Photo: Vetrazzo Cobalt Sky recycled glass mix countertop Eco-friendly Materials via vetrazzo.com
If being environmentally minded is important to you when designing your restaurant, dessert shop or store, you generally have three ways to achieve your goal. You can use sustainable materials and finishes, decorate your interior with eco-friendly furniture and accents, and serve your clientele by using ecologically-friendly tableware and containers.
In the next few weeks, we’ll talk about how to go about each of these three projects. First, here are a few ideas in case you are searching for sustainable materials you can use as finishes, whether you are thinking walls, floors or ceilings.
Bamboo
When thinking about eco-friendly materials, bamboo is the first one that comes to mind. A sustainable option from a generous, fast and ever-replenishing source, bamboo can come into place even before designing the interior of your space. When condensed and glue together, bamboo planks can be used as strong beams in the structure of your building.
Used as a wall finish option, bamboo planks offer visual warmth, a spa-like look and the additional quality of behaving well during earthquakes. When employed as a floor alternative, strand-woven bamboo is durable, resistant to scratches and dents, and conveniently waterproof.
Photo: Cali Bamboo® flooring via calibamboo.com
3-D Bamboo Panels
When your restaurant or store needs a tropical or Asian element, choosing bamboo is an easy way to create the right ambiance. However, bamboo is not a one-faceted material, nor does it limit you when it comes to style. In fact, designer J.W. Leeuwenburg from the Netherlands created panels made of pressed bamboo pulp and shaped into 3-D patterns. The result is far from the classic bamboo wall coverings, with a more refined vibe and an immense potential for creating veritable works of interior design art.
Paintable, flame-retardant, sound-dampening and water-repellent, these bamboo panels can serve as wall, floor and ceiling treatments and are the dream eco-friendly materials for the ingenious designer.
Bars and Moonscape 3-D Wall Decor by J.W. Leeuwenburg. Photos via interiordesign.net
Reclaimed Wood
If a clean, contemporary look is not your style, but you still love the look of wood fiber, reclaimed wood is always an option. Designed by Alex Meyers, the Colonie restaurant in Brooklyn, New York, for instance, uses reclaimed wood for the the ceiling, counters, and even accent pieces such as light fixtures. This inspired choice gives it an edge: it is not only the environmentally minded clientele that appreciates such surroundings, but also the customers who look for a unique place that makes their leisure hours memorable.
Eco-friendly Materials at Colonie Restaurant, Brooklyn, New York. Designer: Alex Meyers
Photo via www.remodelista.com
Recycled Glass
Right next to sustainable bamboo and reclaimed wood, tiles and slabs made of old glass coming from recycling centers are greatly satisfying to the environmentally minded designer. Mixed with a binder and turned into one-of-a-kind, inimitable and colorful slabs, materials such as mirror windows, windshield shards or demolition architectural glass can take on a new life within the walls of your business, in the shape of the spectacular Vetrazzo slabs.
Perfect as floor or wall finish options, they are also great alternatives for countertops. While offering a non-porous, stain-resistant and low-maintenance surface, their beauty lies in their great artistic potential. From vibrant to subtle, but always brilliant and unique, they can give you the unexpected element that turns your interior into a space worth visiting.
Photo: vetrazzo.com
Please take a look at our Before and After images of selected projects from 2018 HERE.
If you are thinking to open up a new business or in a process of rebranding and remodeling your existing business, contact us to get a free consultation from Mindful Design Consulting. Click HERE to price your project design.
Also, take a look at “Branding By Interior” e-book, the only book written on this subject at this time. It brings insight on how you can turn your business into a market-dominating competitor by using human cognitive responses
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