Awhile back, we profiled an eco-conscious and innovative manufacturer of “flat panels for architectural surfaces” with the unlikely name of Paperstone. Though the moniker may sound like some sort of primer on the classic pastime of Rock, Paper, Scissors, it actually refers to a patented, resource-conscious manufacturing technique in which humble paper (or a “composite of post-consumer waste and recycled paper”) is miraculously metamorphosed into “a solid surface product with a wood grain appearance.”

Eco-Sensitive Kitchen Collection. Manufactured by Bazzèo.

Bazzèo, a New Jersey-based manufacturer of products for kitchen and bath incorporates Paperstone for their doors, drawers, panels, and countertops. This decision to patronize a fellow home-grown, eco-aware manufacturer signifies an auspicious synergy, aptly characterized in the manufacturer’s enthusiastic description of their Eco-Sensitive kitchen Collection: “green, contemporary, and made in the U.S.A.!” On the subject of catch phrases, Bazzèo is also bucking for the ascendance of this gem: “as green as apple pie!” While I’m not sure if we’re quite ready for that bit of new historicism, we’re certainly ready for Bazzèo, whose conception of the kitchen is a room “free from conventional thought… without boundaries or barriers… open, multi-functional… a synergy of living and family areas.” The emphasis on a new functionality is refreshing–it’s about time that manufacturers acknowledge that the kitchen is at the very core of a home, that it’s both the crux of domestic activity and the preferred gathering place for guests (see also The Shape of Things to Come).

Those possessed of this crucial insight will marvel at Bazzèo’s “cool, clean lines and warm, rich, sexy textures–more of a Zen feel than the hard, cold laboratory kitchens we associate with high-end kitchen couture.” By incorporating Paperstone, recycled/re-generated/sustainably-harvested wood, non-toxic laminates, aluminum and glass veneers, and an appealing color palette that features “gunmetal gray,” chocolate brown,” “grass green,” “indigo blue,” and “obsidian black,” Bazzèo has created a kitchen scheme that’s contemporary as well as genial, aesthetically arresting yet user-friendly, authentically “new” and possessed of a certain appealing traditionalism. And while some part of my enthusiasm for Bazzèo is owed to what I can only term the “taming” of the harsh angle and the rigid line, I also admire the way texture and sheen become complementary here–the way the functional aspects of the cabinetry integrate seamlessly with the framing, how the components conspire to resemble a library conceived with due reverence for Dickens, Kafka, Beckett, et al…. so much more than just a simple repository for saucers, cups, and plates.

Bazzèo’s marketing aplomb deserves special mention as well. First, there’s the ingenuity of the name: the term refers to the Renaissance Italy practice of preserving left-over/used paints by combining them into a re-usable paint ball. The resultant hue (a sort of muddy green, as it turns out, appropriately enough) was used as an under-layer or primer for new works. Thus, “bazzèo” is an early example of resource-conservation. Next, there’s the generalized celebration of Bazzèo’s state-side roots–which is becoming an increasingly crucial component of a sustainable ethos (see Itoki). And last, there’s the auspicious celebrity endorsement of Entourage‘s Adrien Grenier. Not only has Grenier employed Bazzèo to refurbish his earth-friendly NYC loft (and enthusiastically agreed to let same tout this information), but the actor is also the host of the Alter Eco show on the Discovery Channel, in which eco-conscious lifestyles–and the science and products that make such lifestyles possible–take center stage. Given his own very personal investment, Grenier is sure to give hometown boys Bazzèo some much-merited attention.