With all the eco-talk out there, it's easy to get greenwashed. Sometimes companies claim their products are eco-friendly or their practices are environmentally conscious, but a closer look at the small print reveals that the goods are less green than they seem. Fortunately, there are some companies that walk their talk with deeply green materials, processes and more. Check out some of our favorite deep green products below.

PRODUCT: Eleek Hardware's Masa Collection

GREEN: This hardware is made entirely from 100 percent recycled aluminum.

DEEP GREEN: Eleek gathers old aluminum from screen doors, storm windows and more at their Portland, Oregon neighborhood reuse center; The ReBuilding Center. Since The ReBuilding Center is less than a mile away from Eleek's shop, that short distance saves energy and cuts down on the pollutants that usually accompany transporting raw materials.

Bazzèo's Paper Kitchen in Gunmetal Grey and Obsidian Black

PRODUCT: Paper Kitchen by Bazzèo

GREEN: 100 percent post-consumer recycled paper makes up not only the countertops but also the cabinet drawers, doors and panels of this kitchen from Bazzèo. The material is bound together with a non-toxic, petroleum-free, phenolic resin made from the crushed shells of cashew nuts. The cabinet box is made of 100 percent recycled materials as well.

DEEP GREEN: When a client's cabinetry is delivered, Bazzèo plants a tree in the name of that customer through the TreePeople.

©1987 Warren Jagger Photography

Aged Woods' Antique American Chestnut plank flooring and beaded strip Antique American Chestnun vaulted ceiling; 

PRODUCT: Aged Woods flooring

GREEN: Using woods from exterior buildings that would otherwise end up in the dump, Aged Woods reclaims this old wood to create beautiful new floors.

DEEP GREEN: Having just received the Green Log Home & Lifestyle Award for Flooring, Aged Woods has long deserved such recognition, as the 24-year-old as been  on the forefront of green design and construction since its inception.

Bedrock Industries' Blazestone Tile

PRODUCT: Bedrock Industries' Blazestone Tile

GREEN: Made only of 100 percent recycled glass, the tile at Bedrock Industries gets its color from the recycled materials themselves rather than potentially harmful pigments.

DEEP GREEN: In addition to using 100 percent recycled materials to make their products, Bedrock uses 100 percent recycled materials to box and ship their products too. The company's community involvement includes bottle drives and field trips to educate children on the importance of living green.

Simplicity counts

Vacation homes are all about relaxing and leisure, not about detail and dusting. Choose a cabinet style that reflects this casual spirit. Fussy moldings and ornate carvings would be as out-of-place in your beach house or mountain cabin as a ball gown at a barbecue.

Low maintenance counts

I'm betting you don't want to spend your vacation polishing granite or sealing wood tops. Choose a counter surface that lets you choose to spend time outdoors instead of in the kitchen. Repairable Corian or engineered stone can work in this setting. So could stainless steel if you don't mind seeing scratches. Ditto for your floors. An attractive porcelain tile that stands up to the thundering of wet, muddy, active feet or a wood that's already distressed could be your best vacation friend.

 Quartz tops, like this one from Cambria, offer easy clean-up and high durability for vacation home kitchens.

Seating matters

Have plenty of seating, and make sure it's at a height comfortable for the majority of your guests. They're going to hang out in the kitchen anyway. Make it easy to do so with counter-height stools instead of bar stools and, if there's space, chairs at a standard-height table.

Got kids? A bench, like this Pottery Barn Benchwright model, seats a bunch of them in casual style.

Planning matters

Guests young and old will be traipsing in and out of your house all day. That's the nature of summer homes. If outdoor entertaining is a big part of your vacation life, plan for a large deck next to your kitchen, if possible. Ideally, the doors from the kitchen open completely onto this deck for easy transit. A zero threshhold will be kindest to bare feet. A pass-through from kitchen window to deck will be great for serving and cleaning up.

Open wide with a NanaWall window and patio door combination for your vacation home kitchen.

Decorating points

The whole point of a vacation home is to enjoy a relaxing time away from your busy life. Chances are, it has a great view of nearby woods, lake, mountain, gulf, bay or ocean. Let Mother Nature do the decorating for you. The view should be the focal point, so keep window coverings and distractions to a minimum. Choose outdoor-rated fabrics for cushions and area rugs.

