Tag Archives: sustainable

February 20, 2020 · 6:15 am

February 26 at #KBtribechat – Considering Wellness

A design discussion!

pasta-cooking-kitchen-prep

The KBtribechat questions:

1.)  There are many ways to design with wellness in mind, from open-concept kitchens that encourage family interaction and food prep to proper lighting. What does the wellness trend mean to you?

2.) Consumers are becoming more conscious of not just their own health, but the health of the planet.  Using sustainable building materials is more prevalent than ever before. How do you incorporate sustainable materials/elements into your designs?

3.) Your kitchen should serve as a retreat, not a pressure cooker. What tips do you have for streamlining design to avoid clutter and promote minimalism?

4.) What about for the bathroom? Share your favorite tips to stay organized and clutter free.

5.) An ideal Wellness Kitchen should be easy to maintain, user friendly for all ages and logically planned. Share your favorite Wellness Kitchen design and tell us why you love it.

6.) What about for the bathroom? Share your favorite Wellness Bathroom design ideas!

7.) How can the shower promote wellness?

8.) What wellness related products and ideas did you discover at KBIS?

Join this Twitter conversation

on Wednesday February 26

from 2 to 3pm eastern

by adding #KBtribechat to your tweets!

Here’s where you can read the transcript for this KBtribechat.

 

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May 2, 2019 · 6:15 am

May 8 at #KBtribechat – Designing With Health in Mind

A design discussion.

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We will be pinning to our Healthy Kitchens and Baths group Pinterest Board.

Our KBtribechat questions:

Q1.) In the design process, what details do you focus on when designing with health and safety in mind? Please share solutions you like!

Healthy material choices not only affect indoor air quality but it’s important to know how they affect the environment and if they are made from renewal resources .

Q2.) Are your clients asking for sustainable (healthy for the earth) and healthy products and design choices? Do these healthy building materials and design choices cost more?

Q3.) How can technology help us address health and safety concerns in the kitchen? What about in bathrooms?

Q4.) What features can help the end user make healthy choices in the kitchen?

Q5.) What features can offer healthful benefits in the bathroom?

Q6.) Do you take ergonomic principles into consideration when designing kitchens or bathrooms? Does this include the reasoning behind cabinet pull-outs and other cabinet features?  What about appliance considerations?

Q7.) In what ways can we plan for client safety in the kitchen and bath spaces we design? Please share important tips for designing spaces that work for all stages of life.

The reduction of clutter in our homes has not only been shown to reduce stress but simplification is a current design trend. How does this apply to designing healthy kitchens and bathrooms? 

Q8.) What are your go to design tips for reducing clutter in kitchens?

Q9.) What are your go to design tips for reducing clutter in bathrooms?

Share pictures of designs and ideas you like!

Join this Twitter Chat conversation

on Wednesday, May 8

from 2 to 3pm eastern time

by adding #KBtribechat to your tweets!

Here’s a link to read the transcript for this KBtribechat.

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April 13, 2017 · 6:15 am

April 19 at #KBtribechat – A Sustainability Discussion in celebration of Earth Day

A kitchen and bath industry conversation!

shutterstock_19791664_Tauro-wide

This week we will be pinning to our Earth Day group pinterest board, a compilation of favorite sustainable and green designs and products. Let us know if you’d like to be added to the board!

Our KBtribechat questions:

1.) What eco/green/sustainable building tips do you suggest for kitchens and baths?

2.) How can we make kitchens and bathrooms more energy efficient?

3.) What remodeling choices affect indoor air quality? Please share good solutions.

4.) What user habits in the kitchen or bath can help with environmental responsibility?

5.) What eco-friendly products are on your list which can reduce the impact of construction on the environment?

Join this Twitter Chat discussion

on Wednesday, April 19

from 2 to 3pm eastern time

by adding #KBtribechat to your tweets!

Here’s the transcript for this #KBtribechat.

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May 31, 2012 · 2:42 pm

723 Spring Street, Ann Arbor

 

 

Join guest host, Mark Johnson FAIA, on Wednesday, June 6, 2012, for #kbtribechat LIVE from the 723 Spring Street LEED Platinum home in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Mark will be talking with Scott Phillips, green expert and owner of the home. Scott’s extensive background in the building products industry will inspire our discussionabout the home’s kitchen and bath products that optimize water savings, reduce and monitor energy use, contribute to LEED points, and have led to his family’s adoption of a green lifestyle. This #kbtribechat will incorporate a multimedia offering of resources including videos, photography, a Pinterest board, and downloadable Google SketchUp 3D models of the home and interiors.

723 Spring Street became the City of Ann Arbor’s first LEED Platinum house. It is designed to weave into the surrounding neighborhood in style and function, while showcasing many different types of green building methods that make the home ultra-efficient. In addition to ICF Construction and Geo-thermal Heating, the home also has an 8.6kW solar array and is near net-zero energy usage. Advanced building techniques and sustainable products abound in this lovely home. Don’t miss this exciting #kbtribechat.

NOTE: If you are in the Ann Arbor area on June 9-10, the 723 Spring Street home will be open to the public during MISSION ZERO FEST, along with the Mission Zero House, America’s oldest historic rehab/retrofit home to reach net-zero energy usage.

Here is the transcript for this chat.

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May 14, 2012 · 7:38 pm

Designing “Green” Kitchens & Baths

We will be discussing the importance of design in building healthy kitchens and baths at our October 3, 2012 kbtribechat.  Please join us on Twitter from 2 to 3 pm eastern time.

Here are our questions:

1.) What does “green” mean to you in connection with design/construction?

2.) Is “green” too much of a buzz word? Have a better term?

3.) “Green” homes start with good design. Please share some of your design tips.

4.) Are there certain materials you specify or want to use specifically because they are sustainable and or help create healthy environments?

