While attending KBIS is always an inspiring trip, attending this year with DesignHounds was truly on another level. Thanks to our generous sponsors we were put up in the classiest of accommodations, ate all sorts of fabulous food, and got to do some seriously amazing networking. Though I’m shouting out the wonderful folks that treated us to such an amazing experience, If you know me, you know I will never be anything less than honest with my feedback… and if it isn’t perfect I’m gonna let you know. Lucky for our sponsors, after listening to their teams talk about their products or programs, and the research and thought behind their development, I could not be more excited to utilize in our own designs. Big thanks to KBIS itself, NKBA Global Connect, Signature Kitchen Suites, Compac Surfaces, Mr. Steam & Westlake Royal Building Products for making this trip possible. And, for the sake of it not turning into a novel, I’m going to keep this post focused on KBIS, with a separate post highlighting IBS & Westlake Royal.
Now if you’re not in the industry – what the heck is KBIS? KBIS is the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show, it is put on by the National Kitchen & Bath Association. Since 2014 it has been co-located with the International Builders Show (IBS) run by the National Association of Homebuilders. For us in the design & construction industry, having these two shows co-located makes it easy to justify attending at least bi-annually, as there is quite a bit of overlap in vendors between the two segments of the industry. Especially when you run a business that is both design and construction like ours! One of my other favorite aspects of the show is the insane amount of education that is available to you when you attend. Though my schedule was too packed this time to attend any credited courses, the sheer amount of product knowledge you can pickup touring the booths and attending talks & presentations is truly amazing.
So what exactly were the key things we picked up on during our trip?
ALL CUSTOM EVERYTHING
Now that millennials are finally in the demographic companies are targeting the’ve figured out the absolute last thing we want is the same thing as everyone else! With so many of the appliance brands, it felt like the focus of their booth was the ability to customize & make their product your own either visually or organizationally with interchangeable handle, flexible zones, and even removable glass panels like at LG, Hardware companies with their already extensive offerings even got in on the fun with Emtek offering a customizable hardware bar showcasing their Emtek Select line, and Keeler Brass Company’s Anthology Collection with their totally chic Designer Toolkit.
Don’t be shy with COLOR!
After practically screaming that we need more bright, colorful options at just about every vendor for the past 10 years, they heard me (and I think the rest of America also finally got onboard!) Even appliance companies seem to understand that we are bored of neutral grey s and whites and craving some color because neutral booths were few and far between. It seemed like every vendor had at least one fun bright color they were rolling out – and some had many! Of course, you know I spotted every orange thing on the floor and I will say, that color seems to be a rare one, but given it is not the most popular color (though it’s the best one!) I guess I can excuse it. Lots of rich jewel tones which will be a hit for us and lots of coastal blues and greens which isn’t as much our market, but I’ll always appreciate a wider spectrum of green offerings and blue is basically a neutral to me so, yay!
Walnut and White Oak are the only woods worth having.
Ok I’m sort of joking with this one, go with whatever wood you love and fits your home architecturally, but if we’re looking at show displays… I don’t think I saw a single wood finish that wasn’t Walnut or White Oak in the entirety of KBIS. They happen to be my two favorites, so no complaints from me – but I did find it pretty striking to see nothing else at all.
Every Quartzite I love comes from Brazil!
Now, I may be lucky enough to live next to one of the greatest marble quarries in the world, but a lot of times Marble is not the right choice for clients who want to worry a bit less about their counters, but aren’t quite ready to give up on the natural beauty of stone… or to settle for a Granite that gives major builder vibes! That is where my favorite type of stone, Quartzite comes into play, its always gorgeous with dramatic veining, but comes in a multitude of colors, patterns, and it is a little bit more durable than a marble, but not quite as hardy as granite. It’s a great way to dip your toes into more delicate natural materials without the high maintenance that comes with marble or soapstone. While I’m intimately familiar with the material & have installed it many times, I sort of assumed it was coming from different places all over the world, so imagine my surprise when I walked into the Centrorochas booth in the NKBA Global Connect section of the show to most of the quartzites I love are all from Brazil! We actually just finished installing 5 slabs of their “Taj Mahal” quartzite on our West Road project.
Sustainability & Silica were the focus in Quartz
You might have heard buzzy headlines about how Silica is the new Asbestos & going to kill everyone in the stone industry. While it all sounds scary, silica is a base component of all stone and is only dangerous when in the form of a powder, which is why its such a hazard in stone fabrication – but not something that’s gonna hurt you as the end user. Now, I’m going to leave it there because Silica is one big can of worms to open and I could probably give a TED talk on it with no notice, but one of the big things I noticed with all of the Manufactured stone vendors exhibiting was that they all had some kind of answer for the Silicosis issue, whether it was designs with a low silica content or silica-free* and there was a huge focus on sustainability. I really loved visiting the Compac Surfaces booth and learning about their sustainability initiatives. Not only are they committed to developing new materials that are low in silica, but their Terrazzo line, which they have been producing since the 70s is already almost silica free because of its composition! I chose to highlight this line, specifically the color “Petra Estremoz,” a solid soft white base with colorful stone aggregate, because I think is the perfect understated way to bring some color into a neutral space without it feeling overwhelming. *please note that we don’t really back the claim that a material with stone content can be silica free because its part of the mineral composition of stone, the term “no silica added” would be more accurate but doesn’t sound as good in marketing… again we can get into this more in a silica specific post!
