Ah, spring. Can you smell the fresh cut grass, the gardening, the cherry blossoms? What about the off-shoots from all the spring design shows, particularity fixtures & fittings!

Let me explain, a fixture is a part of your spaces that is fixed in place – like a sink, toilet, lavatory, bidet, etc. But a fitting is a faucet, towel bar, toilet paper holder, robe hook – anything that is fit in place. Now that you know the basics, let’s check out some fancy fixtures & fittings!

Kohler Karbon Bathroom Faucet

Kohler Purist Facuet

Elkay Avado

Nothing’s complete without a failure. This faucet is disgusting. Which geometric shape is it? Who the hell paired it with that very unpractical back-splash? Blech. Elkay needs a new design team.

Toto Giovannoni Washlet

At first impression, this toilet looks like  those little sewing notions that Kim Basinger added to her cat outfit in Batman. The Toto Giovannoni Washlet comes with tech!

“[It] features a self-cleaning washing wand, a heated seat, a deodoriser and remote control, as well as TOTO’s revolutionary rimless toilet design, Tornado Flush and CeFiONtect coating in keeping with the company’s Clean Technology mantra.”

Now, if I could just round up some Brizo…

You’ve heard about have seen the reaction videos on YouTube, but have you thought that designers react to association analysis of predictive consumer trends? I a reaction when I read the press release NKBA Reveals 2010 Kitchen & Bath Design Trends yesterday because I’m not sure if it’s based upon American, North American or trends on the east coast, so I am struggling to find the relevance of some of the trends that my association (which I love dearly and it is very close to my heart) claims.

What I thought would be a good idea is to show the difference that a region, or a select market such as the West Coast, can change the way major associations make predictive trends. Here’s my response list:

Kitchens

1. Eco-chic is the new contemporary

Image courtesy Kohler

2. Low-impact woods emerge

I have noticed in the conversations that I have with people, and the posts in the blogosphere, that economical and sustainable kitchens are absolutely key to moving ahead in this world. Flat panel doors in Bamboo, Kieri board, or reclaimed lumber that are clear coated in a semi-gloss low-VOC finish are what I am seeing more and more of. Ply-woods and particle board frames are moving toward formaldehyde free and even Soy and hemp boards are finding their way onto the marketplace. People are asking for them and the industry is responding.

Image courtesy Kohler

3. Flooring that grounds you

For some of us, flooring is the most difficult choice we will ever make. There has been a waive of hardwood in the past couple years, but this year, 2010, will be the year of dark chocolate PlybooStrand and Durapalm. Other flooring options include polished concrete and wide format recycled tiles.

4. Kitchen-tech faucets

With so much changing in the tech industries, our kitchens have taken on the same depth and *poof* here’s Kohler’s Karbon^TMfaucet. Men be warned, more dish washing is inevitable with this hot faucet.

Image courtesy Kohler

5. EnergyStar is in the spotlight

EnergyStar approved appliances are here to stay and improve. Smaller-sized appliances (24″ width and depth) are huge because they keep you eating your food quickly, thereby keeping is fresh, thereby forcing you to be creative and have fun with all the local produce and foods in the shops.

6. All hail the drawer dishwasher

The NKBA has it right here and the drawer dishwasher is HUGE! EPIC even! The coolest part is that for small spaces, the dishwasher can go under the sink gaining you that ever valuable cabinet storage space.

Bathrooms

1. Your future spa awaits you

Bathrooms are going to be sustainable with low-flow faucets, dual-flush toilets and integrated bathroom tech. Small LCD televisions, vanity spaces that are simple and clean will be built in (Dare I say that the laundry will be under the counter and the typical dryer will disappear? Oh I dare. I dare allot.) Colour pallets will mirror kitchens with white, turquoise and greys being predominantly mixed with bamboo and low-impact woods.

2. Colour on colour

Corian surfaces, coloured fixtures, polished chrome fittings, translucency, and reflection. It has become ever more clear that we expect that our cleanliness is synonymous with shiny white, but it white is less predominant. Blacks and greens are strong contenders in the bathing spaces and they are being married with curves and translucent materials. But grey never seems too far behind, again.

Image courtesy Kohler

glam-Appledom

So what does all this mean? All this white with tone-on-tone, natural products, and pops of colour. Well, it’s all a response to the glam-Appledom of white and silvers, the dialed down spending, instant cash-cab culture, viral marketing, and fashion. Here are a few of my favorites from the Louis Vuitton 2010 fall show.

Vancouver Island (BC) – John Stewart says the future is small and he wants you to live in it. Twelve3 is a Vancouver Island based company specializing in 12³ or 10³ micro homes and are high-tech and affordable. Sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? Not so! It comes complete with a dishwasher, microwave, oven, closet, bathroom and so much day-lighting that this dreary rain won’t be noticed. All this for around $25,000.

“When I started designing the cube,” John told Small House Style “a conscious decision was made to make it comfortable and practical. Somewhere you could be happy to invite friends over to, somewhere you would be proud of. A home, not just shelter.”

“So I started with a blank piece of paper and concentrated on what I liked about a conventional home and tried to eliminate what I didn’t like. It had to be bright and airy, nothing toxic involved in its construction, and built in as environmentally friendly way as possible.”

Read more at Small House Style.