Outdoor rugs, like these striped braided indoor/outdoor versions from Ballard Designs, work great in vacation home kitchens (and on their decks).

For more vacation home kitchen ideas, read the entire post on Gold Notes.

Florense is a Brazilian cabinet and furniture maker, and its Chicago showroom featured contemporary kitchen vignettes that were flush with frameless, lacquered cabinets. The newest vignette in the showroom is a long and lean all-white kitchen in minimalist style, shown below.

But what really caught my attention was a storage solution in a different vignette. This kitchen eschewed traditional drawers. Instead, as you can see below, it had two drawers disguised as one. 

Inside the hidden drawer was a a second pullout with a wooden cutlery tray.

Another design feature I liked at Florense was dining tables attached to kitchen islands. The kitchen below features a marble countertop on the island, and an attached table with a walnut veneer top. This table attachment provides a look you might see at a sushi bar. It's an especially good idea for smaller homes and condos, where a dining table attached to a kitchen island can efficiently room to eat without taking up too much square footage.

What do you think?

• Would you want an island with dining table attachment, or do you prefer a traditional kitchen islands that have bar seating?

—Mark Rumble, Senior Editor

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But even if you're home isn't a palace of sustainability, recycled tiles might be a great kitchen addition. Not just because they're green, but because they are some of the most stylish tiles on the market. Here are three makers of sustainable tile that have caught our attention:

Fireclay Tile has been honing its craft since the late 1980's. In the last two years they've introduced two recycled tile collections that have really stood out. One collection is called Debris, which features clay tile made from recycled glass, porcelain, granite dust and several other components. The ingredients are a bit hodge-podge, but the results are eye-catching, as you can see below.

 Another installation of Fireclay Tile's Debris series tile.

Fireclay's more recent line of recycled tiles are called Crush and made from glass. The tiles are made from glass scraps collected at a window-cutting factory just 15 miles from Fireclay's manufacturing facility. The finished product is composed of 100-percent recycled glass.

Fireclay's 100-percent recycled glass tile series, called Crush. Courtesy of Fireclay Tile.

Oceanside Glasstile is another maker of recycled glass tile. Some of their icy-colored glass subway tile from their Haiku collection was featured in the Backsplash Tips and Trends slideshow, but they also offer plenty of bold-colored mosaic tiles, like the ones from the Tessera collection below.

 Photo courtesy of Oceanside Glasstile.

Finally, Clayhaus Ceramics out of Portland is another maker of green ceramic tile. We were introduced to them at Green Home Chicago, a sustainable design center in Chicago. Here's an installation of their soft gloss tile with a crackle texture installed in master bathroom.

Photo courtesy of Clayhaus Ceramics.

We also like their many decorative tile designs, like this ogee cloud blend.

Photo courtesy of Clayhaus Ceramics.

Of course, there are many other makers of great recycled tiles as well. And there are many ways to incorporate sustainable products into your kitchen. Check out our Green Kitchen Remodel page for more ideas.

There were so many terrific products and trends that I would love to share with my American-based clients. These are a few of the Sensible Style items I saw there that I hope will be brought here in the not-too-distant future! A few, as noted below, are slowly starting to make their way across the pond.

Porcelain countertops
Porcelain countertops offer the same durability and ease of maintenance as quartz, but with a different look. I would not only specify these for my clients, I would use them in my own home. So far I've only seen porcelain tops in the United States with Italian Modulnova kitchens, custom-fitted for their cabinets and shipped from Europe.

Retractable faucets

It would be great to hide the kitchen faucet in a situation when you don't want to see it, especially on an island in a contemporary kitchen. A faucet that drops down to the countertop level can achieve that for you, but I haven't found one here yet.

The Blancoeloscope-F from Blanco is perfect for the "un-kitchen" look. 

Turn-lock kitchen sink drains

We have this style of drain on tubs and bathroom sinks in the United States, but you'd be hard-pressed to find a turn-lock drain on an American sink. They were widely shown at the German show. (By the way, turn-lock is my own descriptive name for them. Europeans call them cable-driven waste systems.) Considering how practical they are, it doesn't make sense to me that they're not widely available here. (One German manufacturer told me that they haven't been widely embraced by the plumbing community.) 

Other kitchen drains don't hold water compared to the turn-lock style, shown here on the Duravit Cassia sink.

Not having to store a drain insert in your sink cabinet would be a nice little benefit! Right now, Duravit USA has this technology on their attractive Cassia sink. More manufacturers should follow.


Full-service induction

Gaggenau showed off some fabulous new induction technology that I hope crosses the ocean very soon! Anywhere you put your pot or pan on the cooktop heated up, not just a few specific burner areas. There were other bells and whistles, too, like a setting memory, but the whole surface approach to cooking was what really won me over. Hopefully, this will be available in the United States by the time I'm ready to replace my dated gas cooktop.

Gaggenau takes induction cooking to a whole new level.

For more European Sensible Style innovations, read the entire post on Gold Notes.

Cooktops with grills can be found in many commercial kitchens, but grills are far from a standard feature on residential cooktops. (Note: a "rotisserie attachment" is also included in the survey response, but you'd be hard pressed to find a cooktop with a rotisserie attachment. They are typically found on outdoor grills.) Still, residential cooktops¹ with grills exist; and for those of whom cost is a factor, there are even some at reasonable prices. But I'm not going to start with those. Below are some cooktops with a grill, ranging from high-end to more affordable:

Five Star rangetop with grill and griddle.

• In the "money is no object category," the likes of Wolf, BlueStar, and FiveStar all make some intense rangetops with a grill feature. We found a 48-inch pro-style behemoth from FiveStar listed for $4,484 at Abt Electronics (All prices referenced are from Abt. Prices do not reflect any manufacturer discounts or rebates.). It features four gas burners, a griddle and a grill.

KitchenAid 48" rangetop with grill and griddle.

• For about $1,000 less, KitchenAid makes a 48-inch cooktop with a setup similar to the BlueStar. It goes for $3,399. From a Btu standpoint, the cooktop is slightly less powerful than the aforementioned BlueStar model, but it still has the requisite features one would look for in a commercial-style appliance.

Jenn-Air 48" rangetop with grill and downdraft.

• Coming in at a price-point below KitchenAid is a $2,299, 48-inch cooktop from Jenn-Air. This model does not have a griddle. However, it does have a downdraft. Compared to the KitchenAid model, it has about 1,000 less Btus powering the grill. Also, the peak Btu output for the burners is 10,000; on the KitchenAid and BlueStar models it's 20,000 or more.

Jenn-Air 30" cooktop with grill and downdraft

• The most economical cooktop with a grill is Jenn-Air's 30-inch model priced at $1,199. This version only gives you two burners (max Btu: 10,000) and also includes a downdraft. The grill portion of the cooktop has a max of 8,000 Btus. It's one of the smaller cooktops you can find with a grill feature; most are at least 36 inches wide.

Of course, where there is a grill, there is smoke - often copious amounts;  so if you are considering any of these grill-enhanced cooktops, we suggest you purchase something that was not on the wish-list of consumers RICKI surveyed: a high-powered vent hood.

Got Olympic fever? You're not alone. While some people may be more likely to hit the track or uneven bars during these 16 days of competition, a few of us take our passion to other venues; like the kitchen.

With a little help from the Color of Inspiration website — where you can upload your favorite photos to find color ideas — we were able to pinpoint the exact Sherwin Williams shades featured in the Olympic rings.

Then, using Sherwin Williams Color Visualizer, we created three champion kitchens using those five Olympic colors; Dynamic Blue, Golden Rod, Tricorn Black, Lucky Green and Real Red.

While these bright, bold kitchens may not be for everyone, there's something about those shades of glory that satisfy our Olympic appetite. Check out our winner's circle.

Bronze Medal (above)

Minimal is the name of the game in this Olympic kitchen that relies heavily on the blue and yellow scheme. While this design receives high marks for subtle bursts of color in the wall décor and vase of flowers, the green trim confused the design and our judges.

Silver Medal

Where this kitchen succeeds is in its strong lines. Blue ceiling paint, complemented by black ceiling beams, and horizontal yellow window panes suggest a Mondrian canvas and deserve high artistic points.

Gold Medal

This contemporary kitchen masters the Olympic palette. Clean lines and minimal design fuse to create a flawless foundation for these bright, fun colors. Creative touches like the green rug and mod black clock tie the look together to create a kitchen deserving of a perfect ten.

Think you've got the Olympic spirit? Find your colors and then try 'em out to make your own medal-winning kitchen.

