Good (late) morning! What a fabulous day – I’m sipping the perfect dry cappuccino in an eco-friendly coffee shop in Richmond, VA.
When a great local organic grocery store, Ellwood Thompson’s, opened a coffee shop in Richmond, I knew I had to check it out. Not only was the locally-roasted, fair trade espresso at Ellwood’s Coffee tasty, but the shop itself was touted as “a sustainably built, conscientiously run, community gathering place.” Upon further investigation I found that they worked with local, sustainable, eco-friendly businesses to create the space, and I dig that.
On my first visit I discovered the most interesting counter tops I’d ever seen:
They’re made of a mix of concrete, industrial by-products, and recycled glass and other bits from the store’s own recycling bins. The soda can tabs, bottle caps, and larger bits of glass are visible, too.
Now I guess some people may not like to see recylced “trash” in their kitchen counters, but I think it looks interesting and awesome. When the day comes that I own a home, I’d love to use counters like these in my kitchen.
As for the rest of the decor in the shop? More awesomeness. The furniture was all rescued from thrift stores along the east coast, and the wood used inside the shop was reclaimed from Richmond’s old Lucky Strike Tobacco warehouse.
I even found some inexpensive art inspiration in the bathroom, of all places, where old wood and metal scraps were upcycled into a whimsical neighborhood. The houses are “painted” with paper collages. I would love to make something like this for my walls!
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a tasty cappuccino to finish, and some Blogging Your Way homework to tackle. This class has me pretty busy, so I’ll be back to post only on Wednesday and Friday this week. In the mean time, I’d love to know what you think of those counter tops: would you ever consider using them in your home?
(This post is in no way sponsored by any of the businesses mentioned, but I’d like to give a shout-out to the local RVA businesses who helped make Ellwood’s Coffee as awesome as it is: Acorn Sign Graphics, Concrete Ideas, E.T. Moore Reclaimed Timbers, and Sally Smith Ltd.)
4 Comments
Cool little tour, and yeah, I’d consider a countertop like that too.
I love the countertops, but I really like the recycled ones that have the bits of glass, not so much the soda tabs, etc. But it is a great look. Have you seen Kara paslay Designs and the concrete countertops/tabletops she and her husband make?
Ellwood Thompson’s is one of my favorite stores ever. I used to visit when I was a kid, staying with my Aunt and Uncle in Richmond. I started buying chopsticks from Ellwood Thompson’s, and now they’re special to me — probably because they’re one of the things I bought with my own money. It’s funny how kids remember these things.
yes, i would use them. we are building our business sustainably, and rebuilding furniture, mostly using old pallets and reclaimed wood. then we use eco-friendly white paint and make it looks “crisp” (that’s for Ryan). we have other projects too–a full recycling program, reusable linens for the on-site massage business (instead of the current disposable ones), and so on.
being eco-friendly is fun!