Designer Connection - March 2022
Welcome to BKBG’s March 2022 Designer Connection, written exclusively to benefit members of the BKBG Designer Alliance. Each month, Connection will profile a member of the Alliance, offer product and trend updates and share professional development opportunities. Most importantly, Connection is another tool to bring the BKBG design community together, to share best and successful practices and to enable you to build your network of peers who face the same challenges and opportunities that you must address daily. We welcome your comments, input and suggestions for improvement. Post your comments on the Design Alliance TEAMS platform or send them to BKBG Director of Membership and Engagement Jennifer Swenson.
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The Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS) returned to an in-person event in 2022. In case you were not able to attend, here are several design trends that were prevalent at KBIS in February in Orlando.
Changing Color Pallets
While white kitchens are never expected to go out of style, you were hard-pressed to find an all-white kitchen at KBIS. There were lots of colored cabinets in softer tones of green, coral and blue. This display from Café Appliances (above) featured a matte black appliance finish with copper controls and a green toned backsplash.
More Curves
Kitchen displays moved away from rectangular shapes with sharp, stark corners to a more rounded motif. There were islands with curved ends and lots of displays with curved tops, oval mirrors and soft radiuses at the end of vanities. That trend extended to an abundance of curved faucets.
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More Options for Kitchen Products Outside the Kitchen
The increased production of under-counter appliances resulted in displays of home bars with a dishwasher and wine fridge designed for the living room. Quartz was displayed as a gaming table and used as a surround for a fireplace. Cabinet hardware traditionally found in kitchens and baths is being repurposed for casework and furniture.
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Two-Toned Finishes
Everywhere you look there were fixtures with multiple finishes and finish combinations, not only with faucets but with all metallic products ranging from vent hoods and sinks to cabinet hardware and appliances. Monogram featured leather wrapped pull for refrigerators and ranges.
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Focus on Health and Well Being
Manufacturers were creative in introducing products that bring nature indoors. Caesarstone’s new Pebbles line offers a warm, monochromatic range that evokes small stones and dappled sunlight. Many of the dual finishes in faucets, hardware and sinks evoke a natural vibe. Sherwin-Williams debuted its Living Well collection that includes “Super Paint” that can be ordered with air-purifying technology that reduces VOCs or sanitizing technology that helps to kill certain bacteria for up to four years.
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Workstation Sinks
There was a vast array of different workstation sink options offered by a number of manufacturers.
Improved and Expanded Storage and Organization Solutions
Because many homeowners have spent most of their time for the past two years in their homes, it is not surprising that KBIS featured expanded food storage solutions for kitchens that include walk-in pantries or storage capacity integrated into cabinets. Manufacturers are improving their storage solutions in response to homeowners spending more time entertaining in their homes. Not only were there more cabinet accessories, but there were also improved functionality from those accessories providing options to slot plates and platters to enhanced pull-outs.
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Designer Spotlight: Brad Porzelius, Leatherman Supply, Goshen, IN
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The Connection Spotlight will provide a profile every month of a BKBG Designer Alliance Member to share their stories, talents and career accomplishments. If you would like to be profiled for an upcoming issue of Connection, contact Jennifer Swenson.
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When you love what you do, going to work every day is not a task or a chore, it’s a true pleasure. The sense of joy and satisfaction that comes from truly loving what you do has been motivating Brad Porzelius for the last 25 years. As a kitchen designer for Leatherman Supply in Goshen, IN, who Brad relates rescued him from the big box, has a lot of fun every day designing kitchens and helping turn his clients' dreams into realities.
A characteristic of the most successful designers is their ability to listen. Brad is a proactive listener who is never satisfied with the status quo. He understands that to exceed his clients’ expectations he needs to first understand their likes and dislikes, because the more he can learn about his clients the more successful he and they can become. He asks probing questions about lifestyle, wants, needs and visions for a new kitchen. His goal is to deliver a kitchen that not only works to meet his clients’ needs, but also “looks awesome.”
A favorite project of Brad’s was for a client who had a specific vision of what she wanted. Brad was able to create unique spaces in her home. He specified painted cabinets for the laundry room, walnut cabinets for the primary bath and black stained alder cabinets for the kitchen with all the bells and whistles. The end result was understated elegance that was dynamic and truly gorgeous.
Wellborn is Brad’s go-to cabinet line not only because of the breadth of the offering and range of price points, but also Wellborn’s operations. Brad had the good fortune to visit Wellborn’s facility in Alabama. He was impressed by the company’s vertical integration that starts with a log and concludes with boxing a cabinet to send it on its way.
If Brad would change one thing about his industry it is the perception among many of his clients and others that a kitchen can be designed and installed in a couple of weeks. While home improvement television is a great source of inspiration, it is equally a great source of misinformation, especially in today’s supply-chain challenged environment. Brad brings a level of measured reality to his clients explaining achievable timeframes and budget requirements.