CURVES ARE THE MOMENT!
One thing we couldn’t help but notice is that curves were here to bring the drama in so many ways! From Thompson Traders’s new Permanente collection to Ann Sack’s new solid stone collection, including an insane solid marble bathtub & and another of my DesignHounds Favorite Finds, the Evelyn console sink, curves were everywhere. Even Cambria, known for their angular displays and clean lines rolled out a massive undulating wall of stone cut into curves and I don’t think I saw a single vignette at their booth that didn’t feature a prominent curve. Reeded tambour details, archways, and curved countertops were also extremely popular. While I always love the soft natural vibe a curve can bring – this is the one I’m also putting on *TREND WATCH* PROCEED WITH CAUTION! because we are seeing them literally everywhere and often for no reason. While I think arches & curves will always be a classic, we wanna be real careful when everyone is doing something because 10 years from now if it isn’t architecturally appropriate for your house and it isn’t the hot thing anymore, we all are gonna know you remodeled in the 2020s! That’s not to say steer clear, we love circles, undulating shapes, and all sorts of curves…. but maybe stay away from the arches that look like the top of a popsicle stick and covering everything in reeding (unless you love it with your whole heart and don’t mind updating later!)
GOLD isn’t going anywhere, but it is getting better!
You’ve seen the bright brushed yellow gold that’s been trending like crazy for the past few years, but have you been paying attention to some of the softer gold tones gaining popularity like Aged Brass, Unlaquered Brass (which starts off shiny but patinas beautifully), or Moen’s new Bronzed Gold finish. I’ve always loved the character of a bit of a deeper brass tone (as evidenced heavily in my own home!) so I am so thrilled to have more options, especially in the plumbing space. Another one of my DesignHound’s Favorite Finds was the Smyth collection from Moen, not just for it’s beautiful finish but for also being the perfect thing for an older home when you’re looking for an update but still want to stay true to the homes roots.
Convenience is Key
Another key theme in many booths was how absolutely BUSY all our lives are. I hope someday we figure out a way to all slow the hell down – but until then I will take every morsel of convenience I can get my hands on! SKS’s Speed oven with no preheat that can cook my toddler something ultra fast and minimize the time I spend being yelled at in baby sign language? Yes please! Wireless charging that actually looks beautiful built into counters like Freepower.io – Sign me up! I especially loved when convinience overlapped with beauty, like the drawer organizers & medicine cabinet I saw at BauTeam which were just gorgeous, but also so well thought out. Other functional favorites were from LG, both their Styler home dry cleaner/steamer which I have been wanting for a while, and their revolutionary single cycle washer dryer combo which will save you from ever forgetting to flip the laundry again. If you’re like me and cannot remember to come back to things an hour later… thats a damn game changer!
AND FINALLY – MY AMAZING DESIGN HOUNDS!
Wow, how inspiring was it to be included with such a wonderful & talented group of people?! After spending a week talking with all of these women (and Micheal!) I went home feeling like I had taken a masterclass in running a successful design business. The connection & knowledge I gained spending time with all these wonderful women on what Florence, our organizer & KBIS guide extraordinaire called “their busiest trip” I can only imagine how enriching some of their slower paced trips will be (and I hope to get to participate in more!). Vanessa Francis Design aka @decorhappy was one of my OG Monday blog reads when I was first working in the industry so I was thrilled to get to connect with her in real life. I’ve been listening to Sara Lynn Brennan on Luann Nigara’s A Well Designed Business podcast for years so getting to spend a week with her – and a day at the spa – before she launched her amazing new store, was pretty dang cool! I also really loved getting to meet Jennifer Burt of Mississippi Maximalism, we are both old house lovers & she is getting her degree in historic preservation so she is gonna come check out Hildene with me someday soon as inspiration. And Jaclyn Issac of Doni Douglas Designs, not only do I love her work, but getting to vibe with someone in the same phase of life (our daughters are two months apart) was so nice! And LISA, Lisa Mende helped me give myself permission to be my over the top extra self who loves all things luxe and to stop feeling guilty about it and to embrace it and she is just the best. But the best content of the trip hands down has got to go to Ashley Ross of Muse Noire Interiors, I’m still giggling over her ‘Twas the Night Before KBIS post, and I mean I was literally taking notes watching her content like uhh why was I not getting video like this??? I’m totally bringing a tripod next time! Thank you to Veronika, Florence, & Sarah, the force behind DesignHounds for making this amazing experience possible, it was truly unforgettable.
