At KBIS, everything seemed to be "floating" -- vanities and toilets hanging on walls. It looks good and definitely makes it easier to clean a floor. The toilet support makes me nervous. I was surprised to see that Formica is regaining popularity. They are celebrating 100 yrs in business, and released new colors -- many bright prints and exotic woodgrain prints. Faucet and toilet companies dominated the floor space. Nobody wants to touch anything anymore and you don't have to. At least in the bathroom. Touchless faucets and touchless toilets. The lid will lift upon your entering the room. If you are male, just slide your foot in front of the blue dot and the other lid will rise. Then they both softly close when you leave. You may not even need to touch the toilet paper, as it serves as a bidet and even blows you dry. The toilets have self cleaning modes. I like the whole touchless thing, but that luxury comes with a price tag of $6000. Looks like I'll be buying toilet paper for awhile.
Bathroom design is a small part of my business and the most memorable products at the show were toilets and shower heads. It's amazing how many forms a water stream can take before hitting your body. I was mesmerized by the helix shape flow. Some of the body sprays looked painful. The formerly inefficient rainfall showerheads have been improved with air injection into the stream. Toilets seem to be at maximum efficiency with .8 gallon flushes and dual flushing options. Most companies seemed to stress environmental responsibility.
Kitchen and bath products are constantly evolving. Keeping up with new products and trends is a big portion of a designer's job. It's not so tough when it takes you to places like New Orleans. Next year KBIS is in Vegas!
