More Outlet Fun

In a world where everything and everybody needs to be plugged in, welcome U-Socket, "the outlet of the future".  This thing was a hit at KBIS.

It installs like a standard outlet, but includes USB outlets for charging the multiple devices we all depend (too much) on.

The best part:  The built-in smart sensor can detect required wattage and only outputs the power when it's needed.  If your phone isn't plugged in to the cable, or if it's fully charged, no energy will be wasted.  

Available in standard or decor style.  Colors include white, almond, ivory and wood (I imagine this could be painted or stained?).  It's a great solution for home offices, kitchen command centers, and bedrooms charging stations.

And for those who are REALLY connected, they even have a 12-in-1 cable, which sorta makes me chuckle about how ridiculous we are with all our devices.

Another Fantastic Find at NeoCon

It's the little things in life....  Of all the beautiful products and materials at NeoCon, I think I got the most giddy when I came across these beautiful outlet and switch devices and cover plates.

Square openings, creative designs for the rocker switches, and electronic touch switches too.  The devices themselves are super cool.  As a bonus you get an seemingly endless supply of cover plates to choose from.  From glass to metal to wood to stone to high-gloss acrylic... even plates covered in Swarovski crystals!  

In kitchen and bath design, outlets and switches can often ruin a tile backsplash if not done correctly.  While sometimes I can convince a client to use plugmold strips recessed underneath the cabinet to hide the outlets (as we did in this kitchen), that's not always the case.  And though I love all the great colors that Lutron has, it's nice to know there are even more designer options out there.  With these sexy styles, it's almost tempting to make the outlets a focal point in the backsplash (which I've never said before)!

I have to confess, I found these at the end of the day.  Exhausted by this point, I only stopped for a minute, drooled a little bit, took a couple photos, and swiped my id badge so I'd get more information later.  Then we continued on in search of cocktails (because this is NeoCon and that's what you do).

I couldn't find everything shown here online, but I did stumble upon this great pdf that shows all the great ways you can use home automation switches (and remotes and smart phones) to control lighting and window treatments in your home.  It gives examples of how it would make your life easier throughout the day, and also on a room-by-room basis.

I can't wait to get more information about these products, and will share it with all of you when I do.

Materials Pavilion at NeoCon

After a weekend of ASID leadership training, I had the chance to attend NeoCon for a day.  What a incredible and crazy day of sensory (and people) overload!  

Of all the beautiful showrooms and furniture and fabric, one thing that really caught my attention (must be because of the cabinet geek in me), was the Interiors & Sources Materials Pavilion.

Per the NeoCon website:

The materials you choose for furniture and interiors can make or break a project. Durability, sustainability, economy, availability and, of course, design and form compatibility are all factors, but gathering and making sense of the all the information you need is often a daunting task.In the Interiors & Sources Materials Pavilion you’ll find hundreds of material samples displayed side-by-side, with details on their origin, makeup and recommended applications. This experiential, educational exhibit is curated by design historian and materials specialist Grace Jeffers, and populated with the help of Material Intelligence (www.materialintelligence.com.), an information resource on surfacing solutions for designers and fabricators.

 Some of my favorite materials from the exhibit:

Textured Thermofused Melamine panels, from Stevens Melamine

Unfortunately I don't have the source for this material, but this is an example of the great textures and patterns that can be produced with 3-dimensional laminate technologies.

Moz Architectural Metals, hand-etched patterns and brilliant colors on solid-core metals.  Beautiful sheen and intense colors... seen also on the column display below:

PYRLOLAVE Glazed Volvic Lava Stone - this product is a great alternative for countertops.  While expensive, it holds up better than anything else I know of... heat resistant, stain resistant, bleach and acid-resistant... you can pretty much do anything on this surface.  Plus, it's beautiful and artistic and can look good in any setting.

Perennial Wood:  Real wood tweaked so that it behaves like composite decking material yet doesn't look like plastic.

Roseburg Duramine Decorative Melamines - more textured wood-grains (Can you tell this is a big trend?)

Tropical Exotic Hardwoods

Alkemi, an acrylic recycled-content product using aluminum scraps

Alusion architectural foam, from aluminum (looks like it's made from tin foil)

Ambro - exotic wood panels with strips of opaque material that would look incredible with some back-lighting!

TorZo is a sustainable surface material manufactured from agricultural byproducts and recycled wood. 

More TorZo.  Check out their website, as these photos don't do it justice.

Olon panels, called 3-d laminate

Lucem light-transmitting concrete.  Yes, this is a light-transmitting stone with optical fibers inside... see the sparkle on the bottom?  So many possibilities for a material like this!

Advanced Technology features MirrorFlex decorative thermoplastic panels, FusionTech products, and NuMetal high pressure laminates.  A lot of possiblities with these materials for wall coverings, backsplashes, and even just as artwork.  The wood grain geometric pattern on the bottom is amazing in person.

More wood-grain melamines (I didn't catch the brand on this one, but I love the 2 on the bottom right.)

