More from last Saturday: A look at the Fabulous February Farm Fresh Food Fest....

A week ago Saturday, our showroom was bustling.

To celebrate local food, immediately following the Green Kitchens and Baths Workshop, last Saturday we also hosted a local food fair of local food fare.

We have some great pictures documenting the vendors and the clients who just could not get enough of these local treats, and wanted to share! It's exciting to us that so many members of the community were charged up about local food and joined us to try some delicious treats hailing from the Cape. See what some of the Cape's adventurous Locavores got to enjoy in the comfort of our showroom:

Warm, aromatic donuts (mmmmm!) and neatly packaged loaves of fresh bread donned the table of The Great Cape Baking Company of Marstons Mills.

Two lively employees of Nantucket Wild Gourmet, located in Chatham, offered samples of smoked fish fillets and delicious fish patés.

The owner of Cedar Spring Herb Farm shows off a display of flavored local honies, unique oil and vinegar mixes, and local herbs from the company's Botanical Sanctuary in Harwich. The Cedar Spring Herb Farm original "Stressless Tea" samples did not last long!

Chef Paul, chocolatier and owner of The Chocolate Peddler in Brewster hands out samples of his famous chocolate truffles and an incredible tasty creation he calls "truffle loaf" (think the most amazing chocolate banana bread you've ever tasted filled with assorted chunks of homemade chocolate truffles) to some very lucky ladies.

'g' Green Design Center was proud to host this event, showcasing some wonderful and entrepreneurial local food companies. We encourage you to always think local first - it's the green way to go!

What others are saying about last Saturday's Green Kitchen and Bath Workshop @ 'g'...

A spread of green materials to renovate your kitchen or bath.

It was a full house at the 'g' Green Design Center's Mashpee Showroom last Saturday. Ten guests joined our design experts for a workshop on Greening Your Kitchen and Bath, suited for remodeling projects or new construction. Most were homeowners, seeking guidance on greening their kitchen and bath renovations. Also attending were a few contractors seeking information to green their clients projects.
The conversation started with a prompt to participants to think about how to organize their kitchen space.  There are many factors to take into consideration: is the "frequent user" of the kitchen a right- or left-handed?  What type of storage is desired?  

The the discussion moved on to some of the green considerations in your layout.  Where are the recycling bins going to live?  Your kitchen compost?  In your kitchen or bathroom, does it make sense for you to install a tankless, instant hot water heater (they are VERY energy efficient)?  

Next, of course, we looked at the green materials to consider....Green countertop materials were passed around, flooring options shown, price comparisons of green vs non-green materials were made.

When asked what prompted them to come, a local contractor, Ben, said it was to learn more about the products.  "There is a general buzz for green.  People ask about it, and it's helpful to know how to guide them."  

Homeowner Priscilla found the workshop "informative and encouraging to be more eco-friendly".  She was inspired to schedule an energy audit immediately, and said she may not even need to come to another workshop, she learned so much!

All of the participants indicated they left with more knowledge than they came in with, and were empowered to better make some of the decisions they will be or are faced with in their kitchen and bath projects.  And, all said it was definitely worth the hour of their time, and we might very well see them again.  This review was just a sneak peek at what was covered in the jam-packed one hour workshop - don't miss YOUR chance to attend the next 'g' Green Design Center Green Remodeling Workshop.  Check our website for the schedule of remaining sessions and details on how to register!  

If you are in the North Shore area, you can catch the same workshop in the Norwell showroom tomorrow, Saturday March 6!

Rate Us Green!

'g' Green Design Center is now on Rate It Green (see below). Tell us, and the rest of the community at large, how we're doing! We appreciate your taking the time to share your valuable input, and thank you for working with us!

'g' Green Design Center has become a Listed Member of an online green building directory, resource, and community portal called Rate It Green (www.rateitgreen.com). Rate It Green's directory offers a great and affordable marketing opportunity for companies offering green building services. We create a profile and list our products and services, and then we can ask our valued clients to post testimonials that prospective clients can rely upon to learn more about working with us. Companies can also review each other on the site.

