Best In Show- 2013 Trends, Year in Review:

YEAR IN REVIEW: 2013 year literally flew by, bringing uplifting innovations and energy to the design world that should have good staying power in 2014. Let’s take a look through the CPD lens at the Kitchen, Bath, Home Technology, Design, Lighting and Style stars of 2013:

photo credit: Susan Serra

TECHNOLOGY:

 LED wallpapers, as seen at ICFF. Meystyle dominates the LED wallpaper options, was star of the show in my opinion.

The new Nest Protect, a sleek smoke detector upgrade which communicates with your iPhone.

Programmable lights, remote, from your iPhone- lights that can change color… endless possibilities with this one.

The perfect solution for under the rug cords. Bless the person who thought of this.

PATTERN:

 Animal prints, big time. And the Herringbone pattern. These by Ralph Lauren.

 Exotic patterns, mixed.  These by Madeline Weinrib.

Rustic and tribal patterns. Also by Madeline Weinrib.

Ann Sacks rocks the mirrored tiles into elegant shapes and patterns.

DESIGN WITH A SENSE OF HUMOR:

Jimmie Martin gives us cause to pause, double take … and smile.

Life sized lamps rock. This one also by Jimmie Martin.  I want to put this one in the same room as a Moooi Horse Lamp.

BRITISH VIBE: 

 Timothy Outlton had a big year, delivering the hip British man cave vibe to cities across the US with multiple store openings.

Ralph Lauren stayed elegant with this Apartment No 1 collection designed to be a nod to Will & Kate, featuring a nice mix of deco, contemporary hip and classic. I love the updated Chesterfield look, the Brook Street Sofa.

BEST TEST KITCHEN:

 Kitchen Heaven. This one, at the Sub-Zero Wolf HQ in Madison, is better than one might even think to dream for a fantasy kitchen. See Sub-Zero Wolf Media Event here.

BEST OF KITCHEN:

LED lit shelves- in refrigerators and cabinets, seen in Germany at Living Kitchen show.

 If money is not an issue…. La Cornue. As Seen at Architectural Digest show in New York.

See how great a La Cornue kitchen can be…. Image from Veranda Magazine, Interior Design by Daniel Cuevas, photograph by Max Kim-Bee.

Steam cooking is surprisingly fast, efficient and delicious. Steam ovens can create meals that might surprise you- like pasta, like molten chocolate desserts, like fajitas- you name it, the results are impressive (and lower in fat). You can even cook multiple items in the steam ovens simultaneously without worry of flavor transfer. Steam cooking = less mess and time spent – to be healthier. Hard to argue with that. Miele Steam Oven pictured above.

Wolf’s New Generation— rounds the back end of the oven shelves, so now we are free to make BIGGER pizzas in our ovens. Well done, Wolf!

Those red knobs mean one thing: Wolf. In this case, a great gas range experience… now with more precise control than ever. Innovative dual-stacked sealed burners have two tiers of flame ports. When you are boiling, searing or stir-frying, the upper tier produces impressive power. Turn down the heat and the lower tier provides delicate control for low, slow simmers.

BEST OF BATH:

Lots of shower options are now available.   If a rain shower experience is on your wish list, then Axor can deliver that with style.  

Mr. Steam’s SteamTherapy delivers health benefits to a spa like experience in your own home…

Brizo’s H2Okinetic Technology delivers a massage-like experience by forcing those water droplets to take a new zig zag pattern, rather than a straight trajectory as we are used to. H2Okinetic Technology creates a “drop” of water that is 40% larger than a normal drop of water. Combine both of these technologies and the same amount of water pressure feels like MORE.

It is all in the details. Drains are now beautiful. We highlighted Watermark’s collection in a Huffington Post Article earlier this year.

Above and below, glass and stone partner in the water-jet mosaics from Ann Sacks.

Vanities are getting more elegant…. above by Devon & Devon, below by Ornare.

The drawers in this piece glide with smooth precision and have fully customizable inserts to keep organized. Ornare has showrooms in Miami and Dallas- a must if you are ever in either city.

Ornare also brings this detail oriented luxury to closets.They think of everything- motion activated LED lighting inside the closets, boot racks,tie or belt hooks, luxe hardware, hand stitching, lined closets… you name it, they have already thought beyond your dreams.

 Croc embossed leather, monogrammed handles. Everything from Ornare is custom from Brazil.

BEST PENDANTS:

Mineheart. I absolutely adore this light. Must have.

Pendants are evolving into statement pieces.  Thank goodness. Love these at Scott & Cooner.

BEST BUZZ:

 Miele coffee makers…steaming the perfect frothy latte every time. Turn your kitchen into a cafe, using either the whole bean system or the Nespresso capsule system..

BEST CUSTOM RUGS:

Luxurious silk and wool patterns and colors by Madeline Weinrib.

BEST ADVICE: 

 Charlotte Moss is a class act. When she spoke at the Design Bloggers Conference earlier this year, she generously offered wise words on a variety of useful subjects.

Regarding the Rude Ones- “To those gutless wonders who want to dish on you, say no to that. Say no to anonymous commenters. It’s all about accountability. Do not engage them…”

Want a few more of Moss’ sage pointers? See more here.

 If 2014 is half as exciting as 2013, it’s going to require some serious vitamins to keep up.  I look forward to seeing what the year brings and sharing the adventures with you. If there is anything in particular that you would like to see more or less of on this site, I hope you will feel free to let me know. Cheers to a year of health, happiness and prosperity…

Why wait for year end? We call it like we see it, all through the year.