bathrooms

New Products that Wowed at KBIS

February 19, 2021 by iccfloors Leave a Comment

The Kitchen and Bath Industry Show (KBIS) is the largest and considered one of the most important annual events for the kitchen and bath industry in North America. At KBIS, manufacturers introduce new products, and kitchen and bath showrooms rely upon the show to spot trends and find new innovations for homeowners in Indianapolis.

The 2021 KBIS was held virtually. Nonetheless, more than a few manufacturers stepped up and introduced new products that will help homeowners, remodelers and builders in Indianapolis create new kitchens that will be the envy of their neighborhoods. Here are a few of the products that wowed at 2021 KBIS.

Engineered Countertops & Backsplashes

Engineered countertops and backsplashes trended toward lighter colors responding to consumer demand for uplifting tones that provide a sense of optimism and cleanliness. New quartz and engineered countertops offer homeowners a range of warm, whites, and marble looks.

Concrete-looking engineered countertops were another KBIS trend that responds to the industrial motif that is extremely popular.

Touchless Faucets

Touchless faucets will turn more than a few heads of customers in Indianapolis. And not a moment too soon as many homeowners recognize that handling raw meat, chicken, and fish in a kitchen can easily transmit bacteria and germs from surface to surface. Several of the new touchless faucets integrate with personal digital assistants and can be activated through apps with voice commands.

Two-Tone Finishes + Two Texture Faucets

Two tone finishes and two texture faucets also trended at the 2021 KBIS. A number of new introductions featured a balance of rough and smooth textures, matte and polished finishes and warm and cool tones integrated into the same products. We saw faucets with matte black finishes and brass lever handles.

More Storage

Manufacturers are upping the ante on storage and organization systems. Rarely could you open a drawer or cabinet door and not find inserts, rollouts, pullouts, dedicated dividers, and in-cabinet lighting that enables homeowners in Indianapolis to effectively organize all of their kitchen items effectively.

If you want to know how the new product introductions featured at KBIS can help you create the kitchen of your dreams, please call us or make an appointment to visit our showroom in person or virtually.

2020 Bathroom Trends

October 16, 2020 by iccfloors Leave a Comment

The demand for new master baths in Indianapolis is increasing. Now that many families in Indianapolis are spending almost all of their time at home, they have a new appreciation that a bathroom can offer so much more than function. A master bath can be a refuge from Zoom fatigue, a wellness center and a room to spend a few minutes devoid of email, texts and family members, all to yourself. That’s why the results of a recent 2020 Houzz.com bathroom trend study does not come as a surprise.

A Desire for a Makeover

Most homeowners nationally and in Indianapolis want to change their master bath style when they renovate. The Houzz study found 69% of homeowners perceived their existing bath as projecting “an old and outdated look.” The primary reason homeowners in Indianapolis want a complete makeover is to achieve a current vibe with clean lines. The most popular design trend is modern, favored by 20% of homeowners in the Houzz study, followed by transitional motifs (19%) and contemporary (18%). Traditional motifs were favored by 12% of homeowners, and 5% of survey respondents opted for a farmhouse design.

Health and Wellness Take Center Stage

More than 40% of renovating homeowners converted their master bath into a space for relaxation. 55% of Houzz study respondents reported that soaking in a tub helps them relax. Conversely, 54% of respondents enjoy taking long showers.

Shower appeal is growing. Nearly 50% of homeowners removed the tub during the remodel, opting for larger and multifunctional showers.

High Tech Fixtures

Nearly 50% of faucets and more than a third of toilets in renovated baths feature advanced technology that includes increased water efficiency and finger-proof finishes on faucets and self-cleaning toilet systems with heated seats.

Accentuated Spaces

Accent walls are hot in bath remodels in Indianapolis. Nearly 40% of remodels cited in the Houzz study featured accent walls in the master bath. 19% of homeowners opt for an accent wall inside the shower; 18% placed an accent wall outside the shower. Using different surface materials, such as tile or stone, was the most popular method to create an accent wall in the master bath, followed by colors, patterns, or textures that differ from the rest of the bath. The most popular accent wall color was blue.

Light Up Your World

80% of homeowners renovating a master bath improved their lighting, and that makes sense because lighting affects how a room looks and feels.

If you would like to create a personal haven in your home where you and your family can go to relax and rejuvenate, give us a call or make an appointment to visit our showroom either in person or virtually.

