Kitchen & Bath Industry Show: Sinks that speak of cool and calm, mats to protect under the sink
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In these uncertain economic times, there’s a tendency to emphasize function as much as beauty. That’s apparent at the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show going on this week in Las Vegas.
Which certainly doesn’t mean there’s nothing to ooh and ahh about. And sinks are among the beautiful objects on the convention floor. The copper sink at left from Premier Copper Products is made by hand. The company also has a copper Japanese-style soaking tub, as well as fixtures and lights, made at its facility in Mexico.
For people who want their bathrooms to have a spa-like feel, Lenova’s organic-looking stone sinks would be perfect. They seem to exude calm. Made from granite, marble, travertine and other materials, they’re often free-form. In some, a second, smaller stone covers the drain, adding a note of remove from the modern world of plumbing. One sink is cut from a giant geode-like stone. (Those are Lenova sinks, above and below.)
Lenova is the company that also makes sinks of bamboo, and it has a sumptuous marble sink it showed in a square shape but that can be cut in lengths up to 5 feet.
On the practical side, a few companies offered a solution to a common problem -- the drips and goop that gather on the floor under the kitchen sink. Hafele, a high-end company with U.S. headquarters in North Carolina, showed off a polystyrene dimpled mat that goes under the sink and can collect up to a gallon of water in the dimples. Keep reading for more details on the idea ...
Rev-A-Shelf had a similar product, shown above. Eddie Chappel, the Western sales manager, said it will be available starting in June in the almond color. The company is considering adding a silver color.
When cleaning products or water drip onto the floor under the sink, they can deteriorate the surface over time, Chappel said. The mat holds 1.75 quarts of liquid, he said.
His company offers products in a range of prices. ‘If you’ve got a $50,000 budget, we can spend your money,’ he said, but Rev-A-Shelf’s products will also work in a $10,000 kitchen budget.
-- Mary MacVean in Las Vegas
Upper photo credit: Premier Copper Products
Lenova sink photos credit: Isaac Brakken / For The Times
Lower photos credit: Rev-A-Shelf
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