In our last article, we explored some of our favorite kitchen trends featured in this year’s Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS). This week for Part 2 of our KBIS favorites, we will be heading into the bathroom. A bathroom is a sacred place of solace. It is a place of privacy—a place where you can escape from the busy day and focus inward—a place where you can reflect on the world and yourself. The bathroom is truly that place where you are the main character.
Aside from being a realm of relaxation, bathrooms need to be efficient in usability, too. They should also be designed in correlation to your life and daily activities. The 8 innovative bathroom trends that we will explore in this article are exciting, to say the least. But more importantly, these KBIS 2022 features set the stage for both serenity and practicality in the most personal room of the house. The bathroom is where you spend the most time with yourself, so why not treat yourself with a little luxury?
#1: The AIRMADA Shower System
Everyone enjoys a good showerhead and everyone avoids mold. The AIRMADA AirJet Shower System takes the idea of a “good showerhead” to an entire newfound level, offering a solution that combines comfort with cleanliness. Like any good shower head, the AirJet harmonizes power and gentleness for the perfect showering experience. But the AirJet doesn’t stop there. Anyone who enjoys a hot shower knows that with warm water comes mildew and mold. Even in bathrooms with adequate ventilation, homeowners must constantly keep watch on gathering moisture. Cleaning becomes a daily tradition, and often this cleaning requires chemically abundant solutions. However, the AIRMADA AirJet has come up with a solution of their own, revolutionizing not just the way we take showers, but the way we clean our bathrooms after the shower is done.
With the AirJet Shower System, you can avoid the daily dose of chemical cleaners and you can retire that old shower squeegee. Thanks to the latest technology in shower solutions, a simple flip of a switch will suffice in stifling mold and mildew. Using air to its advantage, the AirJet incorporates 6-10 brass jets into your shower ceiling and walls. AirJet also offers an optional directional head for hard-to-reach places, and its blower unit can be installed up to 100 ft away so you can save on valuable bathroom space.
This beautifully crafted shower finish is available in white, chrome, polished nickel, brushed nickel, raw brass, and oil-rubbed bronze. Having so many finishes to choose from makes this piece an ideal component for any dazzling design. We can’t wait to start implementing the AirJet into our bathroom designs. This new bathroom trend is a game-changer and a revolution of the entire shower experience.
#2: Wheel Knobs
The wheel knob was incorporated in the earliest plumbing parts and is still commonly used in commercial applications today. It’s a bold relic that continues to find relevancy in present time applications, making its way into the design of eloquent plumbing fixtures like Brizo’s widespread lavatory faucet.
This carefully crafted faucet is a tribute to tradition that maintains the elegance of modern luxury. The simplicity of the faucet and wheel knob is a timeless trend that solidifies strong character in any bathroom. This new release from Brizo comes in 5 different finishes—Luxe Gold, Luxe Nickel, Luxe Steel, Polished Nickel, and Chrome—which paves the way for a plethora of design possibilities. This faucet takes an old and classic design and gives it a modern makeover. The result? A sleek and luxurious fixture that will make a statement in any bathroom.
#3: Linear Shower Grates
All this speak of sleek has got us thinking about another one of our favorite KBIS bathroom trends. The seamless linear shower grates by ACO are about as sleek as it gets! And without much surprise, considering that ACO has claimed the title of “worldwide leader in manufacturing stainless steel linear trench and point style drains” for nearly 5 decades. ACO started on a larger scale, offering the most efficient drainage systems for industrial applications. The engineers at ACO took the same heavy-duty drainage design that they would use on a downtown sidewalk and downsized it into a luxurious shower feature.
Each linear shower grate is constructed from grade 304 stainless steel for unchallengeable durability. ACO offers two different styles of seamless grates and the even more seamless tile insert option. Linear grates are available in 3 different lengths, and each grate has a 2” ABS plastic spigot dead center for optimal drainage, so now you can bid farewell to clogs in style. One of our favorite characteristics of these grates is that they’re easy to install. The ABS Plastic Shower Channel is solid yet flexible, and the easy-to-cut plastic adjustable feet make for a breezy installation. This bathroom trend is a must-have for any shower remodel!
#4: Mosaic Glass Tile
Artistic Tile started out with one simple mission: “to make the world a better place, one tile at a time.” Since their journey began in 1987, they have dedicated themselves to mastering and innovating their craft. Among other profound collections, their Billie Mosaic Collection is a testament to the mastery they have so passionately worked to obtain.
Each tile in Artistic Tile’s Billie Collection is delicately tempered from the best art glass available on the market. These individual tiles are then diligently gathered to create the magical mosaic effect, with a blending contrast of color pouring down like two colliding walls of water. The collection itself is a tribute to the jazz giant, Billie Holiday. With different color waves based on Grey, Blue, and Green, this collection seeks to reflect “Holiday’s trademark melodic vocalizations” in each vibrant glass canvas. When you find yourself face-to-face with the Billie Mosaic glass tile, whether in a walk-in shower or from a vanity’s backsplash, listen closely… you just may hear the ghostly echoes of one of American history’s most prolific vocalists.