(SSI) Surface Source International had several great 3-dimensional laminate products, though I was especially drawn to these Zenolite high-gloss acrylic panels, which come in great colors and have the appearance of a back-painted glass.

Just a small taste of all the materials out there - isn't fun to let your mind wander with all the possibilities?

6/22/12 UPDATE:  Here is a link to all the materials showcased at the Materials Pavilion.

Bathroom Remodeling Seminar

A while ago I teamed up with Cora Stjernholm of elume distinctive lighting and  Drew Paulos and Michael Elliot of ReVive Remodeling to produce a free seminar series we called "Coffee Talk".  Our goal was to educate homeowners about the remodeling process in an informal no-pressure setting.  We did one seminar on kitchen remodeling, and another on bathroom remodeling.  The good news and the bad news is that the series has been put on hold because we've all gotten too busy and just couldn't put the necessary time and effort into doing it right.  

Putting these seminars together was a lot of work, but a lot of fun.  While we're all dreaming of picking it back up again, it's just going to have to wait until we have more time.  In the meantime, I just stumbled on this video by Mike Debernardo,  from our 2nd seminar, and I realized I never posted it here.

This Week in My Life

Sunrise on the North Rim

I spent last week traveling around Southern Utah and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon (and then a quick trip back to Michigan for a wedding).  This is why you haven't heard from me in a while.  As you can see from this view, I had a great excuse to not be working.  (If you ever get the chance to head to the Grand Canyon, I suggest finding Crazy Jug Point in Kaibab Nation Forest for primitive camping.  This view was just a few steps away from my tent!)

Taking a week off always makes the following week that much harder.  Which means I'm thrilled the holiday weekend is approaching, because I need another vacation!  

I thought I might recap the progress on a few of my projects this week:

Glass was installed in the custom door / window systems in an office project:

Countertops & glass backsplash installed in a kitchen project (see it here):

Custom bedroom set was delivered to a site:  

(This set is beautiful!  It's figured mahogany, and just stunning.  Will post more pics once the room is put back together.)

I finally got a photo of this custom hutch in its new home:

And I've done some very basic design schemes and budgeting for a new office project:

Aside from that I've measured for a new kitchen remodel project, committed to a small office renovation consult, shopped for rugs, furniture, and lighting with a client, and drawn more custom furniture designs.  It's been a busy week!   As silly as it sounds, I'm excited that I have NO PLANS for the holiday weekend (except for a really long bike ride), and I can finally get caught up on yard work.  

The Remodeling Roller Coaster

While at KBIS, I attended a seminar called "5 Steps to Clear Communication" by David Lupberger of Remodel Force.  The seminar was great, a good reminder of the importance of things like pre-construction walk-thrus and keeping signed records of meetings and decisions.  But my favorite take-away from the seminar was this Homeowner's Emotional Roller Coaster graph.  What a great visual representation of the ups & downs a client goes through during a typical remodeling project!  The thing is, EVERY client goes through this in some way, yet so many clients come into the project expecting that every step in the process is going to be fun & exciting.  And it is - at first.  But by the time you're 80-90% complete and you're waiting on the final items to come in, trust me, no matter how much your clients love you, THEY WANT YOU OUT OF THEIR HOME!

I love the idea of showing this graph to clients in the early phases of design, as a warning to let them know what the experience is going to be like - to let them know they will get frustrated, and they will get impatient, and these ups & downs should be expected (no matter how smoothly the project goes - it still happens).  

Knowing this in advance and setting expectations will ensure that the down moments aren't quite so bad.

KBIS Eye Candy

While my previous post was my soapbox, in this post I promise you fewer words and more photos.

Things that caught my attention at KBIS:

I'm loving the new & updated cabinet accessories.  Hafele now has walnut(-look) accessories, like the plate racks and peg boards below.

Another Hafele piece:  Their lift mechanism typically used for TV's was installed behind a shallow wall cabinet, and lowered into the backsplash area to reveal spices and knives.  How creative is that?

Robern has new vanity sizes.  At only 30"w x 18" deep, there's a surprising amount of storage space in that cabinet!  And check out the outlet in the front of the drawer.

I always love the Element Designs booth.  Shelves with integral LED lights:

More Element Designs:  Their aluminum frames (available in black, white, and oil-rubbed bronze, in addition to the standard aluminum finish) have several profiles.  And not only do they offer Parapan (a high-gloss acrylic insert that I love), but now they've teamed up with 3-form to offer even more insert options.

I really want to use one of their aluminum cabinet bases.

Not just cabinet accessories, but sink accessories too.  Both sinks from Kohler:

 And I did a lot of drooling at the Toto booth:

Check out the LED-lit lavatory (and mirror)

 More & more possibilities for curbless showers and semi-enclosed glass doors/panels:

Another glass enclosure & linear drain from Fleurco:

And then, just for fun, I loved some of the creative details in the "Contained" exhibit.

Light fixture made from quartz countertop samples and what I believe to be Plumen designer CFL bulbs:

Light fixture from beer bottles:

A floor-mounted faucet for the dog's water: