Fancy toilets, travel memories at Kitchen & Bath Industry Show in Las Vegas

 

The Japanese company Inax showed off its Satis toilet at the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show, which opened Tuesday at the Las Vegas Convention Center. High-tech, high-end toilets from Kohler, Inax, Toto and others got plenty of attention at the show. This picture, from Inax, speaks to the feeling of luxury the toilet is meant to evoke.

The 48th annual Kitchen & Bath Industry Show gave companies a chance to show off cabinets, hardware, showers, sinks, counter top materials and other products for an expected 40,000 people. Among the popular ideas showing up on the convention floor were water conservation and technological innovations, including items that work with just a touch or by motion sensor.

One of them was the CleanCut, left. It's a paper towel dispenser that allows the user to cut just as much towel as needed. And it feeds Americans' obsessions with germs -- no need to touch anything except the towel. Perfect for someone handling raw meats, said Mike Graham, president of the Pitman, N.J.-based company. The product costs $129 in black or white, $149 in stainless-steel (shown).

The show also has products adaptable for people of varying ages and sizes and abilities, such as cupboard shelving that pulls out, bathtubs with doors on the front to make them more easily accessible and drawers with interior lightning. That, experts said, responds to aging baby boomers' needs and to the likelihood that many homes will be multigenerational in years to come.

Also getting a long look from attendees were some door knobs and pulls from Top Knobs. Those below, which will be available later this year, are meant to reflect the design of the Great Wall of China. Others in the Passport series will be reflections of the designs of the Tower Bridge of London, Luxor in Egypt and the Trevi Fountain of Rome.

 

-- Mary MacVean in Las Vegas

Top photo from Inax; others by Mary MacVean / Los Angeles Times

Pasadena Showcase House takes over 1927 English Revival

 

This year's 47th annual Pasadena Showcase House and Garden Tour features many great rooms, but no modern Great Room, as in a sprawling space for simultaneous TV watching, cooking and entertaining.

Instead, the designers who worked on this year's property, a 1927 Paul Williams English Revival, preserved those bygone bones of relatively small bedrooms, lots of tiny nooks and a downright minuscule kitchen compared with today's food-court-sized culinary zones.

Jan Ledgard of Yorkshire Kitchens Inc. kept the kitchen's original footprint intact, hid most of the modern-day appliances behind era-appropriate facades, and even reused the original jewel-green crystal knobs.

With a total of 7,400 square feet, the home's biggest spaces include a regally proportioned dining room (done by Amy Devault) and a truly sprawling reception hall by George Massar Design. (Don't forget to check on the telephone closet off the front door, also done by Massar, who incorporated the original wall-mounted candlestick phone into the look.).

Yes, there is a huge, high-ceilinged great room designed by David Dalton, with some of the ground floor's only bursts of vibrant color, but don't look for massive flat screens or easy kitchen access here. This is about a pre-digital, pre-Snackwells age of relaxation, in which the decor gets people into fireplace- and garden-viewing mode.

 

Upstairs, more big-name SoCal designers worked on various rooms, including Kristi Nelson of KMNelson Design, who did the lady-in-waiting bedroom and bathroom; Barclay Butera, who created an exotic looking bedroom/bathroom called the Regal Retreat; and Tamara Kaye-Honey, who imagined a retro chic rumpus room.

Unlike previous Pasadena tours, this one includes a renovated garage by Jaime Dietenhofer and Scott Siler of Garage Envy and a once dirt-floored horse stable that has been converted into the guest cottage by Joshua Cain and Jeff Godbold of Saxony Design Built.

Also new to the tour: a butterfly garden/habitat by David Snow, a pub area in the restaurant tent, and a before-and-after video that will be shown in the shuttle that ferries visitors from the Rose Bowl parking lot to the house (about a 12-minute ride, according to organizers).

From April 17-May 15; tickets $30-40. Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday from 9 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 9 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. Closed Mondays.

-- Alexandria Abramian Mott

Upper photo: The Showcase House's rumpus room. Credit: Tamara Kaye-Honey

Lower photo: The house's Regal Retreat. Credit: Barclay Butera

 

Sleek Identity pops up on Abbot Kinney

Sleek Identity, an online store for contemporary housewares that launched in May, is testing the waters of retail with a pop-up store that opens Friday on Abbot Kinney in Venice.

Among the streamlined and super-cute items, all exclusive European imports, is the shower caddy, Octopus, above. The $35 natural latex critter loops over a shower head (no suction cups required) and has eight arms with adjustable loops for bottles, brushes and washcloths. Bonus: You can hang those shampoo and conditioner containers upside-down.

Sleek Identity was founded by Stefanie Gelinas, a TV producer who often travels to Europe for work and comes home with new home designs.

"I have to deal with the horror of international shipping," said Gelinas, who has a special affinity for pieces that can be flat-packed.

One such product is Martin Konrad Gloeckle's Bendino lamp, right, a laser-cut, powder-coated steel piece that folds into shape.

The 10-inch-high light comes in five colors and sells for $72. 

