For KBIS 2014, the simplest summary of Häfele America's hardware and component exhibit was this: Everything Was Illuminated. From drawers, to cabinets, toe kicks to closet rods, it was all lit up with LED.
Also really cool - and generating some buzz among designers I ran into - was a tambour-style maple Rapid Pull-out Table. Hafele communication manager Jake Van Wyk said the table was built with heavy-duty Accuride slides, and that it installs as a single unit like a drawer, but rolls down deeply behind the cabinet above which it is installed.
Häfele also brought along the work of its regular KBIS partners, Plain & Fancy Cabinetry, Showplace Cabinetry, and Grothouse Lumber Company.
A major emphasis for Häfele has been its Loox line of LED lighting. Light controls allow the customer to adjust both intensity and color temperature after the lights are installed.
Plug & Play technology makes it easier for non-electricians to specify and install. Through this expansion, the 12 V system, 24 V system and 350-mA system have added 21 products and four new drivers. Some LED is as simple to install as two-sided tape.
Häfele also offers a free lighting design service. Customers can send in their cabinet plans, and Häfele will send back a recommended cabinet lighting layout professional.
Lavido is something I was eager to have a look at. This modular pantry and cabinet organizer (here's an installation video), when accompanied by LED, can make a cabinet look a bit like the inside of a refrigerator. Shelfs pull forward for full access. A except for storage of look l offers soft-close and soft-open to ensure it operates smoothly and quietly while fully extending to provide accessibility from three sides.
Sliding doors in rooms and cabinets are help conserve space and improve access--a principle of the Universal Design concept embodied in Häfele's designs (a brochure describes it). The slide hardware lines include Clipo, Slido and Frontino - which take varying approaches to how the doors affix and run in tracks.
Häfele's Aluflex sliding door system was shown in a design that formed a partitioned room. Doors, which are cut to order by Hafele and shipped ready to install, were mitered to meet at a 90 degree angle. They run in tracks on the floor and above the door.
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