As you know, I'll be heading off on Sunday to immerse myself in all the magic of KBIS2015, courtesy of super design site Modenus. This is a HUGE show for our industry and you can be sure I'll be partying taking careful notes and lots of pics to share with my blog peeps! 
I'll be posting recaps here upon my return but if you'd like to follow along in real time please LIKE my new Face Book page, Kitchens for Living or you can follow me on Twitter and Instagram. If you're planning a new kitchen, listen up! We're about to unleash upon you all the latest product and design info you need to plan for your home.
Don't forget to check Modenus to see what all the Blog Tour Bloggers are saying. These pics are a preview of the Blog Tour sponsor line up. That means that you'll be hearing more about this diverse group of industry favorites as I learn about them.
Now if you made it all the way to the end of this blog post, ladies (and certain gents), you shall be rewarded. 
Stay tuned for more about all these brands and more!
Jet Set for the Bath
In my world of kitchen and bath design, just when I think I’ve seen it all, I realize that’s very far from the truth. Luckily, I see all the drool worthy newness hot off the press via the myriad news releases I receive every day. Here is one new product I recently learned about. I think you'll agree it's not to be missed!
Not only do I love the dependable functionality of the Delta/Brizo brand, but I’m always intrigued in the creative process they use in coming up with new design. Brizo Faucets has outdone themselves again with their new Sotria Collection. Think mid-century-jet-set-streamlined-fins-you get the picture. The sleek angular lines call to mind the days when the iconic Pan American World Airlines ruled the sky. At the risk of dating myself bigtime, I'll admit my dad actually worked for Pan Am so I was a lucky enough to be a jet-setting tot! 
Playing off the Sotria collection’s mid-century inspiration, Adele Young, of VDL Interiors, infused colors and shapes popular in the 60’s throughout this space. The result? A beautiful room brimming with modernity while hinting at the retro age of “Pan Am” airlines. 
Hot Trends Make a Big Splash at KBIS 2014
As many of you know, the Kitchen and Bath masses gathered in Las Vegas February 4-6 for their annual pilgrimage to KBIS, the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show. This year the event was part of Design & Construction Week, a new concept, merging KBIS with IBS, the International Builder’s Show. As a result, it was bigger and better than ever. Let’s hope that what happened there does NOT stay there !
Maybe I should limit that to kitchen and bath industry products and trends ;) Uber interior design resource Modenus hosted their latest Blogtour group who covered the event in a big way! You can get the entire scoop here.So what is trending, you may ask? Here’s the latest scoop from Kitchen & Bath Design News and KBIS co-sponsors, the National Kitchen & Bath Association:
Let there be light. Yes we’re used to lights in the refrigerator but now we’re adding LED lighting to cabinetry as well.
Make that matte. Last year I noticed a growing interest in matte finishes and it’s even more so this year. One such surface is the new Dekton by Cosentino. It's an ultra compact surface including quartz, porcelain and glass. This makes it perfect for both indoor and outdoor use, even better than quartz as it's UV resistant and can withstand extreme heat.
Keep it simple. NKBA President John Petrie, CMKBDT tells us, "while transitional styles are still number one, we see kitchen design trending more contemporary this year, with clean , simple lines: less clutter and little ornamentation".Quartz rocks, especially if it’s patterned! Homeowners have discovered quartz but they're not willing to give up the pattern and movement found in natural stone products like granite and marble. New finishes by Cambria let you have the best of both worlds.
Cambria's Waterstone Collection captures the depth and beauty of marble and granite while offering the superior strength and performance of quartz. (Here's something for you "traditionalists", they clearly didn't get the message about contemporary in this kitchen!)Gadgets, gadgets, gadgets, We may like our cabinetry look pared down but gimme the gadgets! Technology reigns, ie anything touch operated or digital.
The new Temp20 Technology by Delta Faucets boasts a digital temperature display that saves you the shock or injury from water that's not the temperature you were expecting. When the temperature is less than 80 degrees the LED display will glow blue. It's magenta from 80-110 and red when it's above that. You can get this feature on your Delta faucet this spring.
A bath to come home to, trends in the bathroom focus on customization and spa ambiance. In the high end markets, free standing tubs are all the rage. They are functional and sculptural at the same time. We are also understanding the benefits of hydrotherapy as in soaking tubs and steam baths.Additional features you may want to include in your new kitchens and baths include the following:-Induction cooktops (and now ranges too!)-Steam ovens-French-door refrigerators (duh, I think we all know that already!)-Bottom freezer drawers (ditto of above)-Touch activated faucets-Electronic (no touch) faucets-LED lighting-Charging stations-Pet stationsI believe all of the above are here to stay, at least in the foreseeable future, and the technology will only get better.
