Choice is king in fixtures and finishes
Flat, matte, geometric shapes — custom-made design has entered kitchens, bathrooms
Hard working and good looking — everyone wants that magic combination.
There was plenty of it at this year’s Kitchen and Bath Industry Show (KBIS), a 50-year-old annual event that showcased more than 500 leading brands and manufacturers from Jan. 10 to 12 in Orlando, Fla.
Designer Margot Austin, editor of the Design Edit, says the show revealed an equal focus on functionality and decoration — expressed in fine executions of both crisp geometrics and sculptural curves in fixtures of all sorts, and lots of choice in finishes and hardware.
Austin suggests that reflects how custom-made design — already common in the furniture category — has made its way into the kitchen and bathroom.
“You never have to have the exact thing your neighbour does. You can choose which stone insert is in the handle, or finish, you want,” says Austin, adding this choice also makes it easier for designers to specify custom looks.
A lot of variation stood out at the show, even within a single trend. For example, gold: seen in tones of rose, brass, copper and bronze, and offered in matte, polished and burnished finishes.
“If you’d asked me a few years ago, I would have said gold would have been over by now, but no; it’s everywhere and you can get it in such a breadth of looks and tones,” Austin says.
Geometric shapes, which have cropped up in many ways and applications, offered another avenue to make style even more individual. Austin had good things to say about faucets and hardware that combined clean, contemporary design with sound ergonomics.
“Sometimes when you go too crazy with straight, sharp lines, it just doesn’t feel good in the hand. That’s important in something you touch several times a day.”
Colour blossomed, even on faucets. Grohe’s Essence faucet can be fitted with seven jewel-toned faucet hoses.
Off the colour spectrum, black reared its moody head, adding drama to trim, faucets, hardware, light fixtures, man-made surfaces, stainless steel and other metal finishes. In short — everywhere. Expect to see it increasingly matched with burnished gold and bronze.
Flat finishes were popular in cabinetry and counter surfaces. Quebecbased manufacturer Miralis debuted, for example, its Absolute Matte line at the show: a low-maintenance, non-glare material with a smooth finish that is resistant to heat, moisture, scratches and fingerprints.
Reclaimed woods were frequently paired with blacks, metals, and natural and man-made stones. That could explain why so many people stopped to look at Stikwood: peeland-stick planks of reclaimed wood touted as an easier-to-install, affordable alternative to wood planking. It adheres to walls, ceilings, doors and cabinets, but it’s not ideal for bathrooms.
Stikwood sells internationally through its site stikwood.com (taxes and duties apply), and there are a handful of distributors in Edmonton and points west.
Handsome design accessories that provide greater accessibility to seniors who want to age at home were also on display. Ottawa-based Invisia, received a “Best of KBIS” for grab bars and seating that blend style and safety.
Austin doesn’t expect the plethora of product options to abate any time soon. “Once you give people tons and tons of choice,” she says, “I don’t think it can go away.”