The Smart Toilet by Caroma was recently explored by TreeHugger at GreenBuild Expo and I’ve been waiting for this one for a while. This may look odd to you, maybe even repulsive, but I have to tell you that it’s kinda like the slow-cooker of the foodie world – amazing, effective, kinda cumbersome at first, but well worth the wait.

Re-using grey-water that would otherwise be sent down your DWV systems for treatment is the mother of all water savings.

Isn’t saving 30,000 Gallons (113,562 Liters) of water per year worth considering the change?

Energy-saving calculations:

• City of Vancouver Water Utility rate is $1.827 / 625 Gallons (2,365.8 Litres)
• City of Vancouver Sewage rate is $1.243 / 2,831.6 Litres
• Yearly water savings = $87.96
• Yearly sewage savings = $49.85
• Yearly total savings = $137.84
• 25 Year savings = $3446.00 & 2,839,050 Litres of water
• SPR = ~$500.00 CDN
• ROI =  85.49% (HOLY CRAP!!)

Facts:

• High-efficiency dual-flush toilet (4.8/3 lpf)
• Integrated sink allows grey-water to be used for flushing instead of potable water
• Space saving design
• WaterSense approved
• Standard 12″ rough-in

CookCook by Ruegg

CookCook combines unadulterated work satisfaction with the highest level of living culture. The new, timeless creation offers appealing design and modern functionality far from all trends. With all its advantages, it is the conversion which is important: CookCook brings the fire back to its original place – as the focus of life: to the kitchen.

That was a mouthful. Look’s pretty, right?

This product may pass all the laws in the EU, but in Vancouver and the GVRD there are strict by-laws on particulate matter and wood-burning. Luckily, if you are cooking food on a wood-burning appliance it will be generally allowed pending a permit to install and use it from the the City of Vancouver/Local municipality. Other wood-burning appliances are generally accepted as long as they fit the building, enviromental and fire codes of your municipality.

I just came across this awesome bath fixture company, Spiritual Mode (JAPAN), thanks to Apartment Therapy Unplggd post The Beignet Bath Tub from Spiritual Mode. Basically a sugary doughnut, the Beignet was the inspiration for this design. Back in interior design school, I did a bathroom project on the Japanese Onsen, or bath, and the bathing rituals of the Japanese through the ages. Now that Japanese have westernized their bathing rituals, although some ancient Onsen’s still remain.

I wouldn’t want to eat a doughnut in the jetted tub, tho. Might get a little sticky.

Admit it. It’s ok. No one will laugh. You’re confused about the bidet. You don’t know what it is, what it does, how to use it, or why anyone would want it. I’m sure you’ve exclaimed “What the heck is that!?!” when you first saw one. Perhaps you’ve never seen one. Perhaps you’ve seen one but didn’t know how to use it. It’s alright, me too.

Let’s clear the air. It’s not a drinking fountain, it’s not a urinal, its not a pet toilet. It is a personal hygiene fixture that is far to often forgotten.

Bidet is pronounced /bi’ dei/ in America or /bi:dei/ in Canada and the UK and it is a french word for pony – well actually from the Old French word bider, or to trot. Yup, you “ride” a bidet like a pony and that means the rounded part is at the back AND you know where the term “trots” comes from. Your still safe. No one has to you know you’re reading this. If you want to know more about the history of the bidet, a simple Google search brings up a plethora of hits. It comes in a family version which has special nozzles for female washing.

A carefree bidet experience

Let’s get the hard part out of the way:

1. The bidet is for after toileting. You can use toilet paper and the bidet after, if you choose.
2. Hang your below-waist clothing on a robe hook. Being the life of the party should come from being funny, not funny looking.
3. Straddle the bidet by facing the controls. It is easier to adjust the flow and temperature this way.
4. As with an separated shower or bathtub faucet, start with gently turning the hot water on and adjusting the cold water tap to suit. Cold is turned on first in hot climates. Bidets have a high flow rate, so be careful.
5. Even though the bidet does not have seat like a toilet, you may sit on it and adjust the flow rate to suit your needs. I trust you know where to adjust yourself to be most effective. If the bidet is a sink fill type, you will need to get – um – your hands dirty. Use soap.
6. Turn off the bidet and dry your skin. Some bidets will have a feature to air dry.
7. Wash your hands as you would after usual toileting.
8. Re-dress and get back to the party.

Types of bidets

Standard Bidet – separate fixture that requires 18″ on center clearance (15″ on center by the National Building Code). They come above floor, below floor models. Even Phillipe Stark designed one for Duravit.

The Washlet – TOTO makes a great product that you don’t have transfer to another fixture. Toilet and bidet all-in-one.

The wand – not really a fan of this but it’s basically the poor mans way – just as effective – using a sink spray wand attached to the toilet supply line.

I’ll spare you the video demos, but next time you see one take 10 minutes out of your life, use the 8 steps above, and discover what you’ve missed in the bathroom. It may alter your entire existence as you know it.

UPDATE

02/10/2009 – TreeHugger posts about the Blue Bidet. I did not mention the ecological benefits of using a bidet, but clearly you do not have paper waste if you choose not to use tp. C100 is available in Canada for $79 ($69 USD) and requires no additional electrical supply. I’m ordering mine today.