We believe that people who have worked with us are the best advertising for what we do. Especially in a tough economy, client opinions can be quite meaningful to others who are making green building purchasing decisions.

Rate It Green offers four levels of listings, and the first is free and always will be. Individuals who wish to post reviews on the site also register for free, but there is a survey involved if they wish to post content on the site (you can select "prefer not to answer" if you choose not to share most information). The registration is one way the site makes sure all of our reviews will be sincere.

Rate It Green is working to promote greater information exchange within the green building industry, so that individuals and organizations can find green building information more easily and so that companies like ours can showcase our offerings through a trustworthy and open resource. Visit www.rateitgreen.com or contact Allison Friedman at afriedman@rateitgreen.com with questions about Rate It Green. To register on the site, click "register" at the top right of the home page (registration: http://www.rateitgreen.com/register), and the site will guide you through.

The evils of granite: Why going green is important!

We don't believe the problem is this extreme, but this was a fun illustration...

"Granite Study Reveals Radiation risks"

This headline, in the November 2009 edition of Environmental Building News, caught our attention at 'g'. In reading the rest of the article, we tuned into a new study on granite that shows that granite-cutters and those who are involved in the preparation and installation of granite countertops are exposed to extremely high levels of radon. These findings mean that even if your granite countertop isn't emitting radon gas into your home (a claim made last year that has been contested), the workers involved in making your countertops inhale dust and particulates containing hazardous amounts of uranium and radon among other radioactive isotopes, greatly increasing their risks of cancer.

Read the full article on the Building Green website here:

EBN: 18:11 - Granite Study Reveals Radiation Risks for Workers

And, while we're not into being alarmists, we thought that the article shed some light onto another reason to try to steer clear of supporting the granite industry. For what we're concerned with, this is just another drop in the bucket. From the green perspective, granite has never been a popular building material. One of the biggest downfalls in the granite industry is the damage that is done to the earth in the extraction of this natural resource. Disruption is cased on a grand scale; habitats destroyed, storm water runoff carries more particulates and again causes damage...there's really nothing good about it.

(can you tell which one is the granite, which is ECO?)

But, we cannot deny that granite makes a pretty countertop. So, we can hope that you'll turn to some greener and healthier options, that visually are quite similar (though we think are even better!). Over the past couple of weeks we've introduced you to a few of our favorite recycled glass countertops like Icestone and Eco by Cosentino. Often homeowners and clients turn to these as alternatives to marble and granite countertops, and we can only hope to steer more kitchen remodelers and builders in that direction.

Come to our showroom tomorrow (2/27) for a workshop on Green Kitchens and Baths and learn more about our non-granite green countertop options, among other important and interesting information about greening your remodeling project! Check out our website for more information on how to register.

Product Spotlight: Young Cabinetry

As a preview to the Green Kitchens and Baths Workshop coming up on Saturday in our Mashpee showroom, we wanted to feature one of our popular cabinetry products.

One of our newest lines of cabinetry hails from New Hamshire. Young Furniture offers all of the benefits of custom cabinetry with the added benefit of an FSC (fsc.org) certification. These handcrafted cabinets are just the thing for your beautiful home. Specially, if you’re looking for unfinished cabinets, Young Furniture is one of very few FSC certified choices available here in America. Young Furniture’s collection includes Maple, Poplar, and Pine Cabinets.

Why choose unfinished cabinets?

Great looking cabinets can really make a room. With the flexibility of Young’s cabinets, perfect unique cabinetry is within your reach. Young’s designers can make just about any cabinet design you can imagine. Then, we at ‘g’ can help you pick out the perfect zero VOC paint or stain to work with your unfinished cabinets and entire room. All of this comes at a huge savings as compared to pre-finished cabinetry!

Maple Cabinets

Young harvests all of its maple trees from right here in America. The species used has a unique ability to grow quickly, which means the environmental impact is minimized. This fine-grained FSC maple is great for both staining and painting.

FSC Poplar Cabinets

Poplar cabinets present customizability like none other. These cabinets have the added advantage of the lowest formaldehyde emission when building with wood products in the industry.

