ALL THAT GLITTERS IS CHROME AT IDS11

Now that I'm back and basking in the sun once again, I'm busy creating a whole new Flickr site with all those photos I took to share with you.  Here are just a few to get you warmed up.

Look for the link right here at Kitchens for Living where you can view all the photos and commentary.  As soon as I post you'll be the first to know.   Just to get us started I thought I'd show you some of the faucet fashion at IDS11.   Incidentally this is the 13th IDS show and it's Canada's largest contemporary design show.  This year's event featured 300 exhibitors.  As an American designer, it was interesting to see the differences not only in taste but in product offerings just over the border.  Products and styling appear more progressive.  When I question why so many of these products are not available to us here in the USA I am told that it is not our market.  I hope they are wrong.  If we can't get it we can't buy it.  Right?

Plumbing faucet manufacturers from Moen to Riobel to Brizo showed a dazzling array of faucets of all types with one thing in common, a polished chrome finish. Fellow bloggers who had the opportunity to visit Cologne, Germany last week for the "Living Kitchen" event tell me that polished chrome is the choice in Europe as well.

Next post: The Sink of the future is here today!

Don’t forget to enter your chance to win a free Orgaline drawer organizer by leaving a comment on any post between now and February 15th! Click here to read January 14th post for details

TORONTO HERE I COME!

Yes, it's true.  I'm off again on another great adventure this time courtesy of  Blanco.  As you'll remember, last September I had the pleasure of attending design week as a guest of the uber edgy Brizo Faucets.  Click here.  Now I will be able to give you the low down the on  Blanco sinks you can pair with the amazing products at Brizo.

This Blanco press release says it best.

"Morning, noon, and night, the sink is the most frequently used area in the kitchen. From early morning, through a hectic day, an evening meal, and the solitude of late night, the sink serves as both hard working companion and fashionable focal point.

For more than 80 years, BLANCO has been a world leader in quality, innovative design and unsurpassed attention to detail. The company pioneered the use of stainless steel for kitchen sinks and was the first company to introduce hard composite materials such as Silgranit^®.

Today, BLANCO has the most extensive line of premium quality kitchen sinks offered in North America, continuing to lead the evolution of the kitchen sink area with functional concepts, striking good looks, and innovative solutions, sure to personalize the most frequently used area of the kitchen."

...And that's not all.  I will also have the pleasure of touring IDS11, Canada's largest contemporary design fair.  My press release will take me who knows where and you can join me here at Kitchens for Living.  The fun starts January 26th.  The countdown begins now!

Don't forget to enter your chance to win a free Orgaline drawer organizer by leaving a comment between now and February 15th! Click here to read January 14th post for details.

A NEW TWIST

Virage Faucet

Day one was spent learning about the Brizo fashion faucet product line and meeting some amazing and creative people from near and far.  Brizo's impressive design and marketing teams took us through the whole process from dreaming of an idea to the birth of a product which takes about a year to a year and a half to implement.  One of my favorite items was the Virage line of bath faucets.  Striking and beautiful in its simplicity,  it's a total "twist", literally.  If you look closely you can see it makes a complete twist from base to spout.

Barbes Restaurant

Trevor and Laura

Kurt and Jai

Laura and guess who?

We spent the evening dining and getting acquainted at Barbes, a Moroccan restaurant where we received our official invitation to Jason's fashion show tomorrow!  I sat with Brizo's Ad Men, Kurt and Trevor of  Young and Laramore,  Brizo's Laura Brooks, Sr. Brand Manager  and Jai Massela, Sr. Channel Marketing Manager.  I got some great insight into how this luxury division of Delta faucets came about and how they came up with the name Brizo.  More later on that.

Some of the other people I had the pleasure of chatting with are Nancy Hugo of Kitchen & Bath Chatter   , Mike Welton of Architects and Artisans, and Bob Borson of Life of an Architect  .  Click on their names to find out more about them.   Day 2 begins with a design contest and it's countdown to the fashion show!  Stay tuned. 