Ever Wonder Where a Delta or Brizo Faucet Comes From?
Is this some cutting edge art installation? Although it's beautiful, it's not! What you see is a PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) chamber at the Delta Faucet Plant in Jackson, Tennessee.
Delta's trademark BRILLIANCE anti-tarnish finish is applied here, not only adding color but providing heavy duty abrasion resistance to their faucets.This was just one of the things I learned about on day two of the Brizo Blogger 19 Reunion. (Click here to read about day one at St. Jude's) I always love to visit plants and factories because it gives me so much more information to help my clients make the right choices for there home.
American manufacturing is alive and well at Delta Faucet Company which also produces the luxury line of Brizo Faucets. The plant, located in Jackson, Tennessee is about midway between Memphis and Nashville. They employ around 900 workers operating in about 600,000 square feet.
What impressed me was the level of quality control I saw. Everything was oriented towards helping employees to make the best products as safely and efficiently as possible. There's a lot of creative machining and engineering going on but it's not all automated. This factory is very people focussed. Each faucet is actually hand made and 100% of product is tested before being sent out into the world.
Delta and Brizo faucets are also known for their trademarked DIAMOND SEAL technology. This is the little mechanism inside that dictates water flow and temperature. Yes, there are actually diamonds in there! Diamonds lubricate moving parts without need for lubricants. This eliminates even trace amounts of lead. What this means for the consumer is that a Delta or Brizo faucet is safe and durable lasting up to 5 million uses – up to 10 times longer than the industry standard!Last but not least we can't leave the factory without mentioning what I consider to be the Delta Brizo crowning glory, the trademarked Brizo SMARTTOUCH technology. In Delta products it's called TOUCH20. All SmartTouch/Touch20 (touch on, touch off ) products undergo extensive testing. Yes, every single one! In addition my favorite, the Brizo Odin electronic lavatory faucet now sports SMARTTOUCH PLUS technology which means it can also be used totally hands free.
Back at the hotel we were able to preview top secret products in development as well as the new line of Brizo freestanding tub fillers. We also learned that all "touch technology" is not created equal and were able to experiment with a wide variety of products, many of which use the infrared method that we frequently see in public bathrooms. In my opinion there was a big difference between how these products function compared to the Delta products which function using the static electricity we carry in our bodies! The human body conducts electricity. The surface of the faucet conducts that energy activating a solenoid (on/off switch) under the sink. The result seems to be much more dependable. I tested Moen, Kholer and Hansgrohe, so basically all price points. Though none were perfect, to me the most expensive Hansgrohe was the worst!
We ended the day with a demonstration of the newest showering phenomenon, H20KINETICS. Wow! It's a very wet, very satisfying shower with LESS water. Check it out. The H20KINETICS shower on the left as seen with an infrared light vs. a typical sprinkling showerhead. You can see the strands of water seem turbo charged!I want to thank Brizo for a most amazing experience. It's always great to connect with people I am proud to call my peers and to learn a great deal in the process.
Blanco Makes a Splash!
For the last few years I have been honored to be a member of the Blanco Design Council. This means I’m on the main line when it comes to inside information about their products. BLANCO, of course, is the German manufacturer of finely crafted sinks and faucets. Their SILGRANIT II sinks are a particular favorite of mine and you should definitely know about them if you’re considering a kitchen remodel. If you don’t know about SILGRANIT II, see my previous post here. As a kick off to KBIS2013, I got to see the newest BLANCO happenings in New Orleans with a Cajun-styled experience called The Kitchen Unmasked. This joint venture featuring Blanco, Poggenpohl and Silestone was held at the beautiful Nordic Kitchens showroom and was one of our stops on the Modenus Blog Tour.
The latest SILGRANIT II color, Cinder, is all the rage. It’s a stormy striking combo of dark gray with some black and rich brown thrown into the mix. I think it’s the perfect color to go with all the new luscious shades of gray we’re seeing. It’s on trend yet neutral at the same time. The new SILGRANIT II series of sinks also includes HYGIENIC+PLUS™ a patented formula that acts as a shield against dirt and bacteria. Independent laboratory tests confirm that the unique built-in hygiene protection reduces bacterial growth by an average of 98%.My favorite addition to the SILGRANIT II collection is the Modex sink (at top). The next kitchen I design for myself (hoping) will have this sink. I love it. It adds a bit of architecture to the kitchen! Modex features a unique 3” profile that sits on the counter and includes a large integrated cutting board. It’s not just a sink, but a workstation.Speaking of work, did you know your faucet is the most abused item in your kitchen? BLANCO's well known German engineering ensures that you have a product that will stand up to the test. BLANCO also launched a new line of water saving faucets including Grace II, Alta, Highland and Napa. 
