EPA Kitchen: A Smart Solution

A kitchen that saves is a kitchen to savor

Written by Bill Partsch • Styled by Renata Chaplynsky
Photographed by Alexandra Rowely

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Saving energy is good for the planet, for peace of mind and, incidentally, for the wallet. The latest energy-conscious products are also just plain good. Woman's Day Special Interest Publications set out to demonstrate this by outfitting an entire real-life kitchen with appliances, lighting and other products with the Energy Star label. (Run by the U.S. government, the Energy Star program certifies an array of products that meet strict energy efficiency guidelines in their respective categories.)

We enlisted the Environmental Protection Agency, which administers Energy Star, and home-improvement experts from Lowe's to turn a dated kitchen into an energy-efficient space for a typical family residing in the Northeast. After interviewing a number of candidates, we selected Jamie and Anne Orvis, who live in a 25-yearold Colonial in Fairfield, Connecticut, with their kids—Ryan, 11, and Amanda, 7—and their dog, Maui. Although they don't consider themselves hard-core environmentalists, they're loyal recyclers with a genuine concern for the environment. "We only have one earth," Jamie says.

To accomplish the remodel, Jamie hired architect Rob Sanders, of Wilton, Connecticut, to map out the structural and engineering details. Jamie and Anne wanted to expand their diminutive kitchen—and to upgrade their small, inefficient appliances—but they didn't want to expand the energy they used, or the expense of using it. They took their ideas to Lowe's in Orange, Connecticut, to work with kitchen specialist Fozia Rafique. "She was tremendous," Jamie says. "We went up there with a floor plan and said, ‘Here's the space. We want an island with bar stools, lots of storage and an area for a desk.'"

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