5.) Do you still find “green” to cost more?

Here is the transcript for the 5/16/12 kbtribechat on this topic.

Here is the transcript for the 10/3/12 kbtribechat on this topic.

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February 8, 2012 · 4:09 am

Questions for 2/8/12 kbtribechat on The Vision House

View this presentation by Mark Johnson FAIA for detailed information regarding this weeks discussion:

VISION House at INNOVENTIONS in Epcot

Here are his questions:

Q1 – If you assigned a style to the #VISIONHouse, what would you call it? > See Slide 3 > http://goo.gl/scXYl 

Q2 – Which of the seven #VISIONHouse ‘sustainability themes’ is most important 2U? Why? > See Slide 7 > http://goo.gl/scXYl 

Q3 – How do you maximize comfort and minimize operational costs in your projects? > See Slide 11 > http://goo.gl/scXYl 

Q4 – What is your favorite building product from the #VISIONHouse sponsors? > See Slides 13-20 > http://goo.gl/scXYl 

Q5 – With #VISIONHouse as example, what can you do to raise ‘green awareness’ w clients? > See Slide 24 > http://goo.gl/scXYl


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February 2, 2012 · 3:52 pm

The Vision House at Epcot

 

Join guest host, Mark Johnson FAIA  on Wednesday, February 8, 2012,  for #kbtribechat LIVE from the Epcot Theme Park at Walt Disney World in Orlando.  We’ll be taking a look at the The VISION House® in INNOVENTIONS project site, the sustainable products being used, and learning more about this exciting demonstration home opening on Earth Day, 2012. Who knows, maybe we’ll meet a Disney Imagineer along the way?


The VISION House® in INNOVENTIONS at Epcot® is a ground-breaking green show home exhibit presented by Green Builder Media® in collaboration with Walt Disney Imagineering. This experiential exhibit in the heart of Epcot® highlights the very best in green residential design and sustainable living. Visitors will leave with a greater understanding of green design, technology, and products as well as a host of sustainable living ideas that they can incorporate in their lives the minute they get home from vacation. Sponsors for this exciting project include Trane and Schlage (Ingersoll Rand brands), Boral, Panasonic, Armstrong, Kohler, Siemens and GM.

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January 19, 2012 · 8:14 pm

Introducing our January 25, 2012 Host and Topic

 

Join guest host, Mark Johnson FAIA  for a sneak preview of two exciting show homes opening this February at the International Builder Show, and in April at Epcot® Theme Park in Orlando. We’ll be taking a look at the sustainable products specified in each home.

The VISION House® in INNOVENTIONS at Epcot® is a ground-breaking green show home exhibit presented by Green Builder Media® in collaboration with Walt Disney Imagineering. This experiential exhibit in the heart of Epcot® highlights the very best in green residential design and sustainable living, and will open this spring. Visitors will leave with a greater understanding of green design, technology, and products as well as a host of sustainable living ideas that they can incorporate in their lives the minute they get home from vacation. Sponsors for this exciting project include Trane and Schlage (Ingersoll Rand brands), Boral, Panasonic, Armstrong, Kohler, Siemens and GM.


The Cool Energy House  project is a deep-energy remodeling demonstration house produced by the Building America Retrofit Alliance (BARA), with the Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings (CARB) teams. Using innovative building optimization software created by Building America, ideal retrofits and updates were identified and implemented to reduce energy costs and make the home safer and more comfortable, all while keeping total costs low. The project will be featured at the 2012 International Builders’ Show. Sponsors for the house include Johns Manville, Simonton Windows, Panasonic, the Metal Roofing Alliance, and Dupont Tyvek, with additional contributions from Therma-Tru, Fypon, GE, Hayward, Lennox, Honeywell, BASF, Formica Group, BEHR Paint, and the Structural Insulated Panel Association.

 

Click the link here to see Mark’s Pinterest boards for The Vision House and The Cool Energy House.

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December 29, 2011 · 4:01 pm

Introducing our January 4, 2012 host (Topic: Eco Kitchen Design)

Becky Shankle

Becky Shankle is a 25 year veteran of the design field who started her kitchen design & installation company, Eco-Modernism in 2007. Her design experience includes commercial space, front end web design, furniture, and costumes for Halloween & various parades. The last two are part of her “mile-wide silly streak”, described in her twitter account profile. She also brings to bear her experience with space planning & management while at Cisco Systems, Inc. in terms of on going care of anything she designs.

Her LinkedIn profile is here: http://www.linkedin.com/in/beckyshankle

Becky can be followed on twitter @ecomod.

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September 8, 2011 · 3:09 pm

Introducing our September 14, 2011 Guest Hosts (Topic: Spotting Shades of Green: Determining What IS and ISN’T)

Nora DePalma
Nora DePalma has more than 25 years of professional development in marketing and communications for top brands in the building products industry. Key client-side positions include marketing communications manager for American Standard, director of marketing for the National Kitchen & Bath Association, and vice president, communications for ImproveNet. Nora founded Building Profits in May 2001 which then merged with LNC Communications in 2009 to form O’Reilly/DePalma (www.oreilly-depalma.com). Nora is a founding member of the Green Earth PR Network. http://www.greenearthpr.net/consultants/nora.php

Leanne Newman

With over 15 years of PR experience in the appliance world, Leanne has lived in the kitchen world for most of her career.  Current clients include Capital Ranges and a new brand coming to North America called Scholtès, and in Canada she works with AEG, Faber, Porter & Charles and Liebherr.  Her agency, Flying Camel Advertising, Design + PR (flyingcamel.com) also has kitchen designers and building products manufacturers in their roster.  She has a passion for sustainable products and is the first Canadian member of the Green Earth PR network.  Read her complete bio here:

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