Gelinas and her kids test everything at home first, "to make sure it doesn't just look good, but that it is also good design."  

Her missionary zeal for the products led to the holiday pop-up shop, which will be open for at least four weeks.

"None of the designers are known in the U.S.," she said. "And a lot of the items need to be seen and touched to be understood and appreciated."

Keeping reading to see more designs ...

The Deal: Marimekko sale ending soon at FinnStyle

Through Thursday, FinnStyle is holding a clearance sale on designs by Marimekko, the Finnish textile studio, including the oversized pillow with a blue cheetah lounging on a tree branch.

The 100% cotton cheetah design was created by Teresa Moorhouse; it's zippered and filled with a hypoallergenic polyester pillow. Normally $120, it's now $108. Other sale items include the Unikko shower curtain, regularly $55, now $44.10; Joonas beach towel, normally $65, now $55.25; and Unikko curtain panels, regularly $125, now $106.25.

Fabric sold by the yard includes cottons, PVC-coated textiles and upholstery material.

-- Lisa Boone

Photo credit: Marimekko

Architectural salvage fans have a new stop in Pasadena

Connoisseurs and collectors of authentic Craftsman, Spanish Colonial Revival and Art Deco architectural details can enjoy one-stop shopping in the San Gabriel Valley now that Pasadena Architectural Salvage and Architectural Detail have teamed up at a new joint location. The companies, popular resources among preservation-minded contractors, designers and homeowners, this month opened a 14,000-square-foot retail space on Foothill Boulevard.

"Before, we were serving some of the same clients, but they were having to drive back and forth from store to store. This place is more convenient, with much better parking and a loading dock in back. It also allows us to be under one roof but still remain two separate businesses," says Gayle Stoner.

With business partner Chris Shackelford, Stoner bought Pasadena Architectural Salvage in 2008 following the death of original owner Cary Pasternak. After the 5-year-old store lost the lease to its San Gabriel Boulevard location, Stoner and Shackelford found spacious new digs for rent just four blocks away and approached their crosstown colleagues with the possibility of joining forces.

Architectural Detail, an architectural restoration consulting firm and online salvage dealer that was established in 1997 and located on Valley Street, considered the shared storefront a win-win proposition.

"While our business is still primarily online, we can’t help but benefit from the bricks-and-mortar association with Gayle, who is very customer-oriented," says Skip Willetts, co-owner with wife Janice.

Setting up showrooms side by side has prompted the companies to tweak their respective inventories to avoid direct competition. Pasadena Architectural Salvage sold all of its bathtubs, lavatories and toilets to Architectural Detail but continues to trade in accessories such as medicine cabinets, towel bars and soap holders. Meanwhile, Architectural Details sold its inventory of doors -- hundreds of them -- and about half of its hardware to Pasadena Architectural Salvage. Keep reading for more on the offerings, including additional photos.

The Deal: Garnet Hill discounts Lilly Pulitzer bath and bedding through June 22

This bright pink shower curtain from Lilly Pulitzer Home will wake you up faster than an early-morning espresso.

Another thing that will open your eyes? Garnet Hill is discounting the design, called the Foxgloves shower curtain, by 20% through June 22. All of the website's other Lilly Pulitzer housewares are on sale too.

That includes Pulitzer's trademark, sunny-print bedding, pillow covers, coverlets, towels, bath mats and quilts. (And no, not all of the designs are pink.) More information: (800) 870-3513; www.garnethill.com.

-- Lisa Boone

Photo credit: Garnet Hill

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New beach towel collection from Amy Butler

Designer Amy Butler may have wowed the crowd at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair last month with her new line of wallpaper for Graham and Brown, but her gorgeous new beach towels seem more of-the-moment as summer approaches. 

Known for a dizzying array of modern fabrics, bags and patterns -- even eco-friendly gift wrap -- Butler has moved into home decor. Her towels feature beautiful combinations of colors, arresting floral prints and contrasting borders.

The plush towels are created with 100% organic cotton and measure 39 by 70 inches.

At just $19.99 each, they're a great deal.

Butler's bath towels are not new, but they're so pretty, they're worth noting here. Shown at right, they are $12.99 each. Hand towels are $8.99 apiece, and washcloths are $5.99.

They're all available at Bed, Bath and Beyond and Butler's shopping site.

-- Lisa Boone

Photo credits: David Butler

Patricia Urquiola's collection for Axor: the bathroom as one giant mirror of your way of life

 
Patricia Urquiola, arguably the world’s hottest designer, seems to be the creative force behind 97% of what you see in the world these days. Indoor furniture, outdoor furniture, housewares, architectural installations, lighting exhibitions -- the Spanish-born designer and her Italian studio seem to be everywhere, doing it all. Give Urquiola the California budget mess and she might be the one who can design a solution.

On Monday night in New York, she presented her design for the new W resort on the Caribbean island of Vieques; on Saturday, she was at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair walking me through the North America launch of her bathroom collection for Axor. At first glance the sinks and tubs are pure Axor, beautifully streamlined in aesthetic and efficient in function. But poured into all those clean lines and polished finishes were layers of meaning -- Urquiola’s attempt to get people thinking harder about sustainability, the bathroom and their daily routines in it.

