Toilet Seats With a NightLight? Pure Air Build Into the Commode? The Lifestylist List’s Favorites from 2015

It’s hard to believe that another year has flown by, and in less than two weeks this Lifestylist® will be in Las Vegas covering Design & Construction Week for CandysDirt.com. Before we get to take a look into the future and see what innovative products and trends we’ll be seeing in 2016, we thought we would revisit 10 of our favorite trends from last year and see which of those made it into a home near you.

This is the third year that the International Builders Show, Kitchen and Bath Industry Show, International Window Coverings Expo and the International Surface Event (flooring) have been held in the same location during the same week. Imagine more than 2,500 exhibitors in over 1.2 million net square feet of exhibit space and over 110,000 attendees – I’m already exhausted just thinking about it! But being able to see the best and brightest in one location has made it so much easier to spot trends and see things that I normally wouldn’t have the opportunity to see and share.

Let’s start with The New American Home – a custom home that has many of these great new products incorporated into it. We were the Lifestylist® for The New American Home in 2011, and after being that closely involved with the project we have a much better feeling for how much work goes into this. In many cases, this is the first time products are actually used in a home so you are dealing with a lot of prototypes and unknowns. The 2015 home was a show stopper with spectacular views of the Las Vegas strip, multiple water features, and an entertaining area like you have never seen before. Even with all of the soaring ceilings and glass the home achieved net-zero energy meaning that the home creates as much renewable energy as it is using. The home is a great example of how beautiful green living can be now. We think this is a trend that will continue to be important. A trend we started seeing in 2015 was countertops that were backlit. A great use of light and really beautiful.  We’ll be sharing more about this home in SecondShelters.com soon.

Lighting: I was amazed to find out how much has changed with lighting, how accessible LED lighting is now and the ways it is being used. You no longer need a ceiling full of cans with enormous bulbs in them to light up a large room – Halo Lighting has a huge assortment of small, even designer recessed lighting that will give you more light and take up less space. LED flex strip lighting was found everywhere from being used as task lighting under and inside cabinets to acting as a night light above the bathroom cabinet kickboard. I have a feeling I’ll be seeing a lot of this at the show this year.

Kitchen Appliances: This category can be completely overwhelming, but there is truly something out there for everyone. No budget? This La Cornue Chateau Series range is for you. Hand-made to order just outside of Paris, you have over 8,000 configurations to choose from.

GE showed their GE Cafe refrigerator that not only had a water and ice dispenser in the french doors, you could also brew a cup of coffee or tea using the built-in Keurig K-Cup brewing system.

Viking focused on their Urban Kitchen series, and I was intrigued by their Turbo Chef oven which they claim is the fastest oven in the world. It still shows coming soon on their website so I’ll be curious to see if they have it this year.

When I spoke with Tim Jackson of Tim Jackson Custom Homes we both thought that the steam convection oven by Thermador was one of the most innovative products for the kitchen. I’m saving a spot in my home for one of these Pro Grand Steam Ranges – what a beauty! I know that their “culinary preservation centers” continues to be a focus as well as designing products for the ultimate culinary enthusiast. Their appliances will be featured in The New American Home so we’ll get to see first-hand what’s new.

The Bath: Somehow Kohler always manages to bring new, innovative products to market and 2015 was no exception. They incorporated LED lighting into many of their products including a toilet seat that has a nightlight and Purefresh – a deodorizing system. Have someone in your family that forgets to put the seat down? You can also get this complete with an in-line heater and remote control. Rumor has it that you’ll be seeing these in some Tim Jackson Custom Homes soon!

You can have your own world class spa at home now with Kohler’s DTV+ system, and some of their accessible design products were incredible. I can’t wait to see what’s going to be next!

There are so many more products to talk about but we’ve got to go start packing. I do want to share one of the things that was at the top of the Lifestylist List last year – this Masterbrand cabinet display that had a Dimplex Opti-myst® fireplace system built right into the cabinet! It utilizes water based ultrasonic technology to produce a “flame” that isn’t a heat source.

Do you want to view the 2016 shows and trends as we discover them? Follow us on Instagram or Twitter, and you can also follow us by using #CandysDirt. We’ll also be sharing what some of our CandysDirt Hot Builders think are the most innovative products that make sense for the Dallas market.  See you at the shows!