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 It doesn't look outdated.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!