Five Must-Haves for a Great Bathroom

August 19, 2020 by iccfloors Leave a Comment

The days of a bathroom serving only utilitarian functions have long past. Bathrooms, especially the master bath, can serve as an in-home spa, where homeowners in Indianapolis can spend a few minutes of every day just to themselves, devoid of texts and tweets, to recharge their batteries and wash away the stresses of the day. Functionality, efficiency, and beauty are givens in today’s new bathrooms. To create a bathroom that meets your unique needs, consider the following features as must-haves.

Natural Light

Homeowners in Indianapolis should make windows, skylights, or even glass doors requirements for any renovation. Natural light makes a space more welcoming. It also has therapeutic benefits that include boosting vitamin D that helps prevent bone loss and reduces the risk of heart disease, weight gain, and various cancers, according to Healthline. Plus, natural light puts people in a better mood and improves sleep. That’s why we consider natural light a must for any renovation.

Curbless Shower

Linear drains make curbless showers an accessible option for almost everyone’s home. Curbless showers provide homeowners in Indianapolis with a blank canvas. The shower space does not need to be enclosed and can help make a smaller space more functional, appear larger, and more aesthetically pleasing. Curbless showers do not require a threshold, making shower access easier for those who are mobility-impaired and those who may be aging in place or planning to do so. In curbless showers with linear drains, floor covering only needs to be pitched in one direction. This provides homeowners in Indianapolis with unlimited options when selecting the size and composition of their floorcovering. Another advantage is that linear drains do not limit customers to 4 by 4-inch tile or stone.

Sightlines

A bathroom should not be the first thing you see when you enter a home, walk into a bedroom or leave a kitchen or dining room. If possible, do not position a bathroom in a location with direct sightlines from the kitchen, living room or dining room.

Water Closet Location

The same sightline principle that applies to other rooms in the home applies to the location of the toilet in the bathroom. The water closet should not be the first fixture that you see when entering the bath. Space permitting, we often recommend a separate enclosure for the water closet. Not only does it take the toilet out of a line of sight, but it also provides users with privacy.

Size

You don’t need to have the biggest bath in the neighborhood to have the best performing bath for your family’s needs. You can create an exceptional bath in a relatively small space. We know how to specify products that make smaller spaces appear larger. We know how to create in-home spas with multi-functional shower systems, therapies that can relax tired muscles, rejuvenate skin tone and contribute to your health and wellbeing. Size may be a challenge but never an obstacle to creating the bath of your dreams.

If you would like to discuss how a new bathroom can make your life better and more enjoyable, be sure to visit one of our locations.

Choosing Colors for a Jack and Jill Bathroom

August 7, 2020 by Shannon Vogel Leave a Comment

Jack and Jill bathrooms have long been used as a connecting area between two bedrooms. It’s not uncommon, in fact, for two children’s rooms to make use of the same bathroom. Unfortunately, this can lead to some decorating confusion on the part of the homeowner; how do you go about choosing a color for a room that is adjacent to two others? After all, chances are that your two kids’ bedrooms feature two different colors, and that bathroom ideally needs to coordinate with both. Thankfully there are several tricks you can use to choose the color of the bathroom to help everything blend.

Pick a Common Accent

Go through the rooms on either side of the Jack and Jill bath and take a look at all the colors. Is there one accent color that shows up in both rooms? If so, consider making that the predominant color in the bathroom. For example if both rooms have a hint of sky blue, this can become the wall color of the bathroom, while other shades of blue or green mixed with white could make up the rest of the bath.

Go Neutral

You really can’t go wrong with neutrals in a bathroom. White bathrooms are always a nice, classic choice, as are white and cream or black and white. This allows you to change out and mix up the towel colors and bath mats to suit the personalities of the two users, without making any permanent color decisions. This is particularly useful if your children are likely to change their bedroom colors as they get older.

Pick a Triad Color

This is a tricky choice and works only if the two rooms on either side are far enough apart on the color wheel. Triad colors are three colors that form a triangle on the color wheel, so if you have one purple bedroom and one green bedroom, you could pick a shade of blue for the bathroom and it would blend in well with both. The key is to make sure that all three colors are exactly the same distance apart from one another on the color wheel in order to work well.

Mix It Up

Don’t be afraid to create a mostly neutral bathroom with two or even three accent colors pulled from the bedrooms. The idea is to create a shared space, so don’t hesitate to share the colors as well.

Visit our website to see different Benjamin Moore color collections, color families and trends and favorites!