Pet showers and voice-activated toilets: Whats new in kitchen and bath products – Houston Chronicle

These days, consumer tastes lean toward a more transitional or contemporary aesthetic, and technology has enhanced virtually everything we buy. This holds true for the new kitchen and bathroom products that were introduced by manufacturers at this years Kitchen & Bath Industry Show in Las Vegas.

New debuts included sleeker cabinets and hardware; counters and tile that are more durable than ever; and technology so finely tuned that we can ask a faucet to give us 8 ounces of water at 100 degrees or command a toilet to flush without ever touching a knob.

Everyone was talking about integrating technology, said Agha Mo, a Houston tile and marketing consultant. How products in your home will recognize its you and what time of day it is and what your mood is and turn on lights and music accordingly. Then when you leave the room the lights go off. The idea is super amazing.

Mo, as well as designers Diana Walker of Diana S. Walker Interior Design and Melanie Heinrich of TriFection Remodeling and Construction, attended the trade show and reported back on top trends they spotted.

New products are utilizing voice technology in more refined and responsive ways.

Kohlers 2.0 version of its fancy Numi toilet is so sleek you barely know its a toilet. With a $7,000 price tag, it senses your arrival and lifts its lid automatically and has built-in Alexa voice controls, so the virtual assistant can call up your favorite music, create ambient mood lighting and flush on command.

Simpler examples come in other plumbing fixtures, such as touchless faucets that deliver water at certain temperatures and in any quantity you want, from a tablespoon to a cup or more.

Everything can be done by voice. Technology is taking over everything, Walker said. Dont be afraid of it, its coming, and it will be the way everything happens in the future.

Gray and white arent going away completely, but theyll surely take a back seat to warmer neutrals and more color overall, the designers said of the variety of colors they saw in cabinets and appliances.

I noticed a lot more color a lot of mixed-use bright colors across plumbing and appliances, Heinrich said. Blue is big this year, and what I saw for next year is a deep green. Those natural colors are really trending as we get out of the gray and white age.

Appliance makers already jumped on the blue wave prompted by Pantones announcement of Classic Blue as its 2020 Color of the Year, with GEs lineup soon to include blue, joining companies such as Viking, Thermador, BlueStar, Big Chill, La Cornue, Lacanche and Bertazzoni, all of which offer appliances in a variety of colors.

Wolf, Thermador and Gagganeau came out with more color two years ago, but this years exhibit was really out of the box, Walker said.

The trend toward contemporary design affected cabinets in a big way, with Heinrich noticing more installed flush with walls an installation more common in modern design.

European cabinets are made in modules and installed in removable sections, and Walker marveled at the Nobilia brand that billed its cabinets as a forever kitchen that you could uninstall and take with you when you move provided you could find a home buyer who wants an empty kitchen.

That method could come in handy in flood-prone areas, she noted. Imagine if you had something like a Harvey incident; you would take them out, clean them up and put them back in your house. Thats how they do it in Europe, and its a game changer if you like contemporary style.

For another take on appliances, we might be more likely to see appliances blending in with cabinets as matching panels cover up our dishwashers, microwave ovens and even our refrigerators.

I saw a lot of panel-front appliances, with wood and other materials, Mo said. I saw some covered in fabric that looked like a sofa cushion. People are really taking it to the next level.

Mo noted ongoing trends in the tile industry, where improvements in porcelain tile and slabs have made it look better and be more durable.

Plain white subway tile isnt likely to ever go out of style, and Mo said he saw new versions of it in glassier materials, as well as a number of booths using Moroccan tile in bold colors and patterns as backsplashes.

Manufactured stone continues to grow in popularity, for its improved appearance and tough exterior. Cosentino and Cambria made a good showing in Vegas, with both launching numerous new patterns. Cambria launched 20 new designs as well as a new collaboration with furniture manufacturer Room & Board that uses Cambrias man-made stone on tables and other items.

Cosentino added more patterns to its Dekton, Silestone and Sensa collections, including some that mimic popular types of quartzite and onyx.

Never before have our passions and our indulgences been showcased so much in our homes.

For our pets, KBIS showed a fancy glass-enclosed shower and refrigerated drawers for use in utility/pet rooms for those who feed their pooches fresh food and want to keep it separate from human food.

For those who cant be too far from their favorite cold beverages, Thermador showed a vignette with a refrigerated drawer built into a bathroom makeup vanity, Heinrich said.

One of Walkers favorites was the Plum wine dispenser, a small, self-cleaning refrigerated unit that holds two bottles of wine and dispenses the beverage through a needle to prevent oxidation. Its technology scans the bottles label to identify the varietal, vintage, region and winery.

GE and Monogram both have come out with a machine that can make clear ice, Mo said, excitedly. Man, I am in love with that. Im not joking, it looked like you had crystal balls in your glass.

diane.cowen@chron.com

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Original post:
Pet showers and voice-activated toilets: Whats new in kitchen and bath products - Houston Chronicle