Design & Construction Week, the massive annual expo combining the International Builders’ Show with the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show, wrapped last Thursday with record attendance and multiple award programs. Resilience, wellness and sustainability dominated the trends in this largest show of its kind in the world.
According to the National Association of Home Builders, which owns IBS, more than 124,000 residential design and building pros visited more than 2400 exhibitors across the four Las Vegas Convention Center halls. This was the 12th year that the two trade shows were combined.
Here are my initial trend impressions, based on three days walking the show floors and the awards given by NAHB and the National Kitchen & Bath Association, owner of the KBIS side.
Resilience
With the increasing occurrence and ferocity of wildfires, hurricanes and manmade disasters, building resilience features into homes can make them more appealing to buyers and, potentially, more insurable.
The Best of IBS Technology Product winner, Frontline Wildfire Defense’s Frontline Defense System 2 is an automated exterior sprinkler system that turns on both water and biodegradable foam when a wildfire is within seven miles of the property. This creates an environment too wet to burn, according to the manufacturer.
A conversation with a product engineer at the smart home company Savant pointed to the Storm Watch feature on the latest release of its Power App. This automatically reserves all available battery capacity for a weather event or predicted grid outage, maximizing your available stored power during a shutdown. There’s nothing a homeowner needs to do, which is ideal for someone who may be less tech savvy or experiencing personal difficulties during that time.
Wellness
Wellness continues to be a strong home products manufacturer trend, with new releases addressing recent concerns like forever chemicals and microplastics in water and indoor air pollutants from fossil fuel brands compromising residents’ health.
My travels through the show revealed new induction cooktop and range options. KBIS’ Design Bites awarded a Brand with the Biggest Bite prize to BlueStar’s new 48” Platinum Series Induction Range that reveals heat levels on each burner with linear red lights. It’s a useful, safer and healthier substitute for the toxic flames that gas cooking users have relied upon for decades! Fotile integrated heat indicators and air filtration into its new FreshBake Electric Range, as well as syncing with its vent hood.
At the opposite end of the temperature scale, Empava and Kohler both won Best of KBIS awards for their cold plunge tubs. Kohler took gold for its Kohler x Remedy Place Ice Bath and Empava took silver for its Hot/Cold Plunge Indoor Tub. This unique fixture takes the European hot followed by cold exposure wellness strategy to a new configuration with a dual tub offering both. KBIS’ Best of Show went to another European wellness offering, Effe’s sleek Aladdin saunas. (Saunas are gaining popularity in the US, with the country’s wellness focus growing.)
Water filtration was a major trend at the show, with under-sink and whole house systems that address microplastics as well as lead and forever chemicals. Kraus and Moen were two of the brands offering new options.
Sustainability
This trend ties into both resilience and wellness, with offerings making homeowners safer and healthier. One popular trend was the heat pump water heating system, particularly hybrid models. I saw them at GE and Rheem booths, but I’m sure there were others as well. These eliminate the need for gas-powered models that take toxin-producing products out of the home, and can save the homeowner significantly on their utility bills. As noted above, there are new induction cooking appliances that offer the same benefits.
LEDs continue to innovate home lighting. Illuminating cabinetry interiors, countertops, stairs and shelving improves visibility and safety. Hafele offered some great new products in this category that let users choose their lighting temperature. Viewrail’s staircases with lighting strips integrated into the treads was a handsome example of this trend.
Energy management was a sustainability trend at the show, with Span Home earning a Best of IBS Energy Efficiency Product award for its smart electrical panel. Not only does it let you optimize your usage, it also lets you add popular electrical features (e.g., EV chargers, induction ranges) more easily and affordably than you can achieve with a standard panel.
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