Trends in finish..

Wednesday night in Indianapolis I had the pleasure of sitting next to Judd Lord, Director of Industrial Design at Delta Faucet. Judd is not only amazingly talented but also extremely entertaining and inspiring. Judd asked my table-mates about trends that we noticed in our own home markets and sadly, my response was that I felt like I had been designing (or part of the design process) the same very Restoration Hardware bath for the last several years. It begins with a lot of Carrara marble, honed black granite, white subway tile, white painted cabinetry and polished nickel finishes. It's neat and tidy, classic but relevant... and sigh, boring.

I posted a blog entry right after KBIS about how excited I was to see Oil Rubbed Bronze finishes (photo above) appearing in appliances from Jenn Air. I personally think this may have a hard time catching on, at least here in New England, but I'm hoping it starts a revolution. Viking has a ridiculous amount of color choices for their appliance finishes, but apparently they still don't hold a candle in sales to good old stainless steel. I can't say I'd pass up a perfectly gorgeous Sub Zero myself.

Maybe it's just too far of a reach - I can understand wanting something that you won't tire of in say 5 years, so perhaps a fire engine red oven is not the way to go (think Avocado, it made a comeback but how long did we have to wait?). In line with fashion forward thinking, Brizo has introduced a few new finish in 2009: Brilliance Brushed Bronze (shown to the left on the Baliza lavatory, photo courtesy of brizo.com). This finish is warm, but not brassy. It doesn't look outdated. You can pair it with oil rubbed finishes and add a little interest.

So if you're in the midst of selecting finishes for your remodel, perhaps you'll consider adding a little warmth to your bath. I bet you in 5 years Restoration Hardware will be following suit!

Highlights from Delta Faucet, Part 1

On Tuesday Delta Faucet flew 18 bloggers and magazine editors into Indianapolis to get a closer look at the Delta & Brizo brands. I was lucky enough to be invited along!

We arrived at Delta Faucet on Wednesday morning only to be greeted by a round of enthusiastic applause from all of their employees! It was overwhelming, very sweet and gave you a good idea of the very warm and wonderful personalities that make up Delta.

We were at Delta from 8:30 AM to about 6 PM so I'm not going to give you all the details of my day, but here are some of the highlights and things you should know about the company. I'm going to break this up into multiple posts as there is just so much information to pass along!

The Delta family is comprised of three brands: Delta, Brizo and Peerless. Most people are familiar with Delta - their products are available to the DIY crowd as well as plumbers, remodelers and builders and is available in both showrooms and at more retail locations. Peerless is totally DIY and available at your big box stores etc. Brizo was introduced about 6 years ago and is the top of the line, available in showrooms only.

I was introduced to Brizo at KBIS and have found that it is a very unique brand - the idea behind it being 'fashion for your home'. It appeals to people who are interested in being fashion forward, but the designs are extremely well thought out and have an element of timelessness rather than just being trendy (no one wants to invest in a pricier faucet only to have to replace it in a couple of years). Their lines range from traditional to transitional to modern. Brizo's designs are based on fashion and design elements found in travels to shows in many different countries, and from trends that have been seen in art, furniture design and fashion. Their latest (gorgeous!) ad campaign "A License to Dream" brings all of these elements together to show homeowners that their products bring dreams to life.

I've shown you my favorite faucet, the RSVP, in a previous post from KBIS, but wanted to share one of the newer members of the line, the Virage (from the French for "twist"), which is inspired by the wrought iron gates of Europe. You could really sense the pride in the execution of the Virage - when it was first designed and brought to engineering, it proved to be quite a challenge and the designers at Delta really had to push to have it produced they way they wanted it. In the end they got their way and this gorgeous suite was born. (Photo courtesy of Brizo)

Brizo is also an eco-conscious brand labelling itself 'luxury with a conscience'. They employ their patented H2OKinetic technology in all of their Sensori Shower Systems to give the consumer that fantastic shower experience, while adhering to water conservation standards from the EPA (1.5 gal/minute). Less flow, maximum performance. I am not a scientist, but the basic gist of this system is that the water leaves the shower head in larger drops in an oscillating pattern. The pattern itself restricts the flow but still provides maximum coverage when it hits your skin. The larger water droplets retain heat. These principals was proven in a later lab session where we got to feel the spray from several versions of H2OKinetic fixtures. In the picture to the left, a strobe hits the spray so that the viewer can see the oscillating water pattern leaving the shower head. Amazing!

Coming up next, the great minds at Delta come up with technology to take care of those awful 'chicken hands', and pictures of yours truly installing a bath faucet! Stay tuned....

Recreating Sonoma

I recently came back from a week in Northern California, one of the most beautiful places on earth, for sure. While in Sonoma for a few nights we stayed at the Fairmont Sonoma Inn, which is a historic hotel that has recently been remodeled. Having worked for years restoring older homes, I especially love to stay in these kinds of properties. Give me warm history over cold modernism any day of the week.

Anyway, aside from the wine and plush bath robes, what I really wanted to take home with me was the bathroom. I literally could have spent the three days in the hotel room and bathroom. My mission now is to buy a home and recreate the bath, whose color palette reflects the Sonoma surroundings.

The Vanity: a wheat yellow stained poured concrete. As a girl who would apply carrara marble to literally anything and everything it is refreshing to see color! There was a beautiful antique framed mirror hanging above flanked by two shaded sconces. Being a hotel vanity, there was no cabinetry below the counter top, but I think glazed cabinetry, slightly distressed in maybe an antique red would be lovely against the green walls.

The Fixtures: Kohler Pinstripe Suite in Vibrant Polished Nickel. The widespread faucet is shown above It's a very masculine fixture, but I think quite glamorous, and while semi art deco, timeless. The shower had both a fixed shower head as well as a handheld.

The shower: The floor was a tan ceramic 4x8 tile, almost like smooth rounded bricks. The walls were a green apple glass mosaic which was a great contrasting texture against the large paver tiles. The shower itself was glass enclosed and large enough for two to comfortably shower. So heavenly.

Ok so all we need now is the house to put this into..... The condo goes on the market next week. The house I want to buy is having an Open House tomorrow. Is it bad that I am hoping for exceptional beach weather so no one will go?

Exciting news!

Hi y'all-

Sorry it's been a while. I am actually working on a post about man town design, inspired by looking at houses with my husband. I have a networking event tonight with Benjamin Moore, which is exciting as they have just released a new paint base which has the benefits of oil, but properties of latex. More on that tomorrow..

But my super exciting news is that Delta faucet has invited me, and 19 other bloggers, out to Indianapolis to see their home base and learn more about their newest products. Maybe you've seen the Touch faucets that have been featured during Top Chef? Yup, going to check those out.

Can't wait! Thanks Delta!