Kitchen & Bath Design News

JUL 2015

Kitchen & Bath Design News is the industry's leading business, design and product resource for the kitchen and bath trade.

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July 2015 | KitchenBathDesign.com | ForResidentialPros.com | 39 today as the soft-close did 10 years ago. The technology and cost will soon make it 'standard,'" he states. LIGHT IT UP Undercabinet lighting no longer means just lighting up the workspace. Equally vital is the ability to see what's inside the cabinets and access items quickly and easily. As a result, manufacturers are seeing interior LED lighting come into play more and more often. McPeek says that consumers and designers are adding LED lights into a design not only for task lighting but to accentuate a space, like toe-kick or soft lighting. Not only is lighting functional, adds St. Cyr, but it's aesthetically pleasing and increases value in the kitchen. She says that lighting is increasing as an accessory in design, as people place it in drawers and under cabinets, in toe-kick spaces and even recessed into foors. Hall believes all cabinets will include lighting within the next fve years. "As the spaces become more organized, the consumers are not afraid to show what is in them and, in many cases, they want to show of the inside of the cabinet," he says. There's less of a barrier to interior lighting, he notes, due to the cost and simplicity of installation of LED lighting. More people are also putting lighting inside drawers, says Tripp, allowing the user to both easily see everything inside and appreciate the beauty of the wood. CLEAN, MINIMALIST DESIGN In addition to maximizing space, visual clutter needs to be eliminated. As designers create clean, simple lines throughout the kitchen, accessories and interiors need to be aligned with this goal as well. "It seems the trend is moving more toward the minimalist look," says Fitzpatrick. This look means clean simple lines, smooth surfaces and 90-degree angles, she notes. Color options have broadened from white, stainless and metallic to include graphite, brown and black, she adds. Sagel says people want system solutions that are not over-engi- neered and embody a clear, pure design approach. From a visual perspective, he says, storage space systems should be able to ft seam- lessly into the kitchen design. Peele says that a key factor in aesthetics is presentation. "Creating custom concepts based solely on function can eas- ily overlook the essentials, and if the overall design does not match the fow of the room or is not appealing to the senses, its function is lost in the mix. The design itself is equally as important as the specifc need it's catering to," he says. Hall sees a desire for the accessories to match the inte- rior of the cabinets. "Our maple organizer didn't work for contemporary white and grey interiors [common to] urban areas, so it pushed us to ofer our organizer in grey," he says. With the clean, simple aesthetics, people don't want to see the hardware, he adds, so there's a move toward hidden mechanisms and undermount slides. Tripp sees a trend toward modern design, not only in appearance, but with up-to-date usability as well. Interior fttings can't just be pretty, he adds, they must also be functional. Cleaner designs are in demand, and designers are matching accessory fnishes throughout the kitchen. "It's important to have a family of products that will al- low designers to be able to have a complete design," he concludes. The DWD XP drawer system features syn- chronized slide movement with integrated soft-close, which enables smooth drawer action with a quiet close. The system, from Grass America , ofers add-on options such as extended drawer heights, divider railings with space organizers, and Sorto, a system of stainless steel trays that are designed to sub-divide and organize drawer space. DWD XP features a stainless steel fnish with an ample load capacity of up to 135 lbs. Circle No. 222 on Product Card Total Light by PMI is a made-to-order wood framed unit of acrylic inserts and LED lights that replace shelf components. Dual light strips fully illuminate upward and downward. Circle No. 223 on Product Card The Organize Your Kitchen in 11 Minutes or Less line of kitchen organizers from Hardware Resources includes pro-grade organizers that can be installed in 11 minutes or less. The Pullout Pots and Lids Organizer includes a pots organizer with adjustable dividers to hold most cookware sizes and brands. The lids organizer holds seven lids. The unit, which is available in a polished chrome fnish, mounts to the cabinet bottom or fxed shelf. Circle No. 221 on Product Card Bradco Stainless Products Co. now ofers custom-built knife drawer inserts. The inserts ofer the ability to store cutlery in any drawer regardless of the size of the drawer. A two- tier handle rest storing short and long knives and an American walnut block to rest blades are featured in this accessory. Circle No. 226 on Product Card The roller mat from Franke Kitchen Systems features rubber edging, which raises the surface area and allows for stable contact with any sink or countertop surface. Designed to ft on top of the Kubus double bowl ledge, the roller mat can be placed over any sink with a 16" or less countertop opening depth (front to back). This creates a work surface to drain dishes, clean vegetables and/or food preparation. For other creative uses, place the roller mat on a countertop to create a trivet, or an area to dry dishes. Circle No. 225 on Product Card The TR Series Angle Power Strip by Task Lighting mounts under the cabinet at the back wall, providing an alternative to standard receptacles, switches, cable/data and USB ports. Available in white, satin nickel, black and bronze, it allows for no interruptions in glass or tile backsplashes. Circle No. 224 on Product Card Glideware is a cabinet storage system that features Glideware Synchronized Motion, which keeps stored items quiet even as it slides in and out of the cabinet. From Glideware, the system installs inside a standard-depth cabinet and slides cabinet contents out on a fully extendable rail system now incorporating Tandem slides from Blum. Constructed from clear hard maple, the unit's adjustable hook system holds 100 lbs. Shown is storage in the utility closet. Circle No. 220 on Product Card

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