Why our kitchens are eco-friendly
At Auspicious Kitchens, we understand that your kitchen is the heart of your home. It’s the place you’ll be sharing food, good times and laughter with your family and friends for years to come. And that’s why when we hand-build your kitchen, not only do we imbue it with the highest level of attention to detail and love, but we also do it a way that is kind to the environment.
We are constantly striving for more sustainable and eco-friendly ways of working. We do this by partnering with and supporting other sustainably-minded businesses and the local business community in the hope that we can have a more positive impact on the world around us.
Totally sustainable timber
The world’s natural forests are disappearing at an astonishing rate, which has a devastating environmental impact on the planet. This is why we go to great lengths to ensure our kitchens are from reputable and sustainable sources, and where possible, locally sourced.
We think it’s important to avoid unnecessary transportation of timber, not to mention the depletion of Europe’s timber and so, wherever possible we use timber yards that source their timber locally. However, there are some materials that we have no choice but to obtain from overseas such as some of the high-quality plywood we use, but we ensure that this comes from the most reputable people, who are invested in sustainability.
The timber we use for our kitchens is always hand-selected from FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) and PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) certified sources, which supports sustainably managed forests worldwide.
So, for sheet materials we use Meyer Timber, members of the Timber Trade Federation and the Wood Protection Association, who support the use of wood as a cost-effective, sustainable and low environmental impact construction material.
We also use Vastern Timber, who sources much of their timber from local British woodlands, and Interesting Timbers, a traditional sawmill, who promote the use of locally grown timber as a sustainable resource.
Virtually VOC-free paints
When we paint our kitchens, we use Little Greene, an independent, British paint manufacturer who produce some beautiful colours and depth of tone. These paints are hardwearing but water-based paints made of natural ingredients, contain no solvents and carry the industry's lowest eco-rating, with a VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) content of virtually zero. This means that no harmful solvent contributions to the atmosphere, or your health.
Keeping it local
We believe in supporting our neighbours as much as possible, which is why we try to use local craftspeople.
We want to keep crafts alive - from the skills of our own crafters, keeping the skills of carpentry and cabinetry bouyant, to the sourcing of other local handmade materials that complement our kitchen creations. Thankfully there is a wealth of crafting talent in our local area; craftspeople such as metal fabricators and glass makers, so we are helping to keep their craft skills alive too.
Waste-not, want-not
In any workshop there will always be leftovers and off-cuts. But we believe in making use of all our waste, so when we have offcuts of sheet material we donate it to the Nailsworth community workshop, which provides craft courses for the local community.
We use a Tecnik stove to burn sawdust and wood shavings or small offcuts of timber. This provides a free source of heating for us here in the workshop, which can get a bit chilly in the winter months.
Creating sustainable kitchens and furniture not only means ensuring everything we do contributes to a sustainable future in some way, but it also means that you get a unique product in your home that is kinder to the environment.
Want to find out how we can create an environmentally-friendly kitchen for you? Get in touch.