This post was sponsored by one of my favorite companies, Walker Zanger. All opinions and love for Walker Zanger’s tile are 100% my own.
Earlier this week, I headed off to Las Vegas to attend KBIS 2016 (Kitchen & Bath Industry Show) – we’re talking thousands of square feet of beautiful new kitchen and bath products that were eye candy for my design-loving soul! I attended as a guest of Walker Zanger (a company I’m 100%, completely and totally obsessed with – they’re the geniuses that made my fireplace tile!) and logged some serious miles walking the floor of KBIS for two days, taking it all in and doing some trend spotting. There was so much good stuff that I couldn’t wait to dish with you guys about it, sharing my favorite new kitchen and bath products from the show along with the newest trend-making tile collections from Walker Zanger. Ready to check out seven kitchen and bath trends of 2016?
Mixing Classic Elements with Fresh, Modern Ones
Classic design elements in kitchens and baths aren’t being thrown out the window, they’re being reinvented in new ways and mixed with modern elements. This kitchen by La Cornue at KBIS is a great example – it includes classic design elements like marble countertops and subway tile that are made fresh with the addition of more contemporary sink and swing-arm light fixtures along with a pot rack with hooks in a decidedly modern design:
The same trend is seen in Walker Zanger‘s Lucca tile collection where classic marble is reinvented in fresh, more modern designs – gorgeous!
Hidden, Integrated Appliances
The integration of kitchens with living and family rooms continues with designs that make kitchens feel less utilitarian and more of a space to gather with family and friends. Integrated appliances have been around for a while now, but the newest lines on tap for 2016 are seamlessly hidden. Would you ever guess that there’s hidden refrigeration in this gorgeous bar by Perlick?
Custom Kitchen and Bath Options
Things that you never had the option to customize before are becoming customizable. This kitchen island is the perfect example – you can raise and lower the height of it with the touch of a button so that it’s the perfect height for the tallest member of your family all the way down to your kids.
There are new, innovative ways to customize your tile too. Walker Zanger‘s new “Edgy” tile from their Kaza Concrete collection includes the option to customize the mix of colors, flat vs. dimensional tiles, and even the direction that the dimensional tiles are rotated:
It strikes an impeccable balance of artistry and technology that won it a Best of KBIS gold award at the show!
Beautiful new additions to Walker Zanger’s Studio Moderne tile line also provide endless options for mixing and matching to create a design that is uniquely yours:
Mixing Metals
For the past few years we’ve seen a trend in mixing metals such as a brass faucet mixed with a stainless steel sink or brushed gold light fixtures in a kitchen with satin nickel cabinet pulls. For 2016, the trend in mixing metals continues in a new way – appliances, light fixtures, and kitchen and bath hardware that mix different metals within that one product. One of my favorite examples is this new La Cornue range designed by Suzanne Kasler – I love the beautiful mix of silver and gold accents:
Texture (Lots of It!)
Home products are becoming more tactile with textures that make you want to reach out and touch them! One of my textural favorites from the show was the newest line of Stikwood (peel and stick reclaimed wood planking) that not only has a gorgeous wood texture, but also printed patterns that give it even more dimension:
Walker Zanger is also on top of the trend towards texture with their new Knit collection of tile that not only has textural options like Twill, Corduroy, and Quilt but also gives the option of an angled design for a shingled look that adds even more of a textural element:
Integrated Bathroom Lighting
A major new trend for bathrooms in 2016 is the integration of lighting into bathroom mirrors. Instead of needing to leave room on each side of your mirror for sconces, you can have a mirror that’s the full length of your vanity with integrated lighting around the entire perimeter of the mirror:
or at just the sides or the top:
Black & White in the Bath
While kitchens boasted lots of unique, new color options in appliances, cabinetry, and countertops, black and white reigned as the trend for bathroom design in 2016:
Walker Zanger‘s Ripple tile from their new Sketchbook collection is on-point with this trend and also has the additional element of interest of unique hand-painted strokes that bring each individual tile to life:
Which of these design trends is your favorite?
Wow Kris, lots of beautiful things to take in! I am loving all their tile and that stove is gorgeous! I love the mixing metal trend too. Thanks for sharing your finds with us! Stay safe in this crazy weather. It is still snowing in NJ and they are expecting our area to get around 30 inches…insane!
Shelley
Oh my gosh – I thought that it was only outside of DC that they were predicting 30″ – that’s crazy! Stay safe (and warm)!!
I loved this post especially the adjustable kitchen island since I’m 5’4 and hubby is 6’5. I was wondering about the beautiful Stikwood printed patterned peel & stick reclaimed wood planking.
I was thinking how pretty it would be on an Ikea trysil chest. Do you think it would work?
Oh my gosh – you’re right, that would look so neat if you could make it work! My only concern is that I think you might run into issues with adding the Stikwood to the really small areas like the sides of the drawers and the the 1″ strip above the drawers partially because I’m not sure how clean of a cut you’ll get when you cut it lengthwise and also it would be really hard to pattern match. Maybe it would be easier to do on a piece where you just used the wood on the drawer fronts?!
Oh wow! I really really like the peel and stick reclaimed wood planking!! Unbelievable. And to think it even has some patterning going on…I love it. Must have it lol. Is it available yet? That must have been an amazing show. Thanks for showcasing such awesome design elements Kris.
Yes, the Stikwood is already available in the patterns – it’s gorgeous, right?!
That Stickwood is amazing! I had no idea anything like that was available. Thanks for sharing your experience with us!
Sure Whitney! It’s pretty cool stuff!
I like the idea of the light in the mirrors. we had this at a hotel we stayed in while visiting AZ this summer and it really functions well. although now there is one less pretty element in the bath. Can you share the name of the company that makes those please.
Thanks.
Hi Christine – I agree about the integrated lighting – it’s definitely a trade-off with loosing the design element of the sconces. The companies where I saw these mirrors displayed at KBIS included Tona, Rohl, Robern, and Villeroy & Boch – I’m not sure that every one of these sells them or some sell other bathware and just included them in their displays. I know that Robern sells them – they had some with the most amazing storage behind them!
thank you 🙂
Hi Kris – thanks for sharing all of the fabulous kitchen & bath trends. I would love to get to that show someday. I’m loving the Walker Zanger Lucca collection and the corduroy tile with the herringbone pattern. That first kitchen photo is to die for and the pot rack is super cool! I do love the mixed metals trend and hope that sticks around for a long time. Thanks for sharing!!
It was my first time going and totally overwhelming but also totally energizing and inspiring. I love both of those Walker Zanger tiles too – I would LOVE to redo my bathroom using them some day!!
Love that knit collection – simple but interesting texture.
I love it too – would be gorgeous in a backsplash or bathroom!
They have so many interesting options! It must have been so exciting to see all the new trends and designs. We would love to do our master bath over and you have the wheels turning about that project!
Thanks Lisa! It was a really fun show to have the opportunity to be at!
Love all these trends! I was just admiring the affordable integrated lighting mirrors in Ikea the other day!