Is it just me, or do some of the latest bath faucets seem to lean more toward the classic or traditional than the modern?

Similarly, for the kitchen, Rohl showed Cinquanta, a refreshed version of its Italian Country Kitchen Faucet. The name is a reference to the 50th anniversary of the faucet maker Nicolazzi, which is based in Alzo, Italy, a town also known as the “Village of Faucets.”

A modern kitchen faucet was also on display, as were a dual-flush toilet, water-saving showerheads, a Shaws apron front sink with casement edging

and of course, the eye-catching copper stainless sink.

But back to classic inspiration. Amerock showed Abernathy, a mixed material hardware collection that I guess could go traditional or somewhat contemporary (even though it feels more the former to me) and features 1-in.-sq. knobs in three finishes: oil-rubbed bronze, antique silver and satin nickel (below):

For use in large spaces or on appliances, Amerock has introduced 48 oversized pulls, which range in length from 3 in. to 18 in, as well as large knobs in a diversity of shapes. The new hardware comprises extensions to several of the company’s collections, such as Candler, Extensity, Atherly and Essential’Z.

Top Knobs’ Sanctuary II is European-inspired and consists of 30 pieces that can be mixed and matched for a customized look. The line comes in six finishes, including white, aluminum and stainless steel.

The company also showed Cobblestone, which I found interesting.

At the Berenson Hardware booth, I saw the new collections inspired by and named after breast cancer survivors, as well as offerings from R. Christensen, a brand with which I was not familiar. I’m always excited when I come across a company that’s new to me, especially one producing several attractive contemporary-style knobs and pulls:

Finally, I always end up visiting the Kohler booth on the last day of KBIS. I’m not sure why except for the simple reason that it isn’t as crowded and noisy then. As KBIS regulars know, the company’s booth is consistently mobbed each year, and sometimes, seeing new products and learning about them can be a little difficult. And there’s always a lot to see, so I’ll just limit this post to three.

First up is Gilded Meadow, the newest pattern to be added to the company’s Artist Editions collection of bath sinks. It’s available in two colors: Translucent Cashmere and Translucent Blue, both of which are offered with gold or platinum accents.

The sinks measures 16 1/4 in. in diameter. Coordinating 2 1/2-in. x 8-in. tiles are also available.

Although Kohler’s VibrAcoustic sound therapy technology is not new (we ran a piece on it in the magazine—I’ll have to dig it up), it is now available in its Underscore tubs, which comprises nine acrylic models that range in size from 60 in. x 30 in. to 72 in. x 42 in.,; a 48-in. x 48-in. cube-shaped design is also available.

As part of the booth tour, I had the opportunity to try out the Bask heated surface—also offered on the Underscore tubs—which warms the neck and back and offers three temperature settings.

While it’s an oh-so-comfortable feature not only for conventional tubs, I imagine that it would also be great for walk-in models, which require bathers to sit and wait for the tub to fill and drain before and after a bath, respectively.

Look for more post-show coverage in the May/June issue of K+BB Magazine.

It’s probably wrong of me to start off this post with this bad photo I took at the Cosentino/Silestone booth, but it does show some of the bath offerings that were on display at the company’s booth. I like the shower tray’s lively pop of color, which, in the right hands, could go a long way in brightening one’s mood in the morning. It’s part of a larger collection, which I was fortunate enough to see in Spain last fall but had to keep mum about until now.

The highlight of the booth was the new Stonium Series, a collection of six Silestone designs that aren’t shy with their veining or color. Available in 63-in. x 128-in. slabs with a 1-, 2- or 3-cm thickness, they include Siridium,

Dinux,

Zirix,

Zinite,

Vortium

and my favorite, Tritium. I’m not a designer, but wouldn’t this look “hot” atop a stainless-steel cabinet island with legs?

Speaking of hot, but in a far more exotic way, Ann Sacks’ new Shagreen collection features bone-bordered black stingray skin tiles in 4-in. x 5-in., 5-in. x 8-in. and 8-in. x 10-in. formats.

