The Death Of The Boring White Kitchen and Bathroom at KBIS

January 21, 2017
84 Comments
Posted in: bathrooms, interior design, kitchens

The other day somebody wrote on my Facebook page that a blogger had said that the boring white kitchen is dead. And I guess that goes for bathrooms too.

I don’t know who said that and I don’t want to know, because I’m not sure what I will do the next time I see her.

I mean, did the woman tell her future husband:

“The white diamond is boring and dead…

I’m so sick of diamonds!

so get me one of those “new” mood rings, okay?”

Am I dating myself here? These are definitely not new!

Then, she goes on to say:

Those boring white wedding dresses are out too.

But I saw this way cool dress that’s going to be killer.

(Indeed. I’m sure that many guests will die when they see her walking down the aisle.)

And boring white kitchens and baths???

via Carla Aston

“We have to do this in our bath!

Kelly Wearstler designed it for Ann Sacks.

That means it’s the top of the line and the thing we MUST have!”

I wouldn’t bother to hire a wedding photographer.

That way, she won’t have to burn the house down to get rid of the wedding album and the bathroom tile.

Okay. That’s a little mean.

As for the tile?

I love Kelly. You guys know that, and I think that she’s immensely talented. You know that too.

And I love Ann Sacks too. It is definitely top of the line.

But that tile is messing up my head– big time.

I keep trying, trying, trying to make the lines connect, and well…

Is there a place one could put this?

Well, perhaps… however, I probably just black-listed myself, lol, so maybe I should shut up?

But hey, who am I? If you love that tile and you’re not trying to make the lines connect, and it isn’t driving you batshit crazy, and you need to make your guests leave immediately after dinner,

then go for it!

However, as I said on the Color Chats Panel, “I’m a classical girl.” And that’s a vast category, but there are limits.

BTW, I understand that there will be a video of the panel, and when it comes out, I’ll put a link on my sidebar. Cool.

But back to the subject at hand, the so-called BORING WHITE KITCHEN (and bath)

that is supposedly dead.

A white kitchen is NOT BORING. AND IT IS NOT DEAD.

It is the epitome of timeless.

And it’s fine if you don’t like or want a white kitchen.

We’ve been through that.

Although, I have to admit that I do love other kitchens too!

Studio McGee is one of my favorite young interior design firms that does white to perfection. Their mix of contemporary and traditional always feels just right.

And how about this lovely, crisp not-boring white kitchen by another design hound, fabulously talented interior designer on the tour AND frequent commenter HERE, Laura Schwartz Muller of Four Point Design Construction –

And with Thermador appliances in classic stainless steel. You can also see more about Thermador here.

via House and Home – by designer Betty Theodoropoulos-photo- Angus Fergusson

Another boring white kitchen (that I would kill to have!)

And, I adore this sleek, pretty young-traditional. (some would say transitional, but I’m not fond of that word) by another design hound tour member, the super-talented Vanessa Francis. She’s a Canadian designer, and I’m so glad that I’ve discovered her.

Her Instagram account is gorgeous! I definitely want to steal every photo!

And I was talking to my lovely designer friend and fabulous photographer Linda Holt, who was bemoaning that she would often hear chants of, “I don’t want that boring white subway tile.”

Well, it’s another classic. I’m not saying that there aren’t other options, but you really cannot go wrong with it.

Here’s the problem.

We have a showroom that wants to sell us tile.

And they could make it really easy for us…

haha! Yes, yes… I fully realize that I’m a nutjob.

You get the point. The shop can’t JUST sell white subway tile.

Nobody would walk in.

Or they’d ask, “What else do you have? I’m so sick of white subway tile!”

(they think)

Well, M’am, we just got this beauty in.

Oh Wow! That’s gorgeous! How much will it cost to do 30 sq feet of kitchen backsplash?

M’am, that’s $250 sq foot installed. Will that be cash or credit?

By the way, I do actually like this from Ann Sacks, and I have no idea how much it costs installed. However, I would not use this for a backsplash. It looks more like a floor to me.

Obviously, the blogger (and if she reads my blog, I’m dead) who said that white kitchens and bathrooms are over didn’t head over to DXV –

to see the gorgeous bathrooms created by the 2016 design panel.

Prepare to be dazzled!

Charleston, SC-inspired bathroom by Susan Jamieson of Bridget Beari Designs.

How sick is that? And I mean the good kind of sick

I had a teaser on Instagram. “Wait Until You See The Bathroom!”

Greek key too?

The Tile source is Heritage Tile.

And now, for the piece de resistance.

Are you ready?

Stylish and original. Oh, and it’s white. Well, black and white. And gold. Magnificent design!

For the rest of the bathroom and all of the sources, click here.

Yes? I see that you’re looking a little confused…

Well… that is insanely gorgeous, but what’s this DXV panel thing?

Oh yes. Thanks for asking. Very interesting.

DXV is the luxury division of American Standard, and the parent company is known as LIXIL.

Of course, we all know American Standard.

But, American Standard sounds about as sexy and high-end as Chef Boyardee. Right?

In this era of creating an image through branding, they would never have called a company American Standard. So, we now have DXV and Grohe that make high-end faucets for the kitchen and baths.

As for the DXV panel, four interior design superstars are selected each year to design a bathroom with a different theme.

But here’s what happened. I was so busy cuddling with Nate Berkus that I missed the presentation of Lixil, DXV, Grohe, American Standard, and Metrie!

But that’s okay because I’m very familiar with Metrie. This is one of my favorite posts from a while back.

I found an image that has those doors. Fabulous “boring white bathroom” – NOT!

And then, I found out that it was done by the incredibly talented Lisa Mende for the DXV panel last year!

How fun is this bathroom with Tiffany Blue doors from Metrie.

I love Lisa’s classical yet innovative design!

DXV The Pop vessel sink and modern Rem faucet are from DXV.

All of the sources are listed here!

More fabulous Metrie mouldings in this elegant not-at-all boring white room by Studio McGee.

They also have a fabulous Instagram account with a huge following.

It was an amazing three days on the Design Hounds Blog Tour at KBIS.

We had a fabulous cocktail hour before dinner last night and were bussed to the Ritz Carleton in Orlando.

I know… it’s such a difficult job. ;]

Then, we were ushered into a room that was part harem, part spa

with the softest, plushest carpeting spread wall-to-wall that God ever created.

It’s called Smart Strand Silk; only it’s not really silk. But it sure feels silky, and it’s supposed to be super-pet friendly. You can read about it here.