Eaton Kitchen: non-toxic cabinetry

At the center of the Eaton complete kitchen remodel are Studio Ecotopia’s custom, frameless cabinets, built entirely from sustainably harvested maple, and hand-finished with a clear, toxin-free, traditional finish.

Blending the warm minimalism of Scandinavian style with the refined elegance and wabi-sabi principles of Japanese interiors, I created cabinets that emphasized simplicity, natural materials, craftsmanship, and a harmonious balance between functionality and beauty.

Each cabinet was meticulously hand-finished with an ancient, traditional furniture finish—pure beeswax combined with purified, degummed, 100% natural linseed oil. Unlike a conventional plastic finish that merely encases the wood in a superficial gloss, this finish nourishes the wood from the inside out, enhancing the maple’s natural luster and depth, while ensuring a breathable, water-beading, and easily repairable surface. Importantly, the finish also eliminates one more needless source of microplastic and nanoplastic dust pollution from the kitchen.

Design highlights include:

• "Pantry Wall" comprised of shallow base & upper cabinets provide valuable in-kitchen pantry access, while maintaining a spacious walkway. Glass doors on the upper cabinets showcase the owner's large and aesthetically pleasing collection of gallon Mason jars filled with an array of beans, nuts, and grains.

  

• Big kitchen island work surface features a 360° toe-kick so that the chef and/or family and friends can gather around without hitting their toes on the cabinetry, no matter where they're standing.

  

• Full-height, deep trash pull-out drawer accommodates two 50 quart bins. Strategically positioned under the main food prep area— food waste is easily brushed directly into the bins. A "push-to-open" door can be opened just by tapping it with one's foot, making it easy to access waste bins when one's hands are messy.

  
  
  
  

• Angled cabinet by the glass sliding door softens what would otherwise be a sharp, hip-bruising corner.

  

• In the challenging "L" shape formed by the intersection of the base cabinet runs (aka "blind base corner cabinet"), the storage space is recovered with the use of large, heavy duty, kidney bean-shaped trays that can swing entirely out of the cabinet. Like a drawer these trays allow a top-down view of the tray's contents, eliminating the need to get on hands and knees and reach deep into the dark, disorganized shelving, or to have to dig around for items that are hidden behind other items.

Other notable details:

• Maple drawer construction, featuring ⅝” thick walls and half-blind dovetail joinery: both beautiful and tough.
  

• High quality "BluMotion" Blum hinges and drawer slides for quiet reliability.
  

• Plastic-free, sintered stone countertops are 100% rock. This eliminates another needless potential source of microplastic dust in the kitchen. By comparison, “quartz” countertops actually contain 10% “composite” (plastic), and “granite” countertops require “sealing” (which means getting coated with a layer of plastic).