Archive for July, 2010

SILGRANIT II Biscotti - THE new neutral.

BLANCO recently introduced Biscotti, a warm new color to its SILGRANIT II sink collection. Biscotti is an earthy, natural color that coordinates well with today’s popular solid-surfaced countertops and tiled backsplashes. It has a toasty indulgent, creamy look… an enticing and romantic sink wrapped in a delicious cookie color.

“Color is an important part of our environment, especially in the ways it’s used to remodel our kitchen,” says Tim Maicher, Director of Marketing for BLANCO. “The current trend leans to natural earth tones that give warmth. Biscotti is THE new neutral that is softer than the traditional caramel and complements a wide range of surfaces.”

What better way to demonstrate the true versatility of Biscotti than to ask our elite group of designers/bloggers what countertops they would match with it. It’s an interesting question that – as expected – offered up an even more interesting response. The designers varied in colors from lights to darks and in materials from Caesarstone, to wood, to slate. Scroll down to view the surfaces the Design Council specified.

Susan Serra, CKD, www.thekitchendesigner.org

“It’s a rich color, Biscotti! I’ll go the glam route and recommend one of my favorite surfaces, Black Lace slate. http://www.vermontstructuralslate.com/stones/slate/black-lace. It’s at once rustic and glossy, and the Biscotti surface is a perfect counterpoint, which makes each surface pop. This combination also offers an interesting cool/warm shade combination. The contrast of light and dark colors can be designed into surrounding decorative elements, perhaps varying the shades a bit.”

Black Lace, Vermont Structural Slate Company

Paul Anatar, www.kitchenandresidentialdesign.com

“I’d love to see a Biscotti SILGRANIT II sink paired with either Caesarstone 6350, Chocolate Truffle counter or a counter made made from Caesarstone 4120, Raven. The neutral tone of BLANCO Biscotti looks terrific when paired with another, near-neutral counter material.”

Chocolate Truffle

Caesarstone 4120, Raven

Leslie Clagett, http://kbculture.blogspot.com/

“I’d like to see a Biscotti-colored sink paired with a wooden counter fabricated of Edge Grain Burmese Teak from Grothouse Lumber.”

Edge Grain Burmese Teak, Grothouse Lumber

Cheryl Kees Clendenon, www.kitchendetailsanddesign.com

I love Casesarstone’s Buttermilk with the Biscotti sink,  although I have recently used with Antracite also. I usually pair the sink to the top and not the other way around!

Caesarstone Buttermilk

Designers check out SOLON at the auction table.

BLANCO participated in last week’s Third Annual Summer Social for the New York Home Furnishings & Design Organization. Over 200 of New York’s top designers braved the heat to attend this highly anticipated reception at Tribeca Rooftop, a penthouse venue with panoramic views of the Hudson River. The Summer Social represents an opportunity for members and guests to network and enjoy a festive evening of wine, music and food.

A Chinese auction along with the live auction hosted by George Oliphant, Emmy award winner and host of NBC’s Open House NY, featured donated items including a BLANCO SOLON compost system to benefit Publicolor, whose mission is to engage at-risk students in their education through a continuum of creative programs, starting with painting their struggling schools. Publicolor was able to raise $7,600 to assist in their programs locally.

The event is sponsored by the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), New York Metro Chapter, The Decorators Club (DC), Designers Lighting Forum of NY (DLFNY). Executives Working in Home Textiles (EWHT), Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IES) NYC Section (IESNY), International Furnishings and Design Association (IFDA) New York Chapter and the National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA) Manhattan Chapter.

Publicolor raised over $7,600 to continue their mission for at-risk students.

Here’s some of the latest news on BLANCO sinks from WIRED Magazine, Kitchen & Bath Design News, Interior Design, Phoenix Home & Garden and Better Homes & Gardens Kitchen & Bath Ideas.

Better Homes & Gardens features ARCON.

Phoenix Home & Garden spotlights RONIS.

Interior Design features RONIS!

KBDN announces the launch of SILGRANIT II Biscotti.

Wired's Kitchen issue featured BLANCO's MERIDIAN Semi-Pro Faucet.

MicroEdge Wins IDEA Award.

BLANCO MicroEdge is a 2010 International Design Excellence Award (IDEA Award) Finalist. The prestigious IDEA Award is a celebration of the year’s most inventive and creative products presented by the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA). BLANCO MicroEdge is one of the most awarded sink innovations on the market today and has been recognized by the following: The Good Design Award, Interior Design’s Best of Year (Winner), Professional Builder 100 Best New Products Award, and K+BB Product Innovator Award. The coveted 30-year-old IDEA competition draws hundreds of entries each year from over 29 countries around the world. This year’s winners included stand outs from Method, Samsung, Herman Miller, Microsoft, OXO, Panasonic and more. For more information visit: www.idsa.org. “It is a genuine honor for BLANCO to be acknowledged by the International Designers Society of America’s IDEA competition,” expresses Tim Maicher, Director of Marketing for BLANCO. “The field of entries is one of the largest we have been up against and it’s a remarkable compliment to win. When we launched MicroEdge, we never imagined that the technology would be so widely accepted by designers and would accumulate so many honors in such a short time. The industry was truly waiting for a new innovation like this – it’s the right product at the right time.” About MicroEdge MicroEdge represents the first breakthrough in stainless steel sink design since the introduction of the undermount sink more than 10 years ago. MicroEdge is a sleek overmount sink technology that creates the illusion of an expensive flushmount installation. Designers and homeowners can now achieve the highly coveted flush look for less time and money as MicroEdge can be installed over virtually any counter material. MicroEdge’s unique ultra-fine (1.25 mm) rim gives this sink its near seamless edge – a precision finish so demanding, only BLANCO could make it a reality. The MicroEdge top-mounted sinks can be positioned easily and secured with mounting clips or alternatively, can be installed as a traditional flushmounted sink by an experienced solid surface specialist.