When he’s not designing kitchens, Brad is reading about, playing with and driving cars. He’s a car fanatic and would relish the opportunity to buy his favorite automobile, a Cadillac CTSV wagon. Brad noted that Cadillac stopped making the CTSV wagon about seven years ago, but that does not put a damper on his enthusiasm for a hot rod, six-speed wagon with a V-8 engine.
By design, Brad has not ventured far from his boyhood home in Bristol, Indiana. He relishes the close proximity to his family and the lifestyle that the area offers. He fell in love with kitchen design when he was preparing to go to college, working at Menards. He knew from that moment, kitchen design was his career calling, providing endless opportunities to help his neighbors improve their homes and create the kitchens of their dreams.
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The Importance of Crawling Inside Your Client's Head |
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You most likely have a favorite cafe, bar or restaurant that you go whose clientele lives close by. It’s not the kind of place that people would fight traffic to frequent. Many customers who patronize your go-to restaurant do not really go there for its atmosphere, food or the generally very good service. There’s something else. The attraction may be an eccentric and funny bartender who pulls a bottle of wine or pours a drink for customers without them saying a word. He knows what they order. That’s part of being a neighborhood place. The owners are usually present as well. They welcome guests, ask about kids, pets and what’s happening in the lives of their customers. They work extremely hard to make sure that its regulars did not lose interest or seek greener pastures. They demonstrate on each visit that your decision to dine or drink at their place really matters. And that’s the lesson for every kitchen and bath showroom that has repeat clients and wants to keep them and to generate clients who become raving fans and refer your showroom to family, friends and colleagues.
Ask these questions. What do you really know about your repeat customers? We’re not talking about age, position in their firm or where they happen to live. Who are they really? What keeps them up at night? Where do they spend the most time? What do they care about? What are their fears, hopes and dreams? What truly matters?
If we don’t take the time to crawl inside the heads of our clients and understand their stories, how can we possibly meet or even try to exceed their expectations. Repeat and referring customers are the lifeblood of kitchen and bath showroom businesses. They give us hints every day as to what drives them. We need to listen carefully and better understand why they pick us instead of someone else.
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A Resource Like None Other |
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Have a design challenge or question? Post it on Designer Alliance’s TEAMS platform. TEAMS is a great resource to connect and collaborate with your BKBG peers to ask questions, start conversations and access information. Contact Jennifer Swenson to resend your TEAMS invitation or use this link.
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Peer-to-Peer Calls Return March 16
Our next Designer Alliance Peer Group Call will be held on March 16 at 1PM ET. Peer Group Calls are open forums for you to connect with other designers from best-in-class showrooms from across the U.S. to discuss challenges and best practices. A few of the topics that will be addressed on the March 16 call:
- How to align what the customer wants with their budget
- Dealing with clients who continually change their minds
- Dealing with client expectations vs. reality
Register here for the Peer Group call and tell us the topics you’d like to discuss.
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A unique opportunity to improve your 2020 skills and make your job a lot easier is to join BKBG on the last Wednesday of every month for 2020 training classes. Each class is designed for a specific skill level. One month is for basic training, followed by intermediate and then advanced 2020 classes. Here’s one of the tricks we learned in the last class.
Register for BKBG’s 2020 classes by clicking on the following links.
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Hafele’s Symphony Office
Adding a lot more function, style and organization to your office designs is made easier with the new TAG Hardware Symphony Office Organizer from Häfele. This sleek, extremely versatile organizer is available in both wall and desk mount versions with four leather and three metal finish options – allowing you to find the perfect color combination to match any design. Add-on storage accessories like hooks, paper trays, pencil holders, plastic containers and more means you can offer your customers a solution for keeping their desks clutter-free – all while keeping their office items neatly stored within easy reach. Discover additional application images, product guides and other design tips for the Symphony Office Organizer here.
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Formica Group’s 2022 Living Impressions™ Collection |
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The 2022 Living Impressions™ Collection features 14 designs, including five 180fx® Laminate patterns and nine Formica® Laminate patterns, as well as the new Monolith texture all inspired by extensive home and design research.
- The collection focuses on designs that bring comfort and simplicity to the forefront of any design. Natural colors and realistic designs such as textured woods, dark veined marbles and aged metals bring a new meaning to classic.
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Task Lighting and 20/20 Offer Insights Into the Latest Lighting Trends
20/20 is offering a four-part webinar series to help designers keep their fingers on the pulse of the latest industry trends. The first session addresses lighting with BKBG Preferred Vendor Partner Task Lighting. The session identifies what is new in the lighting world and how designers can wield these new innovations to wow clients. Trends that will be covered include layered light techniques to smart home controls. Click here to access the session.
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Bath & Kitchen Business Group
Tom Cohn
Executive Vice President
301-799-7401
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