KBIS 2012

Sit back and relax, maybe go grab a coffee, this is going to be a long one!

I just got back from the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show a.k.a. KBIS! This years show was in one of my favorite cities - Chicago.  KBIS is always a fun show to attend, full of new trends, innovative products and tons of inspiration. The show was smaller this year , but provided me with all kinds of blog topic ammunition.  Everyone who attends the show will walk way with different impressions, favorites and highlights. But to me, this smaller scale show (as compared to years past)  allowed certain items and trends to shine bright. So, without further adieu let me introduce you to the things that sparked my interest at this years show...

 Tile:

This tile is by Ann Saks.  These tiles are 3-dimensional and gave the space a very cool look. I love how the tiles are varying shades of gray which gives the wall even further depth. 

Close up view of 3-Dimensional tiles. Doesn't it look like the tiles are jumping off the wall?

Look at these funky tiles, which are also from Ann Saks. I loved the bright colors and patterns. 

This pattern is called "Pollen in Orange Gray." No big shock, this was my favorite of all. Two of the hottest colors of the year. Couldn't you see this tile in Tory Burch's home?!

Ann Saks had a lot to offer in terms of cool tile. There is a lot of focus on texture, dimension and pattern. Today tile is no longer just a functional component to a space, it's a form of expression.

Countertops:

As you know from previous posts, I'm a big fan of Cambria. So, this was a must see booth for me at this years show. They have launched a few new colors this year, but it wasn't the new additions that thrilled me, it was the trial slabs that were brought to KBIS to get industry feedback and opinions. These slabs don't even have names, and were only labeled with roman numerals so we could vote on our favorites. They were all nice, but there were two that really spoke to me and they were both in the gold family. Yes, you heard me right... gold countertops!!! They were beautiful! Unfortunately my camera (iphone) did not pick up on their beauty, and the pictures just don't do them justice. But, imagine it, with all the talk of brass lately, it only makes sense that this concept would flutter into countertops, and it did so beautifully.  The gold tones mixed brilliantly with other colors ranging from coppers and browns to beige and grays with the depth that only Cambria can offer to a quartz countertop. Hopefully my favorite slabs earned enough votes to become two of the new slabs introduced this year, so you can see them firsthand or at least in a clear, professionally taken picture :).

Trial Slab II: beige and gold and little bit of copper all mixed together to form this breathtaking countertop. 

Trial Slab I: This slab reminded me of a gold sequined dress. So pretty and elegant with sparkle and depth.  

Appliances:

One of the most surprising "trends" I saw at the show was black appliances. Both Wolf Sub-Zero and Dacor were showing appliances in black. Both said the black appliances were introduced because people were tired of stainless steel and wanted something different. Hmhm.....while the black appliances were pretty, I'm not sure that this is a trend that will take among the masses. A lot of people have just traded in their black appliances for stainless. Plus, in my opinion stainless is like white trim, classic. We may re-visit this topic in later blog posts but this was definitely one of the more surprising finds at this years show.

Plumbing:

 Rock Crystal, Green Onyx and Chinchilla Obsidian inserts for Kallista's Amedee Basin Sets. What a fun way to jazz up your faucets.  

This sink is by Toto and was pretty cool in that you operate the hot and cold by turning the dial on the far right of the sink. When you turn the dial to hot, it lights up red and when you turn it to cold it turns blue. I thought it was pretty snazzy :)

This is Kohler's Numi Toilet. A few posts ago I talked about the Toto Washlet, which was the splurge-a-rific toilet seat that could all but fly to space. Well, the Numi is similar in that it offers a lot of the same features, but this time instead of it being just a seat, it's the whole toilet that can show off its luxurious skills. To begin this toilet has a motion activated lid and seat, advanced bidet functionality, integrated air dryer, deodorizer (air is pulled through a powerful heated seat), feet warming, illuminated panels and music.  That's right... this toilet comes with a remote control that allows you to jam out to your favorite tunes while taking care of business.

Miscellaneous:

This is a USB wall power outlet I came across. It is essentially a traditional outlet with two USB ports built in. In today's world when most of us rely heavily on our mobile devices it can create a traffic jam of sorts in our homes with everyone trying to charge their phones, ipods, ipads, etc...at the same time. This handy outlet configuration allows you to charge your devices while still maintaining your outlet space for other important plug-in related things. Pretty cool, right!?

And Finally, the CELEBS!! We had two celebrity moments while on this trip. On Tuesday night we went to Dupont's Color Splash party where we met David Bromstad. David has several shows on HGTV and actually won Design Star seven years ago.

Here I am with fellow designers Melissa Nagle and Holly Floyd with David Bromstad.

On Wedneday while visiting the Kohler booth at the show, we ran into Monica Pedersen. Monica is from HGTV's Designed to Sell.

Again with fellow designers Holly Floyd and Melissa Nagle with Monica.

Well, there you have it, my week at the KBIS show in a nutshell, OK a big nutshell :). These shows are fun and informative and always bring you back to reality feeling inspired. I hope you enjoyed!