“I knew I was going to build my next house somewhere, so I was gathering materials before I even had a plan,” says Jeremiah Trotter, a carpenter and draftsman by trade. He had the property first, a triangular lot in Paukaa on the Big Island. But it took him five years to come up with the design concept. “I’ve always liked the old Hawaiian style, and I wanted something that would fit the lot, and into the neighborhood,” he says.

While considering how to build his home, Trotter stockpiled leftover tile, recycled lumber from deconstructions, surplus fixtures and trim from other projects. He even removed homeowners’ unwanted mango trees and milled the wood, which sat ready and waiting for a new life in his new home. After much thought, planning and salvaging, it was finally time to take action. He teamed up with Green Island Builders, a general contractor in Hilo. Today, Trotter is the proud owner of a new, two-story, plantation-style home.

The home features a flowing floor plan with open-beam construction, centered on an immense island and the kitchen. The kitchen focal point offers the perfect illustration of the home’s green substance. Framing its three walls and covering the ceiling is unfinished cedar from the Pacific Northwest. But this isn’t pristine wood brazenly cut from the hillside. It is cedar mined from a forest fire’s path. Each log had the U.S. Forest Service’s stamp of approval. “Nature had already taken its course,” Trotter says. He says he’s just using what was already discarded by nature.

Then it was time to make use of all of the other recycled material. The mango trees became Trotter’s handcrafted cabinetry. The beautiful native wood also created a bull nose around the counters and the island’s countertop. The extra-large island counter comfortably seats six, with enough room left over for pupus and drinks during parties. Underneath, Trotter planned room for recycling, with separate spaces for cans, plastic and newspaper.

Building a green kitchen wasn’t necessarily on Trotter’s mind as he was designing. “It was a natural flow of me being able to do what I could with what I had. I just used common sense to put it all together,” he notes. The perfect example is the kitchen’s passive cooling—vents in the ceiling open to create a breeze through the home. Trotter just wanted to give the hot air from cooking an escape. Lots of windows and big ceiling fans were also must-haves to keep the room cool, but also earned him green points. Sustainable bamboo flooring rounds out the subconscious eco-friendliness.

While going green seems to come naturally to him, Trotter does encourage other builders to follow suit. “We are using less and less harmful materials, so building has actually become more user friendly to the people on the job, as well as the homeowner,” he says. Contractors should continue to promote these practices, while homeowners can seek them out, too, he adds.