, great. kahi lee: ta-da! everyone: yay! kahi lee: it works. carla zimmerman: wow! it's beautiful and it was soquick and easy to put up. kahi lee: to finish off your neweco-friendly kitchen, i've picked you up some eco-friendlykitchen tools--
carla zimmerman: wonderful. kahi lee: --from bed,bath, and beyond. now, these are really coolbecause they're are made out of a new material callednextplast, which is 70% plant material. kahi lee: is that not wild? carla zimmerman: thatis amazing. kahi lee: isn't that cool? so started off yourcollection here.
you can add to it. and you are well on your wayto living the green life. carla zimmerman: oh, thankyou very much. kahi lee: you're welcome. carla zimmerman:this is great. kahi lee: all right, guys. so what do you think? sam zimmerman: yes! kahi lee: total change!
sam zimmerman: it's great! carla zimmerman: yes! kahi lee: now, recycled glasstiles, eco-friendly. complete face-lift. sam zimmerman: brightensup the room. kahi lee: new lights,which literally brighten up the room. yes? and also eco-friendly,energy-saving low-flow faucet.
and they're quick, easy,inexpensive changes that make a huge difference. carla zimmerman: amazing. kahi lee: are we happy? carla zimmerman: we'revery happy. sam zimmerman: very happy. kahi lee: yay. so here's what we did today. we tiled over the existingcountertop with
recycled glass tiles. we installed a new sinkand low-flow faucet. we installed an energy-efficient light fixture and bulbs. and we finished itoff with some eco-friendly kitchen tools. sam zimmerman: it alllooks so great. and i'm so glad that we got thechance to make our house eco-friendly.
carla zimmerman: and i can'twait to do it to the rest of the house. kahi lee: you, too, can startliving the green life if you just put your mind to it. here's a tip you can startusing every day. -marvin from thornton, colorado,says, replace all the incandescent light bulbs inyour home, including those in your lamps and overheadfixtures, with compact fluorescent bulbs.
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