Yes, on the face of it, Urquiola’s sink simply has a graceful shape, one that’s at once rustic and modern, at home in a city loft or a contemporary country retreat. But as she pointed out, slits on the sides gently evoke the image of a bucket -- “and when you fill a bucket, you think quantity – how much,” she said. “How much am I using?” Just as we might strive not to spill a drop from bucket, she said, so too must we better manage what’s flowing into our sinks. “It’s time to take care of the water we use,” she said. “Come on!”

The same slit appears on the bath, where it's aesthetically pleasing as well as functional -- a towel holder for the designer's modern riff on the claw-foot tub. But here too Urquiola pushed sustainability. Rather than create an oversized, boxy spa tub, she designed elegant curves that hug the back and taper inward, subtly reducing the amount of water needed to fill the vessel while preserving the illusion of size and the sense of luxury.

The collection's faucets are sleek with a touch of playfulness. Perhaps more important, they're equipped with the German company's engineering: "dynamic flow restrictors" and aerators that create a higher air-to-water ratio. Compared with Axor faucets from just a couple of years ago, Urquiola's line will deliver 18% less water per minute -- theoretically with no discernible difference to you while you're washing your hands.

When Axor brand manager Philippe Grohe said the collection was four years in the making, I asked him how he started discussions with Urquiola. He answered:

“My first question to her was, ‘What does the bathroom mean to you?’ And the first thing she said was: ‘It’s the first place where every day, I have to look at myself in the mirror.' ”

Urquiola’s point was not only metaphorical but also literal. In her concept room pictured at top, notice how the faucet and sink on the wall have their mirrors set to the sides, not directly above. What woman, Urquiola asked, wants to look at herself over a sink, brushing her teeth?

-- Craig Nakano

Photo: Axor

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Meet Tobi Tobin, the rock 'n' roll Martha Stewart

Perched on an antique cast iron Empire daybed clad in tufted black patent leather, above, interior designer Tobi Tobin cuts a stylish figure that's a little more Sunset Strip than Sunset Plaza, where her store keeps company with cafes and designer fashion boutiques. Look around the shop and you'll spot furniture, sculpture and books, as well as Tobin's signature bedding, stone flooring, carpets, candles and vintage jewelry. There's even an authentic Parisian confectionery display case laden with handmade chocolates.

"I'm Martha Stewart with a rock 'n' roll twist," says Tobin, who once manned the velvet ropes at L.A. nightclubs.

Working with clients in the music and film business, Tobin has also had the opportunity to develop her own California-casual upholstery, "It's definitely chic, not shabby," she says.

One such design is the Belgian linen-covered Dane (as in Dane Cook), chair, $3,600, shown at right. It has a low and lounge-y profile and deftly updates an Asian wishbone chair silhouette with Danish modern simplicity.

Behind the Dane chair: a painting by Edward Lentsch, who will be feted by Tobin during an public reception Tuesday () from 6 to 9 p.m. at 8601 Sunset Blvd.

Lentsch's stark canvases and Tobin's custom designs mix easily with the rest of her merchandise: Old World metal chairs, midcentury classics by designers such as Arne Jacobsen and Gio Ponti, and industrial pieces. 

"It's timeless and educated and doesn't dictate a style," Tobin says of her aesthetic. "That's what I'm all about."

One thing she isn't about: color. If it isn't black, white or the color of wood, metal or stone, Tobin isn't interested. "I never work with primary colors," she says.

The store has a strong masculine appeal but is not without a softer side. There's a glamorous candle closet that stocks 10 different fragranced candles that sell for $85 each, and an upstairs loft offers a full line of plush made-in-the-U.S. Turkish terry cloth towels that run from $15 for a face cloth to $95 for a bath sheet. 

See them, and that irresistible chocolate counter, after the jump.

Henry Road designs new glass tiles for Modwalls

I love visiting the tiny store Henry Road whenever I am in Studio City. The jam-packed shop just off Ventura Boulevard always has a quirky mix of art and objects chosen by the owner Paula Smail.

Smail, who is also a textile designer, has branched out into another medium: glass tile.

The Northern California-based Modwalls, known for their modern tiles, is taking Smail's designs and kiln-firing them onto the back of their Lush glass tile line. The result is a striking wallpaper effect.

The tiles are mesh mounted by the square foot; each sheet contains four 6-inch-square tiles. They cost $36.95 to $45.95 per sheet.

There are five designs available: Gloria (pictured at right), Circles, Field, Butterfly (above) and Bullrush. Custom sizes and colors are also available through Modwalls by special order. For further information: (877) 439-9734.

Alas, Smail doesn't have any tiles in her Henry Road shop. But it's worth stopping in anyway, I say.

Henry Road, 3949 Laurelgrove Ave., Studio City. (818) 762-8966 or www.henryroad.com or info@henryroad.com.

-- Lisa Boone

Photo credit: Modwalls

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