Last month, I shared the exciting news with you that I had been selected as a Designhounds Influencer for the 2020 Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS) in Las Vegas. I have just returned from the four prolific days of the Designhounds KBIS 2020 tour, and my mind is buzzing from all of the inspiring trends and designs showcased on display. This year, the Designhounds KBIS tour sponsors are Compac, Thermador, Mr Steam, Control4, and Nobilia, along with KBIS and Modenus.
KBIS is the largest kitchen and bath show in North America, with more than 600 exhibitors and 31,000 attendees each year. In conjunction with the National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA) and National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), who colocated KBIS and the International Builders’ Show (IBS), the mega event took place from Jan. 21–23, 2020, in Las Vegas. It boasts a professionally diverse audience: interior designers, architects, manufacturers, builders, and contractors all come to the show not only to see the latest and brightest inventions in the market and create partnerships, but to ask questions that will help shape how those kitchen and bath designs evolve. There truly is no other trade show quite like it, and attending is an exhilarating experience. As you can imagine, with so many luxury brands and vendors on display, each day at KBIS is a whirlwind of the latest industry products, trends, and new technologies. The many panels that are part of the programming are also very educational and so inspiring for the trade in the industry. I had the privilege to participate in two notable panels—more on that in the next blog.
WELLNESS
This year’s trade show was particularly inspiring as the overarching topic of WELLNESS while integrating technology and sustainability practices emerged as key themes across panels, tours and exhibits. As readers of Beyond Aesthetics already know, rethinking the way we design kitchens and baths can have a profound impact on global sustainability, as well as personal health, and seeing those topics so clearly prioritized made this week’s series of events feel like the perfect way to set the tone for a new decade.
In 2020, it is common knowledge that we can help the planet by finding more efficient ways to use energy and water. But research is now starting to show the incredible effects sustainable and technologically advanced integrated home systems can have on our physical and emotional health as well.
Perhaps the clearest example of this connection can be witnessed in biophilic design, which borrows typically outdoor elements such as plant life and brings them inside the home. The hypothesis of biophilia, a term popularized by Edward O. Wilson, is an intuitive one, which speaks to its very definition: the presence of living greenery, light, water, and other direct and indirect natural elements improves both our physical and mental well being.
Even soil works to nourish us through “outdoorphins,” a name given to microbes that release cytokines, which act as natural antidepressants and instill a general sense of wellbeing. Think about the way you might feel when sitting in a grove of trees, or perhaps even weeding a garden—relaxed, buoyant yet grounded, connected with your surroundings—biophilia helps to extend that sense of oneness into the home itself. The rewards of biophilia are supported by scientific evidence, which shows that these design elements can actually slow the heart rate.
Embracing plant life indoors allows us to reap the benefits of outdoor exposure through even the harshest winter months. Adding biophilic design elements to our spaces can stave off the winter doldrums, improve air quality, reduce stress, and even increase productivity.
For all of these reasons, and as the architecture industry becomes increasingly aware of its effects on our health, biophilia is becoming a central focus of both residential and commercial design projects. This trend was more than clear at KBIS 2020, where nearly all kitchen and bath showrooms displayed biophilic elements, be they fresh plants, greenery, or even green apples.
It’s beautiful to think about how such primal elements can work in tandem with cutting-edge technologies that purify our air, water, and light to make our homes healthier and safer. Ancient and modern fuse to root us to our biology and our past as we innovate for our future. This is the core approach of my design work with clients at Laurence Carr Design.
Technology will continue to drive the future of our global communities—our cities, our buildings, our workplaces, and our daily lives. It was evident to see that integrated smart technology, artificial intelligence and augmented reality were all present in exhibits at KBIS 2020.
Thermador
On Day 1 of KBIS, my fellow Designhounds KBIS influencers and I were given a tour of some of the newest offerings from Thermador, a brand that truly embodies the spirit of wellness with integrated smart technology.
Thermador is a leader in luxury kitchen appliances (all of which are made in the U.S.) that are built on a foundation of innovation and technology, always with the goal of not only making life easier, but healthier. A perfect example is Thermador’s steam oven, an appliance I particularly love. Other than a sous vide, I rarely use another cooking method in my own kitchen, and I often use them in my clients’ homes. Steam ovens are energy efficient, and they also make it easy (and quick!) to cook healthfully.
One feature that sets Thermador’s steam oven apart is that it has a larger internal capacity than any other on the market; with a 30-inch steam capacity, you can cook an entire 14 lb. turkey in 90 minutes. You also never have to worry about over- or under-cooking because, like all of Thermador’s appliances, you can pair the steam oven with your smart home system and receive notifications as soon as your meal is ready to serve. (You can also cook dinner and dessert at the same time, since there is no flavor transfer in steam baking, and you never lose moisture in a dish, even when reheating — I could go on and on about how much I love steam ovens!)
