BLANCO, Poggenpohl and Silestone kicked off the New York Architectural Digest Home Design Show festivities last week, with a farm-to-table brunch featuring “The new neutrals” in kitchen design. 50 writers and editors, including bloggers from the Modenus BlogTourNYC, attended the event held in Poggenpohl’s Park Avenue showroom. BLANCO launched the architectural MODEX sink in a new SILGRANIT II CINDER color noting that today’s neutrals combine grey, black and brown tones. Silestone also confirmed the demand for updated neutrals and offered that textured patterns add dimension, while Poggenpohl’s latest finishes included warm wood veneers in ash for a transitional look. For a short video of the event, click on the image below.

BLANCO’s latest product innovations have fueled big PR exposure – with mentions in the press up 75%! Here are the latest stories that made a big splash in the media…

Southern PHC Magazine features BLANCO’s new designs.

Better Homes and Gardens names BLANCO as one of their 30 most innovative products.

Better Homes and Gardens displays BLANCO’s new Vision SILGRANIT II sink.

Housing Zone mentions BLANCO’s Quatrus sink.

Freshome describes trendy kitchen designs by BLANCO.

K+BB shows off the hottest sinks by BLANCO.

Professional Remodeler describes BLANCO’s Quatrus sink.

Westchester Home shows off BLANCO’s CRYSTALLINE sink.

In honor of World Water Day (Friday, March 22nd), BLANCO Design Council member Leslie Clagett of KB Culture has provided this interesting guest post. It’s a unique concept for an eco bath faucet by designer, Chanhee Han. (We have to disclose that this is not one of our exceptional BLANCO water saving faucets for the kitchen—it’s just super cool and worth a mention on this important date. According to the EPA, the bathroom is the largest consumer of indoor water. And so it is important to consider ways to save water throughout the home and not just in the kitchen.)

Please take a moment today to consider how you might save water at home. Whether it’s a water conservation faucet from BLANCO or something as simple as fixing a leaky faucet with a new ceramic disk cartridge (see our easy how to video!). We all can do something to help share water on our planet. Read more about water conservation from groups we love such as Water for People or the Thirst Project, take a shorter shower in the morning or think outside the box as Chanhee has with his unique concept below.

This faucet, a concept by Chanhee Han, addresses water-wasting in an intuitive and aesthetic manner. Based on the observation that people leave the tap on while soaping up their hands—sending liters of clean water down the drain—he devised the Seesaw to automatically separate the lathering and washing actions by virtue of its back-and-forth design. Pressing the left side of the faucet starts the flow of water; pressing the right side dispenses soap—it’s one or the other. Cleanliness and conservation can coexist.

A unique concept for the bathroom helps to save water.

BLANCO water saving kitchen faucets help save water beautifully.

BLANCO introduces the new STELLAR stainless-steel undermount Laundry sink. Durable and delightfully transitional, this versatile single-bowl sink effortlessly transforms the laundry room into a sophisticated and contemporary space.

“Who says the laundry room needs to be boring or that a ultility sink needs to look like a utility sink?” states Tim Maicher, Director of Marketing for BLANCO. “STELLAR’s sleek undermount style is also appropriate for a kitchen, while the surgical grade stainless and spacious bowl depth provide even greater cleaning capability. The accessible price is perfect for utility areas without sacrificing the overall look, style, quality or performance.”

Details

-       Sink size: 23” x 17-3/4”x 12”

-       Bowl  Depth: 12”

-       304 Series Stainless Steel

-       Refined Brushed Finish

-       18 gauge Stainless Steel

-       3-1/2” drain diameter

-       18/10 Chrome-Nickel Content

-       Limited lifetime warranty

-       Required outside cabinet: 27”

-       Cutout Size: Template provided with approximate 1/8” reveal

Here’s the latest buzz – from the latest BLANCO designs featured in leading magazines. BLANCO sinks and faucets are an essential ingredient for a well-designed kitchen.

A BLANCO deep Single Bowl sink  and elegant ACCLAIM™ faucet adds to the simplicity of this elegant kitchen featured in Better Homes & Gardens.

A BLANCO stainless steel sink adds to the brightness of this newly designed kitchen with its contrasting colors, featured in Home & Design.

A BLANCO sink is the center of attention in this themed kitchen featured in Kitchen Trends.

