Move Over Marble and Granite Counter Tops - "Going Green" Paper Stone is Taking Over!

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Post Date: 09 Apr 2009    Viewed: 728

Marble and Granite have been the upscale kitchen counter top choice for many years but now, thanks to the surging interest of "green" we now have competitors that may leave that granite in the quarry! No one would deny the fact that granite and marble is a wonderful counter top choice but it is expensive, quarried from depleting resources and usually imported. So, for the ever growing green aware consumer we are turning away from depleting resources to renewable or recycling options for every aspect of our home interior design needs.

Let me introduce you to the newest contender.

Paper Stone: This is not only beautiful counter top resource it is fascinating in the way this innovative use of recycling can create such an extraordinary product!

Paper Stone is just as its name implies. Made with 4 simple, sustainable primary ingredients:

Post Consumer - Recycled - Card board and paper

Phenolic (type of plastic) resins.

Dye and a Wax Finish: to assure suitability for any design style in your kitchen, bath Or office.

So let's break these 4 down a bit more:

Recycled Cardboard is just that - so little elaboration is needed. It becomes Paper Stone when specially prepared sheets have been made from this post consumer paper and are saturated with Resin and then highly pressure heated.

The Resin is also a surprisingly green element. It's a special formula Of CNSL-base, other wise known as Cashew Nut Shell Liquid which has been used for nearly a century - first product being the casing of the black rotary telephones of the early 1900's.

Combine these two ingredients of recycled paper and Cashew Nut Resin with the manufacturers special formula, and the glorious result is:

"a beautiful and heavy-duty solid surface known for its performance Its warm touch, its contemporary appearance and its environmental sustainability. Paper Stone isn't just an attractive new material that is produced in a socially Responsible manner, it is also strong and tough. It has steel-like strength In span. It has stone-like beauty and it can be worked like fine hardwoods."

The dyes and final finishes are also a natural renewable resource. Two primary preserving waxes used are bees wax and Carnuba. Carnuba is the hardest natural wax known to man and comes from the Copernicia Cerifera wax palm tree from Brazil.

How is Paper Stone used? I'm glad you asked!

Though it is still coming into its own - designers and architects are increasingly promoting it for both commercial and residential applications.

Which include:

Tables Counter Tops Bathroom Toilet Partitions Rainscreens Window Sills and Door Thresholds Paneling Chair Rails Out Door Kitchens Furniture Signs Tiles Cutting Boards.

To see examples of the beautiful Paper Stone products available and for more information on everything one needs to know about Paper Stone download a free PDF information guide that you can find on the Frugal Home Design website.

I have seen the extraordinary beauty of this product first hand and it will be a welcome portfolio option for my clients as well as a strong consideration when I start building my new home!

Watch for my next article on Ice Stone - another green option that also puts granite and marble on the defense!