Platinum Winner: Kitchen $75,000 - $150,000

Remodeler: Eren Design and Remodel Tucson, Ariz.

Eren Design and Remodel owner Janice Donald designed the kitchen in the spirit of her grandmother's home (which was light and airy and featured a lot of light colors) but with modern amenities.   After photos by Robin Stancliff Photography

Remodeler Heal Thyself

For years, Janice Donald has been remodeling other people's homes as the owner of Eren Design and Remodel. At the same time, she wanted to improve the kitchen in her 1955 ranch home but had never gotten around to it.

As she heard more and more about green remodeling over the last year, Donald decided she had an opportunity to not only give her kitchen a much-needed update but also show her clients what could be done in the green arena.

Tucson has a lot of highly visible green construction, such as straw-bale homes and solar energy, so clients tend to assume green has to be that extreme, Donald says.

Eren reused as many materials as possible and looked for other reclaimed products to bring into the project. For example, the island countertop was crafted from the salvaged floor of a 1790 schoolhouse. New materials that were brought in were chosen for their green features, such as the EcoTop countertop, which is made from bamboo and recycled wood products.

As important as green was, Donald also wanted to achieve her dream kitchen. Eren significantly increased the footprint of the room by moving the kitchen into what had been an eating area and expanding it into the adjacent laundry room. The former kitchen became a breakfast nook, and a pantry was added where a bathroom had been. The laundry room and powder room were relocated to what had been a storage room.