JAMIE GOLD KITCHEN
AND BATH DESIGN, LLC

jgkitchens.com

Gold Notes
Jamie Gold, CKD, CAPS
San Diego, CA

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2013 ADEX Design Project Award Nominee

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NIFTY NUGGETS: Decorative Toilet Tank Levers

14 May 2013


NIFTY NUGGETS: Decorative Toilet Tank Levers

houzz interior design ideas

Folks who know me well know of my distaste for cheap plastic products — and of my utter delight in lovely decorative details.

For whatever odd reason, I was thinking about toilet tank levers this morning, and how so many of the mass-produced models on the market today have cheap, ugly plastic  or very basic chrome handles.  (These will not look good in a bathroom remodel with oil rubbed bronze or brushed nickel finishes everywhere else!)

When I’m working on a reno that reuses an existing toilet — and there have been a few of these in recent years — I always replace the existing handle with one that matches  the new faucets and accessories.   (Most of the major decorative plumbing company brands sell coordinating decorative toilet tank levers.)   There are now options that personalize this humble lever to your personal interests, too, in many of the popular finishes.  I can see these being fun in a kids’ bath, game room bath, fishing cabin or vacation home bathroom, but there are also styles featuring flowers and scrolls that would nicely enhance a ma’am cave or powder room.

Here are a few that made me smile, along with a video link from HomeAdditionPlus.com on how to replace them on your own.  It should be noted that I’m not a DIY gal myself.  I’m a hire a pro type.

TBP - Bass - coolarooshadesails.co

Fish tank

Bowl in one!

TBP - Surf - coolaro

Loo wave

TBP - Guitar - coolaro

Rocking the Bowl!

(All Photos [...]

KBIS 2013 – Best Trends at the Kitchen and Bath Industry Show

7 May 2013


KBIS 2013 – Best Trends at the Kitchen and Bath Industry Show

houzz interior design ideas

Last week, I blogged about my favorite products from the 2013 Kitchen and Bath Industry Show in New Orleans – one of my favorite cities in the US. This week, I’m going to riff on my favorite KBIS trends.

Softness Trend

One of my favorite trends at the show was a delicious move toward softness. This showed up in colors, textures and even movement. It was a welcome shift from the hard, polished brights and sharp edges of recent years, though those showed up, too.

Rohl’s new Shaw sink was a scene stealer. The Waterside Apronfront had a softly-curved front that won Best of KBIS — and a lot of new fans for an old classic. Rohl also made the soft glow of copper easier to live with in their new Luxury Stainless line that looks like that sensitive metal, but won’t patina or require any work beyond regular cleaning.

One of my favorite new offerings was Rev-A-Shelf’s new soft-close tilt-out tray, which I also wrote about in my Best of KBIS nominees post a few weeks back.  I love these hidden little space builders, but have never loved their tendency to slam close. Kudos to this brand for solving that with a soft-close hinge.

I also liked Salice’s new soft bronze-finish European hinge. Even though it’s completely hidden when a cabinet door is closed, it blends far better with the most popular dark woods when open, creating a softer look overall.

Two of my favorites, as I mentioned last week, were Brizo’s Champagne and Cocoa Bronze Charlotte suite and Silestone’s Suede finish engineered stone tops. I expect to be specifying both in the coming months, and will be looking at Suede for my own kitchen.

KBIS 2013 - Trend - Waterside Sink

Best of KBIS [...]