When it comes to the design and innovation on display at KBIS – what happens in Vegas doesn’t stay in Vegas. The trends that you see there set the tone for the rest of the year. Even if you aren’t in the kitchen and bath industry, you have to pay attention to KBIS because eventually these trends end up in every room in the house.

There is so much that I want to tell you about KBIS 2016 that I have to split it into two posts.

In no particular order here are a few of my favorite pieces of new hardware.

Salice Flip Up Door Hardware

This will change the way our industry does flip up doors.  Salice has made this a one step process.  You no longer need to install hinges and plates and than install the lift up hardware.  Everything is incorporated into the bracket.  The soft close lift up stay goes into a standard 35mm hinge hole.  The width of your door is no longer a concern, imagine the design possibilities.  You can have one 48" door spanning two 24" wide cabinets, really highlighting the trend in horizontal grains.   You can see the side-by-side comparison old technology vs new.

Charging Centers

These USB charging grommets are a great addition to any home office or kitchen.  Doug Mockett offers many colors and configurations that will add a WOW factor to any job.

 

Rev-A-Shelf has a new USB grommet that connects to same transformer as their LED lighting.  If you were installing lighting, why wouldn't you offer this grommet?  It can easily be hidden at the back of a cabinet or a hutch panel.

 

Pull Out Shelf Slide

Salice's booth was full of new items and this slide solves a major problem.  I constantly receive calls from customers that are trying to create pull out 3/4" shelves.  Whether it's for a printer in an office, a shelf to fold clothes or a pull out shoe shelf.

There hasn't been a great solution until now.

This slide is available as a soft close or a push open and can be mounted to a 3/4" thick shelf.  All you need is add a facia in the front to cover the mounting hardware.  The best part about this is slide is you can add as many as you want to increase the weight capacity.  The picture below shows 3 slides working together on a 36" wide shelf.  I was really impressed by the how smooth the slide was.

Voices of the Industry Presentation

Besides shopping for new hardware I also presented at KBIS with Denise Butchko.  This year our topic was "The CEO's Guide to Social Media" The session had standing room only and we answered 20 minutes worth of questions after it was over.  Denise and I also presented this session again as a webinar on February 1st. Click here to view on demand.

Your turn - did you attend KBIS?

What were some of your favorite products or trends?