Reduce Reuse Recycle!

Here's an entire UK bespoke kitchen (cabinets, countertops and sink anyway) made of recycled material.

I guess there IS a future for us yet! At least

Milestone Eco Design
thinks so.

Better yet.

The cabinet doors are made out of yogurt containers!

Peggy

More Fluorescent Candelabra Bulbs

In my web wanderings today I came across some more fluorescent candelabra-shaped lamps (light bulbs). They are very shapely and from Skyline Lighting. Very useful for chandeliers and such.

They come in 3, 5 watts for the candelabra base size; and 5, 7, 9, 14 watts for the medium base size.

A tip of my blogging hat to Residential Landscape Lighting & Design's blog for leading me to these. They have a very informative blog and even a new Forum for answering lighting questions. Very useful to bookmark.

The color temperature of these lamps is 2700-3000Kelvin.
Incandescent is 2800Kelvin.
You shouldn't even notice the difference.

Now everybody order some to swap out those energy-hog incandescents in your dining room and I'll do the same.

Peggy

Some Bamboo Flooring Not All It's Cracked Up to Be!

I received this notice today from MarketWatch on a realtor's survey.

"If replacing floors, avoid bamboo. This flooring was popular when it debuted, but now users are saying it is easily dented and scratched. It is also more likely to warp due to weather and humidity. "

On further investigation it seems as though all bamboo flooring is not equal. Some homeowners are registering their disappointment in the green product on their floors.

Looks like some growers are harvesting their bamboo too early and the result is a finished floor that doesn't exhibit the hardness of bamboo grown for a longer period of time (which can be similar to hardwood in hardness and durability).

Here are some links to support my conclusions:
Berkeley Parents Network
Town of Portola Valley

And some do's and don'ts:
Bamboo Flooring Basics

The upshot: Choose your supplier carefully. Don't buy the cheapest product. Look for a minimum 10 year warranty on the material.

Peggy