Earth Day is fast approaching, so Sensible Style is observing this important April 22nd date with some easy tips on how to make your kitchen more eco-friendly.

Dishwasher Smarts

When it's time to replace your current dishwasher, look for one that's Energy Star rated, which can reduce the amount of electricity you use. Also look for a model that conserves water, for additional eco power and utility savings. You can save even more water by not rinsing your dishes before you load them. Most of the newer detergents actually work better with food particles to fight. Try it: you'll be surprised!

Micro management

One of my go-to experts on appliances, Debbie Schaeffer-owner of Mrs. G TV & Appliances in Lawrenceville, NJ, shares this eco-friendly tip: Use your microwave's speed-cook feature instead of running your range for greater energy efficiency. Keeping your kitchen cooler in the summer and getting dinner on the table faster are two more benefits of speed cooking.

A microwave with a speed-cook feature, like this GE Profile Advantium, saves energy and time.

Faucet smarts

How often do you find yourself running your kitchen tap longer than you need to, either because you left a pot to fill and stepped away from the sink, or because your hands are full and you don't have a third one to turn the faucet off in time? Kids are culprits, too, turning the kitchen faucet on to wash their hands and forgetting to turn it off. A faucet that turns on and off with just a touch-of an elbow or forearm, even, if you can't spare a hand-can be a big water saver.

Brizo's Talo faucet pours on the style and water savings.

Put a cork in it

Cork is a great, green flooring option. It's a renewable resource that doesn't sacrifice trees. Some of it is also recycled. One of my favorite cork attributes is its softness underfoot. It looks like wood, but is much easier to stand on for long periods of time.

Eco-friendly cork floors can be formal — as shown in this offering from Globus Cork — or casual.

For more eco-friendly Sensible Style kitchen tips, visit my blog.

You've got company coming and it's time for your kitchen to earn its keep again. Is ready for Thanksgiving, Chanukah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, Boxing Day and whatever else you celebrate with family and friends at this hectic time of year?

Here are some resources that could save you time and keep you organized:

Multi-task cooking

Need two ovens but only have room for one? Many of my clients who have lacked the space for double ovens have benefited greatly from a convection microwave in place of a standard microwave. The convection feature turns the microwave into a supplementary oven. It can handle a small holiday roast (like a roasted chicken), and it'll nail those pies and sides.

GE makes a new convection microwave, the over-the-range Monogram Advantium, which can be swapped out with regular microwaves. This new model should fit where your current builder-grade micro lives. But unlike a typical microwave, it offers speed cook, convection cooking and warming functions. That gives you four appliances in the space of one. Nifty, huh?

GE Monogram's new over-the-range Advantium model puts four oven features into a unit that can replace your microwave.

Click here for the combo I'd like for my own kitchen… with a really special bonus feature!

Multi-tasking cooling 

The holidays really stress out your fridge and freezer capacity, don't they? All those extra ingredients, left-overs and drinks taking up space you just don't have. Fear not, there's help at hand!

 Add a drawer that works as a freezer or a fridge, depending on your needs. You select the setting you need and Fisher & Paykel's innovative CoolDrawer becomes the cooling machine you desire - even for wine!

 Fisher & Paykel's CoolDrawer handles frozen food, fresh food and wine with the flexibility of an Olympic gymnast. 

Click here for a beverage fridge that doubles as an icemaker!

Countertop multi-taskers
A slow cooker can also be your best friend during the holidays. I wrote a loving ode to this category recently, stressing its ability to deliver delicious, healthy dishes to time-stressed individuals. The best models work overtime as food warmers and servers, too.

Imagine this scenario: You've got a full day of holiday shopping ahead and company coming later for dinner. Put the ingredients you prepped last night into the slow cooker, set it on low for the desired hours and get your errands done. If you run late, dinner won't burn. Your Crock-Pot will turn it from low to warm automatically and it'll be fine whenever you get home. By the way, Crock-Pot is a brand name, (like Coke and Kleenex), and is one of the few slow cookers that offers the auto-warm feature I cherish so much. That helps makes it the ultimate convenience appliance!

Incidentally, there are numerous desserts you can make in your slow cooker, too, freeing up one of your ovens, along with your schedule.

A slow cooker, like this eponymous model by Crock-Pot, can be a busy bee's best friend.

