Highlights from KBIS

Cabinets & Designs kitchen designer, Grace Coffman, and Wood-Mode Factory rep, Tom Steffan, just returned from KBIS in Chicago, where they saw all of the very latest and the very best in all things kitchen and bath. Grace and Tom reported back to us all of their favorite highlights and the hottest trends that they found at KBIS. We look forward to the KBIS industry show every year, because of their focus on forward-thinking, innovative products and design, and we already can’t wait for next year’s KBIS in New Orleans!

Grace’s Favorites from KBIS

Grace calls the new hardware “the jewelry of the kitchen,” and she was particularly taken with hardware by Carpe Diem; she described their products as “gorgeous!” The Swarovski crystal in ‘Paul Newman blue’ was a particular favorite. The Carpe Diem Hardware & Home Accessories collection includes knobs, pulls, appliance pulls, and bath accessories as well as gift items—all handmade in the U.S.A. All designs are available with or without Swarovski crystal accents, and Carpe Diem is an Authorized Swarovski Elements Designer & Manufacturer. The designer and founder of Carpe Diem, Anne, spent the early part of her childhood living in Europe, and you can see that influence in her works, which reflects her love of architecture, design, and nature.

Dual-zone wine storage is going to be a huge trend in residential refrigeration. True Refrigeration is an industry leader, and has been leading the way in commercial refrigeration for over 65 years. True Refrigeration appliances can be found in five-star restaurants, upscale hotels, and beverage providers around the world; their expansion into residential refrigeration allows homeowners to experience industry-quality refrigeration and customization in their homes. Following the trend toward more professional kitchens for the home cook, True Refrigeration is offering authentic, commercial-grade refrigeration for homes including wine cabinets, refrigerators, beverage centers,drawers, and beer dispensers. The True dual-zone wine storage system offers unparalleled flexibility, performance, and style to the oenophile dedicated to a serious wine collection. Exceptional features include zero-clearance hinging, LED lighting, Low-E, double pane, UV tinted glass, and two independent zones adjustable between 35 °F to 65 °F—and that’s just for starters.

Tom’s Favorites from KBIS

Tom was impressed by the products shown by Art for Everyday, a producer of architectural woodcarvings and woodturnings for the high-end kitchen design industry, as well as interior design and architectural firms. Using premium North American lumber, Art for Everyday crafts over 450 woodcarvings in 12 categories, including corbels, mantels, appliqués, mouldings, capitals, turnings, and rosettes; exotic woods can be imported upon request. We offer this option at Cabinets & Designs with our cabinetry, and you can have it stained or painted in the factory to match.

Another favorite Tom brought back from KBIS are the custom casework components from Element Designs. The products include aluminum frame cabinet doors with °eluma LED shelving and backsplashes, PARAPAN® solid surface doors, sliding door systems, and base systems. Wood-Mode is currently working on offering one of Element Designs’ new products—a back-painted glass panel that can be applied to cabinet doors, on the entire slab door, or as an insert in the frame. All of these areoffered in 20 beautiful colors, including Mint, which is Cabinets & Designs kitchen designer, Ashley Scherch’s personal favorite. Element Designs’ PARAPAN doors are UV and fade resistant, water resistant, easy to maintain, and environmentally friendly, produced with no VOCs or formaldehyde.

Wood-Mode is hoping to offer the PARAPAN solid surface doors in their line and have the ability to apply them to their slab and shaker door styles.

Have you seen something from our KBIS trip that inspires you? If you are inspired by these exciting innovations in kitchen and bath design, visit our Cabinets & Designsshowroom today.