A BLANCO MAGNUM™ stainless steel Farmhouse sink gives this kitchen a more defined and unique look in Kitchen Trends.

BLANCO recently launched two new how-to videos with valuable information on how to clean and care for a stainless steel sink as well as a new video on how to “green” your kitchen.

The stainless steel cleaning video can be found on blancoamerica.com and offers helpful tips on what cleaners to use and how to clean a sink to maintain its finish long term. Follow the link above or click on the image below to watch. There are two videos on this page – one on how to select a stainless steel sink and one on how to care for it after purchase.

The “How to Green your Kitchen” video can also be found on blancoamerica.com and offers valuable advice on how to select green products for your kitchen. The video can be launched by clicking on the link above or on the image below to be directed to our sustainability statement. We hope you enjoy our latest videos!

MODEX above counter workstation.

BLANCO has proudly won the 2012 GOOD DESIGN Award for its beautiful BLANCO MODEX^™ kitchen sink workstation and for the BLANCO CERANA^™, the uniquely reversible apron front fireclay sink. Presented by the world famous Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design along with The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies, the award is given for design in excellence worldwide.

CERANA is BLANCO’s first Fireclay sink in the U.S. market, and offers a unique reversible design that goes from traditional to contemporary while offering exceptional style and versatility. The smooth non-porous finish makes it easy to keep clean while the ultra-slim shape makes it simple to install.

BLANCO’s award-winning MODEX offers a distinctive raised profile that sits above the counter. MODEX features a generous amount of work space thanks to its design that allows for draining in two directions and a large integrated cutting board. One of the newest additions to the BLANCO SILGRANIT^® II collection, this handsomely crafted modern sink embodies a high design standard with its extraordinary form and generous, flowing surfaces.

BLANCO CERANA fireclay sink installed as contemporary style.

“It is a true honor for BLANCO’s CERANA and MODEX to be recognized internationally by the GOOD DESIGN Award jury,” states Tim Macher, Director of Marketing for BLANCO. “It is our third time winning the GOOD DESIGN Award and we are humbled by the fact that we were selected out of thousands of amazing products from 48 countries. This prestigious award certainly validates our determination and passion for creating high performance, high quality designs without compromise for beauty or the environment.”

Founded in 1950, The GOOD DESIGN Award is the oldest and most globally recognized design excellence program.

BLANCO has appointed talented interior designer Marilyn G. Russell, Allied ASID of Design Manifique to the BLANCO Design Council. This panel of elite bloggers and residential designers serves as an industry design forum and influential resource for homeowners with makeover aspirations. Through their network of blogs, the Design Council provides the latest updates in products news, kitchen/home design trends and inspirational ideas.

“We are very excited to welcome Marilyn to the BLANCO Design Council,” states Christy Emens, marketing communications manager for BLANCO. “She brings a fresh perspective from the world of interior fashion and anyone who visits her website and blog comes away feeling inspired by beautiful design elements and exceptional color theory.”

About Design Manifique and Marilyn Russell

Marilyn G Russell, Allied ASID, is the co-owner and principal designer of Design Magnifique, a boutique interior design firm located in Orlando, FL that creates contemporary and vibrant interior spaces. Her blog, www.design-magnifique.com, is a compilation of all things related to interior design including trends, products, and design inspiration while encouraging you to embrace color. Occasionally, you will find a post about overcoming challenges in the industry from a business perspective.

The BLANCO Design Council is an elite group of professional design bloggers that offer valuable and in-depth insights into the world of kitchen and home renovation.

The following guest post by Kelly Morisseau first appeared on her blog – Kelly’s Kitchen Sync. Kelly Morisseau is a member of the BLANCO Design Council and allowed us to repost this story which generated a comment about its BLANCO sink:

Hi Kelly, I started reading your blog and LOVE it. I am obsessed with that Blanco Kitchen Sink in this post.

So of course – we had to share. Here is Kelly’s post:

Last week, I posted a companion piece to Kitchen and Bath Ideas magazine, “One Kitchen, Two Budgets” article: the budget kitchen version. This week we’re going to look at the no-holds-barred-okay-maybe-some custom version.