Because each is accented with a whitish spine marking, called a “star,” seeing a group of the tiles together vaguely reminded me of Ross Bleckner’s black-and-white paintings about AIDS, which I saw in a slideshow in college. Bleckner had come to give the graduate art students (not me) a talk about his work and their work. He said something about the latter being too serious before launching into a presentation of his own paintings. I think the irony was lost on him. But I digress…

If Shagreen is too groovy for you, Ann Sacks showed plenty of other options, including a fun, brightly colored collection by Neisha Crosland and a Petrified Wood line comprising 12-in. x 12-in. and 12-in. x 24-in. tiles (as well as custom sizes) in three colors and two patterns: Retro and Log patterns, both of which are shown here in Charcoal:

For a little shine and reflectivity, Pyrite comes in gold or silvered antiqued and gold or silver polished, as well as a mix of both. Sizes are 6 in. x 6 in., 6 in. x 12 in. and 12 in. x 12 in.

If you’re wondering why I did not blog about KBIS while in Chicago, it’s because I was sick for much of the show. I did do a day of walking the show floor and fulfilling appointments. I also managed to snap a few shots of UNcontained, but by the second day, I was struggling to get from one booth to the next without disgusting people—and myself—with throaty fits of coughing. Much is a blur, but I recall seeing quite a few noteworthy products during booth visits.

One such product is Moen’s MotionSense kitchen faucet, which comes with two sensors to allow for hands-free operation—a welcome convenience in the kitchen. Moving one’s hand over the Wave Sensor at the top of the faucet or placing an object within sensing range of the Ready Sensor at its base turns it on and off. A side handle provides control of water temperature and flow, as well as manual operation. MotionSense is powered by six standard AA batteries or AC power adapter and is offered on the Arbor pull-down faucet.

Here’s a video on the technology:

I liked the look of TOTO’s Wyeth faucet (below) and thought the Neorest Shower Booth was interesting.

But I guess what made my ears perk up—in addition to the announcement about its alliance with Villeroy & Boch—was its 1G, a gravity-fed 1.0-gpf ultra-high-efficiency toilet that incorporates the company’s Dual Cyclone flushing system as well as a proprietary water-propulsion technology. Yes, Niagara Conservation makes a 0.8-gpf toilet, but I like that the 1G comes with two nozzles—instead of rim holes—and SanaGloss coating to ensure the toilet bowl and rim stay clean and free of residue, stain and limescale buildup, even with the reduced water flow.

You may recall having seen Odin, a bath/powder room collection designed by Jason Wu for Brizo. I loved the finish and the way the handle manipulates, as well as the touch and touch-free functions, but I guess I wasn’t sure how I felt about its proportions. Interestingly, seeing the new additions to the line has made me better appreciate the original. These include a tall single-handle version for vessel sinks (below), three- and four-hole Roman tub faucets, bidet and shower fixtures.

I especially like the widespread model, whose starkly simple handles, along with their very blunt ends, vaguely resemble runes (which, I guess, makes sense), lending the design a primitive, earthy elegance.

In addition to the Fuse kitchen faucet, which has earned quite a bit of ink, Delta also showed Compel, a new bath collection that comprises lav, shower and tub faucets, as well as coordinating accessories and a bidet. The lav faucets are WaterSense-certified. All are inspired Mid-century Modern design, according to Allison McKinney, Delta brand product manager. For me, there’s something vintage aeronautical about the lav faucet (below).

Here’s my shot of the widespread:

And here are images of planes from the 1950s:

Don’t see it? Maybe it’s just me…

I’m still putting together my blog post on KBIS, but I wanted to include some videos of sessions that took place at the Multimedia Lounge.

This first one is of Eric Corey Freed, principal of organicARCHITECT and contributor to this blog, who makes the urgent case for building sustainably and rethinking about how we build. Before you press play, however, you may want to download the visual presentation, which does not appear on screen.

For those interested in learning about all things social media, check out this bloggers panel:

And finally, Judd Lord, director of industrial design for Delta Faucet Co., discusses design process, inspiration and influences in this lively session. Again, the visual component to his talk does not appear, but I’m working on it.

Several other sessions are available for viewing on the KBIS homepage and on our website. Weekend viewing?

Have a great weekend!