#5: Lucette Aluminum Shower Doors
Looking for an industrial farmhouse style to spice up your shower? The black-framed Lucette Aluminum Shower Doors by Century Bathworks will surely satisfy your search! Lucette’s bold matte black frames pay tribute to tradition while also maintaining that modernism everyone seeks and loves.
The customization options with this material are endless. However, we took a special liking to this specific shower door; the Lucette 1631 with Gridworks. We love when design transports our minds to another setting. As we get lost in every interior and exterior detail of this shower enclosure, we can’t help but hear the cows in the distance and feel the gentle pass of a farm meadow’s breeze.
With quality glass fully framed in durable anodized aluminum and customized towel bars wherever you so desire, the Lucette Aluminum Shower Doors offer the perfect balance of practicality and luxury. You won’t just be stepping into a shower anymore. You’ll be stepping into an experience.
#6: Bidets of the Future
Close your eyes and imagine that you walk into your bathroom to use the toilet. The first WOW slips through your lips as you approach a floating bowl, glistening in all its glory, its luxurious cotton finish illuminated by programmed nightlights, an aesthetic experience rarely met in dreams. As you inch closer to the general vicinity of the toilet, the seat mechanically opens on its own. You notice a pre-mist function taking place in the bowl, a function that—when paired with CEFIONECT ceramic glazing—already starts cleaning your toilet before you even use it. A self-cleaning toilet? Yes, please!
The seat is warm and perfect on your skin. In fact, 5 different temperature settings allow you to set the seat’s surface to the best level of comfort, given the time of year. As you use the toilet, it self-deodorizes, stifling any unwanted smells along the way. The bidet itself is astounding, offering a remote-controlled “front cleanse, soft rear cleanse, rear cleanse, oscillating cleanse, and pulsating cleanse.” To top off the futuristic encounter, you can also customize the temperature and force of the spray, following with a customized drying experience.
At this point, you may find yourself worried because such perfection can rarely be duplicated. However, think again. This smart bidet steps into genius, allowing you to store the exact spray and dry settings into the bidet’s memory for future recreation. Instantly after you rise, a 1 GPF (gallons per flush) TORNADO FLUSH roars, backed up by another gentle—and automatic—EWATER and cleansing mist, equipped with electrolyzed water for a level of clean seldom seen. As you walk away from the toilet, the lid silently shuts behind you. For a moment, you mistakenly think that you just walked off the set of a sci-fi movie. Then you realize it was all real. You just experienced the Toto NEOREST AH.
#7: Docking Drawers
Thanks to this ingenious trend, you can say goodbye to the rat’s nest of tangled chords. Not only is it an extreme eyesore, but when appliance chords have completely engulfed your bathroom countertop, it can be dangerous. The Docking Drawer Blade Series provides a safe and sleek alternative to cleaning up those cluttered chords, providing an exclusive place for everything you use.
With the Docking Drawer at your fingertips, your bathroom appliances will always be powered up and ready to go. Unplugging your hairdryer to put it away, only to take it out again the next day, costs you time. But is it safe to just leave things plugged in all the time? Most of the time, the answer is no, it is not safe. However, with the Docking Drawer, all that changes.
Having a plug feature that automatically cuts power off if its environment exceeds safe temperatures grants you a mind at ease. The Blade Series offers a single outlet, equipped with two plug inserts and two USB features. The Blade Duo offers two outlets. That means you could charge your phone, iPad, wireless headphones, portable charger, shaver, and an electric toothbrush, all while you’re blow-drying and straightening your hair and all in one single drawer! Now that’s what we call efficient special planning.
#8: A Bathtub Beyond Luxury
Ever wonder what an elegant, multi-faceted and technologically advanced smart tub looks like? Well, look no further. The Stillness freestanding bath by Kohler has officially hit the market, and its shaken and reshaped the entire bathing experience.
With this tub in your home, the traditional trip to the spa instantly becomes obsolete. You’ll no longer need to dish out all those dollars to treat yourself, as Stillness awaits just down the hall. This bathtub has it all and more. A simple yet majestic design hosts the tub’s water overflow function, a function that both stuns the sight and tickles the ears. Stillness doesn’t stop there, though, as this tub stimulates all 5 senses and the soul.
Kohler’s Stillness is conveniently controlled in the palm of your hand via smartphone. The idea of the latter is undoubtedly cool, but the reality behind it is simply stunning and, quite frankly, mind-blowing. With a single swipe of the finger, Stillness allows you to simultaneously custom set the serene lighting in the water and around the tub’s exterior base. The tub’s innovative control settings also provide fog implementation and aromatherapy features. Stillness brings upscale serenity to just-down-the-hall, skyrocketing self-care to a whole new spectrum of experience and redefining luxury as we know it. This tub treks far beyond fine living.