It looks like attendance is up for the 2014 National Kitchen and Bath Show (KBIS) and what a great first day we had walking the aisles. This year KBIS2014 is combined with the International Builder’s Show for the first time. There is so much to see that’s it’s almost impossible to cover all three of the Las Vegas Convention Center Halls.
Day one of our trip we focused on the North Hall to see some of our clients, some of our friends and some new venues. Bstyle Designer and Stylist Claire Neviaser really enjoyed meeting Brent Bailey, Viking’s VP of Brand Development. He started out as an industrial designer and now leads teams of passionate engineers in new product development for Viking.
As a creative at heart, Brent pointed out one of our favorite new finds this year—the Viking French door Oven. It’s easy to open and close with one hand and there’s more accessibility for the home chef without a door in the way.
We’ve seen a lot of professional ovens with this configuration but these new Viking ovens come in a variety of finishes and colors. That’s right—green, gold, and orange! We cannot wait to get our hands on one of those oven series for our kitchen designs. For more information and availability see vikingrange.com/pressroom.
One of our favorite stops at KBIS was Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet to see Chris Mordi, VP of Communications. He had a surprise for the show this year—an entirely new Gaucho grill. Built for Argentinian style cooking, this new grill was one of the hits of the show. It was photographed, it was videotaped, and the wheel was turned constantly.
Wood burning and gas-started, this grill allows controlled fire cooking by raising and lowering the meats or vegetables closer to the flame or further away from the fire. The product will be launched later this summer so some of the details are not out yet, but what a great design success story already!
We also had the great pleasure of seeing Frank Toms, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Jeffery Court Tile. We have been very thankful to work with Jeffery Court (JC) over many years building beautiful bathrooms and kitchens with their products. Locally, Jeffery Court is sold at Tile X Design in Plymouth.
This year, Frank is introducing a line of mixed medium mosaics in Chapter 14 Duality. We were drawn to the black on black showing the sheen of the glass and the matte of the stone. This Midnight marble is sleek and sophisticated—just right for our next design projects.
Day two is dawning now, so we’ll get back to walking the show floors —today we’re visiting the Center Hall where we hope to check in with some of our Minnesota friends at Marvin Windows and Doors and Integrity Windows.
Barbara Schmidt is principal and lead designer of bstyle inc., a nationally recognized design firm creating and building spaces for homeowners, retailers and manufacturers for over twenty years.