“Our latest collection of faucets offer livable style,” stated Tim Maicher, Director of Marketing for BLANCO. “When we say livable style, we are referencing style that leads trends while integrating into any kitchen design. At the same time, we are talking about the faucets’ functionality. We engineer BLANCO faucets to last, to use less water, to provide unmatched cleaning and to be as easy to use as they are to maintain.” I’ve had a blast telling you about all the products I learned about on the Modenus Blog Tour. A big thank you to Veronika Miller and her team at Modenus as well as all the fabulous sponsors including Blanco, Poggenpohl, Cosentino, National Kitchen & Bath Association, Kitchen & Bath Industry Show 2013, Mr. Steam, TOTO and Du Verre Hardware. It truly was a most memorable and enjoyable experience to see New Orleans in this way. To me, the best part of all was the people, both meeting the sweet good- natured, perservering locals as well as enjoying the community of those who I’m honored to call my peers. I hope you’ve enjoyed following along and have learned a thing or two in the process that will help you know what to look for when shopping for kitchen and bath products. Click here to see ALL my photos and commentary from Blog Tour NOLA!
TOTO, Total Luxury with a Conscience
There's nothing more luxurious than a TOTO toilet. There, I said it. Even the "design civilians" know about the TOTO toilet with tush cleaning features but since learning about this amazing company, in depth, I have begun to notice that TOTO toilets are literally everywhere! When you visit restaurants, airports, hotels and any number of commercial locations, check the toilet. It's probably TOTO. There's a good reason for that. Their products start with really listening to people and discovering what they need. They call it "People First Innovation".TOTO is the world’s largest plumbing products manufacturer offering a complete line of commercial and residential decorative plumbing fixtures including, not only toilets but showers, faucets, lavatories and more. They're at the top because they achieve a seamless integration of performance, conservation, technology and innovation. No small order and they've been doing it for over 90 years. TOTO was founded in Japan in 1917 and continues to be a global company with TOTO USA headquarters and state-of-art plant located in Morrow Georgia.We both know a TOTO product is an investment so let me tell you what you're paying for. Countless layers and hours of research and development are spent which results in superb performance and products that are environmentally responsible. Quality and worry-free fixtures translate into money savings and, even better, peace of mind. I'm not joking when I say research. While on the Modenus Blog Tour, I spoke with Lenora Campos, TOTO PR guru, who explained that TOTO studies, in depth, every possible type of matter that is likely to end up in the bowl. They are intrepid. TOTO's Dual-Max® flushing system, found on several of their most popular High Efficiency Toilets, offers the option of a 1.6 gallon flush or 0.9 gallon flush based upon need. I've heard consumers complain about the inefficiency of the one gallon flush. My answer to that is that quality varies in all products. The one gallon flush is not going away and I can tell you with TOTO it's a win-win concept. Even the materials used help conserve your time and water. SanaGloss® ceramic glaze - prevents debris, mold from sticking to ceramic surfaces, leading to fewer chemicals and less water in cleaning.In addition to the famous NEOREST toilet, TOTO also makes what they call a Washlet toilet seat which offers the same personal cleaning system that uses warm, aerated water to clean (similar to a bidet) and can fit right onto your existing bowl. All you need is an electrical outlet in the vicinity. Still not sure? You can actually try one out for yourself at a number of establishments. Click here to see where they are.
I was able to view many of the TOTO products at the recent Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS) last month. The product selection extends beyond their famous toilets. I loved the Rain Showerheads. Not only are they lovely to look at but somehow they are able to make less water feel like more!
The Wyeth Collection also embodies TOTO's People First Innovation philosophy. A part of that is it's extreme "environmentally friendliness". It consumes only 1.5 gallons of water per minute without sacrificing an ounce of performance. The transitional design is also the product of consumer research. This look will be at home in a variety of decors. Wyeth tub and shower faucets are also available. Click here to visit TOTO's comprehensive website where you can see the many features and technologies they incorporate into their products. 