I've been eyeing this Cuisinart PowerBlend Duet Blender/Food Processor for a year now. It fits two appliances that are potentially worth having into one convenient package, saving both space and money. I like its versatility for the part-time home chef. If you're a cooking enthusiast, its food processor capacity is probably too limited for your needs. If, however, you're more of an occasional cook, this might be a good tool for you. Ditto if you're spending the holidays at your vacation home, where you'd rather mix margaritas than make muffins from scratch.

It's a food processor!… It's a blender!… It's Cuisinart's space-saving PowerBlend Duet!

For another countertop multi-tasker that I absolutely love, click here.

Holiday helpers

Holidays stress out more than your appliances and budget. Your countertop and storage space jam up with seasonal gear. Organizational products can help with this any day of the year, but especially now. Consider easy-to-install back-of-door organizers for cleaning supplies; roll-out trays for pots and pans; drawer organizers for knives, silverware and utensils; backsplash organizers for paper towels and spices and a drop-down cookbook rack to keep your favorite holiday recipe book away from countertop spills.

Keep your classic cookbooks convenient but clear of spills with this CS Household Under-Cabinet Cookbook Holder. 

Holidays are also stressful on your body. After standing in front of the stove all day your feet, back, hips and legs positively ache. Click here for a holiday helper your sore self will thank you for every day of the year.

Postscript

I apologize to my loyal readers that Sensible Style has been less frequent than in the past. Besides being busy with client projects, I'm also working on my first-ever kitchen design book to publish next winter by Taunton Press. Sensible Style will be back next month with a special kitchen book round-up for holiday gift-giving (and collecting). Have a very happy, healthy Thanksgiving in the meantime.

"Courageous. Confident. Vital... It's a color for every day, with nothing 'everyday' about it." -- Pantone LLC on its 2011 Color of the Year.

Maybe Pantone 18-2120 Honeysuckle is your color of the year, too. You love its vibrant pink energy and want it in your kitchen. But how do you incorporate a hot, trendy shade without dating your kitchen or anchoring yourself into a strong color you may not love down the line?

Trust me on this one: Don't buy honeysuckle-painted cabinets, large appliances or honeysuckle stone countertops unless you've loved pink your whole life and are absolutely certain you'll never, ever, sell your house.

You can still use this rich hue in your kitchen, but a little bit of a strong color goes a long way. Here are some Sensible Style approaches to integrating a strong color like this.

Dish towels, like the ones found in the Verano line from Crate & Barrel (pictured), are easy ways to incorporate color without commitment. Photo from Crate & Barrel.

Go soft

• Integrate your preferred color into your kitchen fabrics:

• Find chandelier shades in your color of choice.

• Add dish towels in solids or patterns that tie in that shade.

• Find place mats and napkins that bring in your color du jour.

• Tie it on with seat cushion fabric.

For more soft color solutions, click here.

Pretty serving pieces, like Ikea's Yngaren bowl shown here, can integrate today's color without tomorrow regrets! Photo from Ikea.

Serve it up

• Add the color in serving platters and bowls.

• Choose canisters in your selected shade.

• Incorporate it in your bakeware collection.

• Find cooking utensils or serving utensils with handles in that shade.

For more serveware style color solutions, click here.

Accent tile, like Perennial Poppy Mosaic from Ann Sacks, can incorporate today's hot color with others for a pleasing, permanent, kitchen addition. Photo from Ann Sacks.

Bigger splash

OK, perhaps those last items were too wimpy and you want your accent color to make a stronger impression. I'm still going to try to talk you out of big, expensive, permanent elements like cabinetry, countertops and flooring. But try these methods to give your kitchen an accent color that makes a big impression:

• Find a countertop appliance available in your color choice.
• Install cabinet hardware; it's available in pretty much any color.
• Use the color you love in easy-to-change wall paint.
• Apply an accent tile to integrate into your backsplash.

For more serveware style color solutions, click here.

Final thoughts

Remember that your space should reflect your personal likes and loves, not those of a website, TV show or magazine. I'm not a pink person and I also have no insecurities about missing out on Pantone's color of the year. I may miss next year's, too, without any regrets. But I have friends and clients who love the "now" color and style. So this post is dedicated to the trendies among us. You know who you are.

To read the entire Sensible Style - Color Charged posting on Gold Notes, click here.