In 2006 I had the opportunity to spend a morning at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC, dreaming my way through their green home exhibit. It was a remarkable and eye-opening experience.
The exhibit was housed, literally, in a green home called the Glide House. It was one of 10 Glide Houses that had, at that point, been designed by Northern California architect Michelle Kaufman and her company.
The house was filled with ideas for sustainable organic living and I will probably come back to it many times to talk about some of the things I saw there, But the best part of the house was the kitchen and the best part of the kitchen were the countertops. The featured countertops were made of Paperstone - more about that in a minute, but there were an incredible variety of eco-friendly materials displayed that are recycled and/or recyclable, sustainable, tough, and very, very beautiful. They were made of glass, metal, concrete - and paper. Unfortunately most were not cheap, but at worst they were competitive with today's premier products such as marble, granite, and soapstone.
Paperstone has been on the market since 2001 and has received a number of certifications and awards, but perhaps not the recognition it deserves. There are three product series; "Original" which is made from 100 percent post-consumer recycled cardboard, "Certified" made from 100 percent post-consumer office papers, and a third, virgin, made from virgin paper fibers. All three varieties are compressed using petroleum-free phenolic resins made partially from cashew shells. The "Certified" version is certified through the Smartwood Program of the Rainforest Alliance.
The product comes in 12 colors but the colors are specific to the product series. The virgin is available only in "leather" while the other two series each have five or six unique colors.
Paperstone is recommended for many horizontal uses such as cutting boards, window sills, door thresholds, table tops, and furniture. The Original and Certified products are also suitable for some vertical applications such as paneling (interior and exterior) and cabinet boxes.
Paperstone is abrasion resistant, highly non-absorbent, stain resistant and has a Class A fire rating. It is susceptible to color shifting with high exposure to UV lighting and the colors will also "age". It has also scored extremely well in tests for formaldehyde off-gassing.
The product comes in thicknesses of ¾" and 1-1/4" and in standard panels of 60" x 144." Other sizes are available with special order.
Paperstone carries a price tag very similar to granite but it can be easily worked with carpentry tools so there may be significant cost savings on installation.
One of the inventors of Paperstone has now formed a new company that is making another countertop product called Eco-Top. We will take a look at it on Monday.