Consumer Reports recently outlined seven budget-friendly project ideas to revamp your kitchen. We’ve expanded on their recommendations to include examples of products to incorporate sustainability in your upgrade.

Revamp the Cabinets

If your cabinets are structurally sound, resurfacing them or even just a fresh coat of paint can make a difference. Home Depot’s Freshaire Choice paint contains no VOCs and offers an impressive palette of colors. Peel-and-stick veneers are an alternative to paint. Teragren offers a bamboo veneer that is popular for resurfacing cabinets. Applying FSC and/or SCS certified crown molding on the top of cabinets can also give a more finished look. Moulding & Millwork Inc. has taken the steps to achieve Chain of Custody certification from SCS to prove their commitment to sustainable forestry practices for all their wood products, including moulding and trim.

Add or Update an Island

A kitchen island adds work and storage space. The Cross Creek Kitchen Island is an example of an economical green choice. The island is made of wood reclaimed from white pine barn timbers and exudes a rustic style. For those with a bigger pocketbook, Laura Burn’s Designs offers fluorescent-lit resin island panels that are recyclable, along with a countertop that’s made from recycled Blue Sky Vodka Bottles. When adding a new island, be sure that there is at least a 42-inch clearance around it to ensure easy access and smooth traffic flow.

Refinish the Backsplash

Visually prominent but small enough not to need much material, the wall space above the counter or between the top cabinets and the counter is a great place to add color and contrast. Paint is the simplest and cheapest option for making over a backsplash. Tile—ceramic and colored glass—is another option. Hakatai’s Tivoli series tiles are made from raw materials that are 70% recycled, sourced from glass that would otherwise have entered the solid waste stream. Crossville’s recycled porcelain tile, EcoCycle, is an affordable, durable alternative and easier to install than recycled glass tile. Made from pre-consumer scrap tile and other waste products, they're certified by SCS to have a minimum of 40% pre-consumer recycled content.

Bring in the Old

Choosing energy-efficient appliances isn’t the only way to go green. Salvage shops are stocked with new or gently-used stone countertops, hardwood flooring, decorative lumber, kitchen cabinets, and stained glass. Outlets stores, such as ReStore, have popped up all around the country. Free-cycling, used by networks of people who offer household items free of charge, is another option. And our favorite, Craigslist, also has an area for free items.

Upgrade the Appliances

For a slightly larger investment in an Energy Star rated appliance, you can improve performance over your current appliance by more than 40%. You’ll be surprised by how much money it will save you over time.

Change the Surfaces

Replacing or adding countertops, sinks, faucets, and flooring were some of the most popular projects with CR readers. Squak Mountain Stone offers an original countertop made from a rough mix of recycled paper, recycled glass fly ash, cement, and iron oxide pigments. There are dozen’s of other countertops made from recycled or sustainable materials; all you need to do is Google. When it comes to sinks and faucets, American Standard, Moen and Delta, among others, all offer water saving models.

Make Your Lighting Shine

Proper lighting makes a kitchen more inviting and safer. Update ceiling-mounted fixtures, especially dated fluorescent boxes, with a pendant lamp or a sinuously shaped track. Just remember to use LED or CFL bulbs for maximum energy efficiency.