THREE MORE DAYS TO GO!

Jason Wu and could it be Vogue editor Anna Wintour? telegraph.co.uk

When I arrived home on Friday a Fed Ex package awaited.  Brizo sent me a beautiful leather luggage tag and catalogs featuring their beautiful plumbing fixtures.  Also included was a matching leather document pouch containing information about Jason Wu, fashion designer and Brizo partner.  Here is a quote from his bio:

"The Jason Wu Collection is the manifestation of the eclectic and diverse background of its designer Jason Wu.  Wu combines modern lifestyle dressing with the spirit of detailing of haute couture in a way that is both innovative and romantically reflective."

Very wearable fashions  bandelle.com

He is all about silhouette which makes his vision compatible with a company that produces style in the form of faucets.  All faucets yield water.  Beyond that it's all design, form, silhouette.   I have also browsed a few blogs/sites of my fellow attendees.  One of my favorites is www.splendora.com, a blog about culture and style.  Everything from home design to make up, a radar for "hip" in all its forms.  Stay tuned for more about my journey to Fashion Week with Brizo!

LET'S HEAR IT FOR NEW YORK!

Ok so I promised a run down on the first modern kitchen, which is exciting but I have something MUCH BETTER to share with you this beautiful Friday!  I am going to New York for fashion week courtesy of Brizo!  (You remember Brizo from my August 26th post, don't you?) Turns out a group of us bloggers are invited on an all expense paid trip of a lifetime to the BIG APPLE during, wait for it, FASHION WEEK!  We will be attending, not only Jason Wu's fashion show, but also the following cocktail party and viewing of The Showtime House.  Spanning three exclusive condos, this second annual multimedia showhouse creates modern living spaces- featuring Brizo products- designed by notable designers and inspired by these award-winning , original Showtime series: Nurse Jackie, Dexter, Weeds, Californication, The Borgias and The Big C.  I invite you to come on the journey with me starting NOW.  The countdown starts today.  

 Between now and when my plane takes off on September 9th I will introduce you to the other fantastic bloggers and report all the juicy details of the big event as they unfold.  Since I just can't seem to get JZ and Alicia out of my head I'm going to share it with you too.  So click here, hit that "full screen" button, turn up the sound and celebrate this little bit of luck and sing along with me!

"...these streets will make you feel brand new.  Their lights will inspire you.  Let's hear it for New York!"

DESIGN STAR'S ON TO SOMETHING

Emily Henderson Design Star 2010

An apartment that looks like Tom for the win!

I don't know about you but I LOVE my HGTV.  One of my favorite treats is the show Design Star, quickly followed by The Antonio Treatment, House Hunters International and sometimes Divine Design.  I digress.  The winning designer of Design Star gets their own HGTV show based on their unique concept.  This season's recently crowned winner was Emily Henderson.  Her concept is Style to Lifestyle, meaning she takes your own personal fashion statement and turns it into a lifestyle design statement.  For the win she interpreted Tom's look into an apartment decor.  

Tom's Look

It's all about the connection between fashion and interior design.  Yes, it's all connected.  One informs the other.  Another great example of that is the stylish plumbing fixture manufacturer Brizo.  

Brizo's signature kitchen faucet (posing as a flirty little dress?)

Jason Wu's flirty little dress!  Get it?

They are all about style and what better way to emphasize that than by connecting with the world of fashion design, which is just what they've done.  Since 2006, Brizo has partnered with fashion designer Jason Wu, a finalist in the CFDA/Vogue fashion fund and the designer of Michelle Obama's Inauguration Ball gown. As part of this unique collaboration, Brizo sponsors Jason's shows at New York Fashion Week, and Jason has designed dresses used in Brizo advertising.  Check it out at  www.brizo.com There's no reason not to add a little fashion to your kitchen.