FSC Pine Cabinets

Built to last past forever, think of Pine cahinets as an investment that will last for many years to come. Affordable , elegant, solid, and durable, it’s hard to see any flaws in this great wood.

Want to learn more? Join us THIS SATURDAY in our Mashpee showroom. We will be sharing information on Young Cabinetry, as well as other green cabinetry options, at our Green Kitchens and Baths workshop. Sign up on our website!

Of course everyone is also welcome to come in to our showroom to see samples of this and other FSC woods we carry. In the mean time check out http://www.ggreendesign.com/green-products-buildingmaterials.htm for the wealth of cabinetry options we carry at ‘g’.

Local Food Fair @ 'g': Saturday, 2/27

Fabulous February Food Fest!
Join us for Farm Fresh and Find Food of Local Fare
Saturday, February 27th, 12-3pm
'g' Green Design Center's Mashpee Showroom

After our second Winter Workshop ends next Saturday, starting at noon, 'g' is hosting a local food fair to showcase some of the Cape's finest local fare! At 'g' Green Design Center we know that choosing local first is better for your community, in supporting the local economy and livelihood, and the environment, in cutting back on emissions and resources associated with moving the goods. (We really like the Wikipedia definition of local food!) Tap into your inner locavore: help us celebrate local and learn about some of your neighborhood food vendors at this delicious event!

There will be tastings by each vendor as well as products to purchase.

Vendors include:
Great Cape Baking Company, showcasing its delicious artisan breads and other baked treats from ovens of Marstons Mills
E&T Farms, bringing along its sweet local honey hailing from West Barnstable
The Chocolate Peddler, peddling their infamous chocolate truffles all the way from Brewster
Smoked fish, cheeses and more!

The Winter Workshop, in our Mashpee showroom from 11am-noon, will cover steps to take and factors to consider in greening kitchen and bath remodeling projects. If you haven't signed up already, see all the details on our website and instructions on how to register to save a seat. We hope to see you on Saturday!

Product Spotlight: Chicology Window Treatments

A lovely golden installation of Chicology Home's French Sliding Panel

This week we wanted to tell you about some beautiful and also very affordable window treatments. If you've been looking for or even thinking about getting new window coverings, Chicology could very well be the perfect option for you. Chicology offers both a line of entirely customizable window coverings, and has a series of pre-made window shades and panels might fit your window needs perfectly and are as affordable as window treatments come!

Chicology's Home line includes the following pre-made options:

• Rollup blind
• Roman shade
• Adjustable Double Rail Sliding Panel System

These three styles come in very standard lengths and widths that will work for most of your window needs. Most of these styles are offered in earthy goldens and dark greens, neutral off whites, and pure white. While the costs are low (around $17-27 per blind!), you can go ahead and order enough to coordinate your entire home. The pre-made window coverngs all come with a valence at no extra cost! Though the pre-made options do come with a 6 piece minimum order requirement, we think it's a great reason to go ahead and give all of your windows a facelift.

Chicology Custom Roman Shade with Valence

If you want to have more of a say in the look of the windows or you have some hard to fit sizes, look at Chicology's custom offerings. While still very affordable, for a bit more you can design the shade to work within your parameters.

The Chicology Custom line includes:

• Chicology Custom Roman shade & valence
• Chicology Custom Perfect-fit roller shade
• Chicology Custom Panel system

For custom window treatments these prices cannot be beat! With the custom shades, you're given the freedom to set the height and width, cord position, inside or outside mount, roll type, details as precise as the cord color, and most importantly, the fabric. The fabrics are made from beautiful all natural fibers, and come in three different light emitting styles - you choose between basic (middle weight fabric), privacy (more translucent, provides privacy but does not block much light), and Room Darkening. Most of the colors are quite neutral and basic [though stunning], but there are some surprisingly unique and fun fabrics to choose as well. You choose what works for you!

Stop into your 'g' Green Design Center showroom to look at swatches and talk to one of our designers to help you choose the best window treatments for your space. Be sure to bring your window measurements along so we can best assist you!