Another favorite is Thermador’s line of wine refrigerators, which allow for three separate temperature zones for precise control and feature elegant, diamond-shaped wooden dowels that cradle each bottle. A perfect pairing with one of these masterful appliances would be Thermador’s Glass Care Center Dishwasher, which has cycles delicate enough for the finest crystal yet robust enough to remove red lipstick with the press of a button. It was named a Best of IBS Awards 2020 finalist for Best Kitchen and Bath Product.
Thermador has some of the most advanced kitchen appliances you can find, which can operate by voice control and link to a number of smart devices, including Fitbit, Amazon’s Alexa and Dash, Google Assistant, LaMetric, Chefling, IFTTT, and others. This technology gives you personalized control, allowing you to do things like preheat your oven from your tablet or phone and send recipes to your appliance directly.
Of course, form is just as important as function, and Thermador’s aesthetic simply exudes luxury. Its KBIS display featured sleek mixed metallics across appliance facades, cabinet handles, and an out-of-this-world range hood that played off a stunning blue-and-silver backsplash.
I also loved “The Barking Lot” corner, which took our pets into consideration with a dedicated pet food storage area, including two refrigerated pull-out drawers.
I use Thermador’s sister company, Bosch, often for my clients’ appliances, and I will certainly be keeping all of these spectacular pieces in mind going forward.
Control4
A true highlight of KBIS 2020 was a wonderful tour we were lucky enough to be taken on by smart home brand Control4, to demonstrate all it can do with integrated smart technology. In The New American Home, a luxury residence designed for KBIS with multiple levels of sponsors, surreal technology met elegant and timeless designs, transforming the two most dynamic features of a living space—bath and kitchen—into explorations of sumptuous comfort and sustainability.
Control4’s Smart Home OS was built to connect to virtually anything in your home. By pairing with more than 13,500 other products, the system works with any existing smart tech you may have, which not only eliminates the need to replace devices, but promotes an individualized smart home experience. We designers play a key role in planning for possibilities, from pre-wire preparations to careful customization for a seamless integration of an efficient smart technology system with automation for water and energy efficiency, air purifying and much more in residential, commercial and hospitality spaces.
As Control4 states on its site, no two families live the same way in their homes, and so no two smart home systems should be exactly the same, either. As smart technology becomes more widespread and we use more connected “accessories” in our homes, having so many different apps to manage all of them can become a burden. Aptly referred to as a “smart home ecosystem,” Control4’s OS works as a unifier, consolidating devices from across your entire home into a single screen so that you can instantly view the status of your security system, smart door locks, lights, and appliances, and take immediate control.
In The New American Home, this concept came to life. From either a wall screen or Control4’s revolutionary Neeo — a slick and refined remote with a glass touchscreen interface, acquired last year from a Swiss company — you could access any of the home’s incredible smart features: infrared heat in the ceilings; climate control; phantom patio screens that drop down during the day to shade the home from the sun, and at night to keep out cold temperatures, as well as keep bugs away; audio speakers in the ceiling, which were seamlessly custom color-integrated to match the ceiling’s materials and tones; all electronics, including a concealment system such as a TV lifted into the ceiling in the master bedroom; and an especially helpful asset, an LG dry-cleaning closet that steams and presses clothes into perfect condition.
Control4 was founded in 2003 with the mission to enrich life, and make things simpler. The company adheres to the philosophy of “living in place,” which is based on three pillars: making all homes accessible, comfortable, and safe. It is through smart technology’s embrace of wellness that we can reach a new kind of experience as designers and users, both in our homes and hospitality projects.
“Experience” is the word to remember here, because the most successful products are built with a beautiful wellness experience in mind, and with the goal of providing comfort and joy. In my own work with the Laurence Carr Design team, I always remember this is the ultimate outcome we strive to deliver to our clients, and perhaps that is one reason Control4’s demonstration resonated with me so deeply.
As we continue to reach for greater levels of wellness through sustainability and healthy goals, both on a macro and micro level, we must also strive to create experiences that are pleasurable, exciting, soothing, and intuitive. That is where smart technology, wellness, and sustainability meet, and what will take us into the future.
In my next blog, I will continue to explore these ideas as I share more memorable moments from KBIS, including European kitchen furniture, stunning innovations, exquisite materials, and one particular experience that unites past, present and future through a tool that is at once decadent and medicinal. You won’t want to miss it.
