Plantation Kitchen Cabinets

Plantation kitchen cabinets are a feature of a beautiful South Florida home. The motto of Plantation, FL is "the grass is greener." The Plantation city council created initiatives to improve sustainability in landscape architecture and building decisions.

Its citizens are also looking to make eco-friendly decisions on their plantation kitchen cabinets. Luckily there are many options out there that can create antique, modern, charming or sleek designs, depending upon taste. These can include the type of wood, decoration and installation involved. A renewed Florida kitchen has a personality of its own, creating inspiration for culinary tradition or experimentation.

Green Taste

Cabinetry decisions are no longer solely based on the aesthetic look of the material and the functionality of the cabinets. It is a part of the boom in green construction. When choosing cabinets, you can make the decision to follow the LOHAS (lifestyles of health and sustainability) initiative. The LOHAS consumer's decisions are not driven by wealth, but rather by sustainable decisions. When replacing cabinets, it is important to not only consider sustainable decisions, but also air quality.

The question of air quality comes from the use of urea-formaldehyde resins in the creation of plywood. If the resin creates formaldehyde gas, it brings a possible carcinogen into homes. Urea-formaldehyde can also cause watery eyes, nausea and wheezing.

While many companies are reducing their use of this resin or providing different forms of resin in plywood production, it is an important component in making Plantation kitchen cabinets and other home improvements. Cabinets that use hardwoods, such as oak, beech, ash, are a good way to avoid this use of formaldehyde and achieve an attractive, sturdy kitchen look. You can also choose to simply include hard wood on the doors to reduce cost and improve air quality after reviewing different kitchen cabinets.

Custom Creation

Every cook has his or her secrets. One of the best ways to hide those secrets is to create cabinets that reflect personal style. A successfully built custom or semi-custom Plantation kitchen cabinet installation can provide a places for easy to reach utensils and hide the pots, pans, dishes or appliances that have accrued over the years. Plantation kitchen cabinets can also include other custom decorative choices like glass doors, door pulls, lighting and molding. These are the style choices that allow the installation to match house décor.

Perhaps an island with cabinets is a good choice for a kitchen in need of extra counter space. After returning from the Farmer's Market on Saturdays with dips, cheese, fruit, vegetables, baked goods or fresh flowers, a little extra kitchen counter space can create a useful workspace for making salsa, fruit salad or an entire dinner spread. The Farmer's Market at Volunteer Park supports organic farming which can also aid in conserving soil and water. Plantation kitchen cabinets should also include a wine rack, with the Sutter Home winery in such close proximity; the kitchen will be filled with local produce, wine and plenty of volunteers to help consume them.

Another way to take advantage of the local greenery is to use North American wood in Plantation kitchen cabinets. Local woods help the environment and the local economy. A simple way to check if the wood is local is to look for FSC-certified North American hardwood. The Hardwood Council said, "The volume of hardwood in American forests is 352 billion cubic feet, and they are adding growth of 10.2 billion

cubic feet a year. This compares to annual removal of 6 billion cubic feet. We are not running out of trees." [1]

Plantation, FL Style

The beauty of living in a seaside state easily evokes the Plantation decoration style of the 17th and 18th century. When European colonists settled in warmer colonial climates, they brought with them a classic decor that also reflected a light, breezy feeling of the islands. Many people see this style expertly displayed in vacation homes and beachside cabanas.

One of the substitutions the colonists made was the use of local wood in their furniture. European woods like oak or maple could not withstand the heat and humidity, so they used teak, ebony and in some locales, bamboo, many of which are available locally in Florida. Plantation kitchen cabinets would be made of a dark, rich wood, and they would often be embellished with details such as palm fronds or other botanicals.

Decorative enhancements on Plantation kitchen cabinets would add extra time and cost, but allow you to fully adopt this seaside style. After installation, additional decorations could include ferns, cotton or linen shades, woven rugs, wicker furniture and tropical fruit--an easy find in Broward County, FL. The green nature of the city extends far beyond its inception on land acquired from the Everglades Plantation Company and into the search for the greenest, most attractive Plantation kitchen cabinets.

[1] http://www.neilkelly.com/files/Documents/News/Green_cabinets.pdf