Bamboo Cabinets – A Modern and Eco-Friendly Choice
If you want cabinets that are as stylish and sexy as they are good for the environment, then you’ll want to explore the choices in bamboo cabinets for your kitchen design.
Why Bamboo
Bamboo is actually a grass which gives it many advantages over the traditional wood used for kitchen cabinets. It is fast growing – where it takes a tree decade to grow big enough to produce the wood for a set of cabinets, it takes bamboo only 5 to 7 years. This makes it very sustainable and renewable, provided the harvesting is done properly.
Not only that, but bamboo kitchen cabinets are very durable and stable making it perfect for the daily wear (e.g.: faucets) and tear that can happen in the kitchen.
The Style
The look of bamboo cabinets fits right in with today’s sleek contemporary styles. The wood itself has a light and tight graining which is perfect for a lighter stain. When you are thinking of it for cabinets, however, you need to forget about traditional colors and stains because bamboo does not hold a stain like traditional wood does. Having said that, you can get different hues and tones and this is done in the factory through a carbonization process that actually embeds the colors all the way through the wood. This is an advantage, especially when it comes to cabinets, because scratches and nicks will be a lot less noticeable as the wood is the same color all the way through.
Bamboo graining and color can vary quite a bit from manufacturer to manufacturer so it’s a good idea to check out a few suppliers before making a choice and then stick with the one that has that particular color that is perfect for your kitchen.
What to Look For
You want your cabinets to be non-toxic as well as use sustainable wood, so you need to choose a manufacturer that doesn’t use any toxic materials in the construction. The good news about bamboo kitchen cabinets is that they are solid wood unlike many of the cabinets today which are veneer and use toxic glues to adhere the finish. To be even friendlier to the environment, try to go with a manufacturer that does not use any environmentally unfriendly practices in the manufacture of the product.
The other thing to be on the lookout for is where the actual bamboo comes from. While we are hearing a lot lately about how bamboo is sustainable, sadly, not all bamboo is harvested equally. You want to be sure you buy from a manufacturer that gets its bamboo from somewhere that adheres to proper practices when it comes to bamboo growing. Choose one that uses great quality control and is monitored by some overseeing agency such the Chinese Department of Forestry and you can be assured that you are indeed using bamboo that is grown in self regenerating forests.
So, when you are planning your sleek, contemporary and green kitchen – don’t forget to put bamboo cabinets on your “to-do” list!
Comment (1)
Hazel Kindley
Related Discussions
Houzz Live Chat - Optimising lighting in your home, Friday 20th at 3pm
Q
What colour should I paint my cabinets?
Q
Best options for kitchen flooring?
Q
I am Supplying Home Decor By Handicraft Made in Vietnam
Q