See the fresh faucet styles, appliance finishes, shower features and more launched at the Kitchen and Bath Industry Show
More than 70,000 people attended the event, which featured more than 1,200 exhibitors highlighting the newest faucets, appliances, countertop styles and more and showcased the latest innovations in sustainability and conservation in product manufacturing.
Here’s a snapshot of some of the new styles and trends featured at KBIS 2022. Stay tuned in the coming weeks for deep dives into more home design products on the horizon.
Brizo released the Litze widespread lavatory faucet with wheel handles, shown here in Brilliance Polished Nickel.
Workstation sinks have risen in popularity in the past couple of years, and it seems manufacturers are starting to catch up to demand. Several of them launched workstation designs at KBIS. These hardworking sinks include inserts and accessories for chopping, straining, drying and other functions.
Ruvati released several workstation sinks, including the 45-inch apron-front workstation shown here. The company also released more compact models in its granite-look epiCast collection.
Moen also plans to release workstation sinks in fall 2022.
It’s no secret that white marble-look quartz countertops have dominated kitchens in recent years. But many manufacturers are betting on a small shift away from bright whites to warmer neutrals.
Caesarstone released five new colors in its Pebbles collection, which features warm white, gray and greige styles. Riverlet, shown here, is a soft off-white with subtle amber veining.
While there’s no doubt that stainless steel remains the most popular appliance finish, many manufacturers are increasing their offerings to include other, bolder finishes.
Samsung announced a collaboration with artist Alex Proba for its Bespoke 4-Door Flex refrigerator featuring a colorful abstract jungle print design. The limited-edition model is available now for preorder.
GE’s new 900 Series of laundry machines comes in a sophisticated Sapphire Blue finish, shown here.
If there’s one thing that defines what’s happening in bathroom product design right now, it’s got to be the development of elevated bathing experiences. Pamper-me features dominate most new fixtures, with an emphasis on water sprays — the more the better.
Kohler’s new Statement Showering collection features an oblong design with a rain shower head that the company says better covers the shoulders and body. The line comes in six spray experiences, including a deep massage of twisting, kneading jets and a Cloud spray that covers the body in warm mist. It’s available now.
Brizo’s new 14-inch raincan, shown here in Brilliance Luxe Gold, features a new drenching spray technology.
Remember the toilet paper shortage of 2020? Many people took that as a cue to try out bidets — and subsequently fell in love with the function. Demand increased and manufacturers took note.
Moen announced several new electronic bidet add-on seats and smart toilets with bidet functions. The 3-Series shown here features a wall-mounted remote control to flush and raise or lower the lid. There’s also a toe-tap function at the base for hands-free flushing. Some models are available now. Others will be available in spring 2022.
A common complaint about smart home technology is that it’s, well, not very smart. Many high-tech products rely on users to go through complex steps to set preferences and select features, causing many people to skip all the glitz and fall back on whatever the most basic setting is.
But there seems to be a shift toward companies creating high-tech products that perform smart tasks without much need for help from a user.
Artificial Intelligence, or AI, was a buzzy phrase heard multiple times during KBIS 2022.
LG’s AI-enabled WashTower, shown here, features technology that detects load size, fabric type and level of soil and adjusts the load to dispense the right amount of detergent. The washer also sends the load information to the dryer, which then adjusts. The machines learn routines over time and can notify you if the dryer vent is clogged or it’s time to clean the tub. An infrared drying feature monitors the temperature of pieces of clothing during the dry cycle to make sure everything is heated evenly.
Another cool feature is that when you stack the machines, you can control both units from the lower washer control panel. The model will be available in late 2022.
When stacked, both machines can also be controlled from the bottom washer panel.
GE’s 900 Series, featured above in the appliance color section of this article, also has AI capabilities.
The app also features video tutorials of recipes that instruct you when to add ingredients. You can also record your own videos — for those foodie influencers out there — and the app will learn and record when you’ve added an ingredient so you can refer back to the video in the future. You can also upload your cooking videos to Cooksy so your friends and family can follow your recipes, or post it publicly for the broader Cooksy community to follow along. The device is available now.
There’s so much going on with sustainable product manufacturing that you could have devoted the entire three-day KBIS event to the subject. Many innovations involve the conservation and monitoring of water usage.
Moen’s Smart Water Network lets homeowners control and monitor their water usage to conserve as needed. It can also detect leaks and notify you. If you’re away on vacation, you can remotely shut the water off and flush the pipes to prevent bacterial contamination or freezing in the winter.
The company plans to repurpose 2,000 tons of ocean plastic for its products and packaging by the year 2030. It also plans to save 1 trillion gallons of water by the same year through its product innovations.
Kohler’s H2Wise system performs functions similar to Moen’s Smart Water Network. It also features AI capabilities that learn your water use over time so you can make more informed decisions.
Kohler also announced it will be launching a tile collection for Earth Day made with 99.7% pottery wastewater. The gray sludge left over from creating ceramics is hand-shaped into tiles and fired in a kiln, resulting in undulating, textured surfaces.
Cala Blue, shown here, is a deep, sophisticated blue-green that fittingly nods to the waters of the Mediterranean.
It’s hard to overstate the abundance of new faucet styles, finishes and designs featured at KBIS 2022. We’ll dedicate a follow-up article specifically to the category. But there are a couple of standouts worth noting. Given the numerous releases by manufacturers, it’s interesting to see how certain features sometimes align.
Commercial-style designs. This style of faucet, often seen in commercial restaurant kitchens, isn’t new. But it’s certainly experiencing a renaissance this year, with several manufacturers launching or expanding commercial-style designs.
The look is of a piece with a broader trend emerging post-pandemic: a back-to-basics strategy that seeks to modernize traditional industrial-style plumbing fixtures.
Moen launched a collection of what it calls spring galley faucets in three styles. The Belfield, shown here in a matte black finish, is a compact industrial-meets-modern-farmhouse style. The collection will be available in fall 2022.