Comfort zone
ABOUT 930 exhibitors crowded the annual Kitchen/Bath Industry Show here last weekend, but Tristan McManaman, marketing director for Walker Zanger, summed things up with a single sentence: “Bling is on the way out.”
He was talking about his new tile line, but the comments spoke to the show as a whole, where conspicuous consumption looked so very ’06. Comfort and function, not power or glitz, generated much of the buzz. “With the economy down, people want to surround themselves with something soft, sumptuous, luxurious,” McManaman said.
The toned-down looks included some distinctive functional designs. The Brava kitchen, introduced by Italy’s Cucine LUBE in the U.S. before its Milan debut this week, features a concealed stainless steel range and sink in an island. At the push of a button, the wood veneer counter slides back, opening up the two work areas.
Elica Collection showcased its newly available line of steel and glass range hoods. It also premiered the Star, due in 2009, which combines the filtering function of a range hood with the style of a glass chandelier.
Where style was once defined by matching styles and materials -- counters, fixtures and other details -- an emerging trend is to mix things up.
“It’s all about individuality at any segment of the market,” said Sara Ann Busby, president of the National Kitchen & Bath Assn. “Mixing laminate with granite, or buying a faucet and mixing it with handles of another style.”
Those kinds of combinations extended to new textures on display at the show, such as Robert Kuo’s line of hand-carved Chinese marble for Ann Sacks and Walker Zanger’s Matouche line of porcelain tile with crocodile, elephant and snake skin motifs.
Bamboo is taking new shapes, as seen in the Feng Shui tub and pedestal sink from Rio Grande Imports. Glass, sometimes in recycled form, is increasingly popular for floors, counter tops and tiles.
Higher manufacturing costs mean product prices are not likely to decline, but Busby said that labor costs may go down because builders are shifting from new homes to remodeling.
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