My son reviewed the photos of This Odd House and declared it awesome. What needs to be changed? It is already distinctive. How can it be made any more so?
After explaining my plans to replace the kitchen counters with material made from recycled glass, or cork, or walnut shells, he asked how this calculation worked. What would I do with the old counters? I’d recycle them, of course. Well, why would you not recycle them by using them in their current form?
I had no answer.
The logic was obvious. If my goal was to have a small energy and resource and cost impact, to meet sustainability and steady state economy goals, I could not in clear conscience take these perfectly functional surfaces out of service.
His solution was to double down on the chessboard theme and make chess piece objects such as cookie jars and containers to hold my kitchen utensils. “The spatula is in the Rook at H1.”
Ah, but my goal is more complex than simply saving the Earth. I want to make the space my space. There will be resources and expense involved in this conversion. The Earth will have to suffer somewhat as I make my artistic expression. Can I do so in a minimal impact way?