Here’s the cost-savings kitchen layout from last week:

Here’s the custom version for this week:

A FLOATING ISLAND CONCEPT

Dividing walls are gone — they are not helpful if your guests are mingling between fabulous other rooms and the kitchen. My vision (apparently) was the concept of “floating” materials – the back glass-door cabinets are “floating” off the floor (conveniently hiding the new sink area), and the rest of the island hovers through a “picture frame” in what used to be the sink wall.

NEW PANTRY AND INTEGRATED REFRIGERATOR

The new pantry has custom doors that glide open but the interior structure of the pantry doesn’t change. You also don’t notice a refrigerator because it’s integrated with the pantry on the left wall – it’s the “pantry” doors furthest away. See the dark cubicles above the entire pantry area? They’re for artwork, but also for another idea – two of them are open in the back so that the light from the kitchen penetrates into the pantry area itself.

COOKTOP AND OVEN WALL

This is what you saw in the magazine…well, Kitchen and Bath Ideas hired an illustrator to come up with a much prettier version of this. What you can’t see here – the space below the Bisque painted wall cabinets are appliance garages, 8” deep for spices, oils, peppers, salts and knife blocks. The counter with the induction cooktop is a version of a waterfall counter – 3″ thick counter which spills over the sides of the section to the floor. They look like legs here. The backsplash is a combination of a boxed out tiled detail behind the cooktop and Concetto Gray Agate backlit on either side.

A couple of caveats:

• These graphics aren’t stellar so the color doesn’t pop like I wanted them to. Colors would be much richer and the textures would play off on each other if this was real.
• I have the lighting plan all in my head but it’s not in here, sadly.
• Computer graphics don’t really get the materials – I’ll show you some of the goodies.
• For those of you who thought we got a deal on the Concetto (the colorful backsplash on either side of the range wall priced in the magazine, you’re right. My apologies. I priced a remnant from a supplier and I should have bought it because I’ll never get another incredibly hot deal like that again in my lifetime.)
• If I was designing this in real life, I would have revisited those two dark wall cabinets on either side of the hood. Time was tight and I think I might have eliminated them entirely.

This was the material I was discussing in the disclaimers above: the Caesarstone Concetto Gray Agate 8311 backlit wall panels on either side of cooktop. Definite high-end and luxury material.

Hood backsplash material: Porcelanosa Jersey Antracita 12×35 Here’s another look:

ISLAND MATERIALS  

Pendant set within the wall opening:  Corbett Lighting Shoji medium light, 105-42 10” wide x 19” h

Flooring: Porcelanosa Toscano Antracita, 7 x26 “Wood” Tile

Column Opening (walls were tiled in around the frame): PorcelanosaTalis Beige, 8 x 13

Crystal cabinets: “Slate” stained wood, and EV Cherry slab. Ignore door style on left – this was for color

Island sink: BLANCO 440408 Precis Multilevel 1-3/4 with Drain, in Anthracite with accessories

Cheryl Kees Clendenon at In Detail Interiors in Pensacola, Florida submitted this stunning kitchen makeover story. Restrictive walls and a tight budget were no match for In Detail as they converted this Bayou kitchen into something truly special for a young family.

Simple Style. Gracious Details.

Worked late nights on the stain…may not appear to be that tough but, you know it when you hit it!

This lovely home is situated on a small bayou with glorious views. The young homeowners requested a large open kitchen with adjacent dining to take in the expansive views of the water. Tremendous effort went into the custom stain on the spacious island to hit just the right shade of warmth with a slight green cast. Rifted oak, (yes oak!), was used on the island with simple detailing to accentuate the natural wood grain. All of the cabinetry was custom designed and fabricated.

The island is centered on a wall of cabinetry housing the range and a minimalistic white hood. White paint was selected to contrast with the darker floors and countertops. We used Caesarstone quartz Raven for a modern classic look on the countertop – with an unusual 2×12 size glass tile used on the backsplash in an offset pattern.

The sink selection was BLANCO SILGRANIT II which we specify frequently. For a young family, the sink needs to be durable and keep it’s look through dropped pans, knives and forks. BLANCO SILGRANIT II also allowed us to sacrifice nothing and stay within our budget.

BLANCO sinks keep their look through everyday abuse.

The other wall of cabinetry is used primarily as a hutch area and ancillary serving area while the island and expansive range wall is used for day-to-day prep work. The door by the ovens and hutch area lead only to the service area for the laundry room and back door with a pantry adjacent on the opposite side. This simple kitchen lends itself to an earlier time of a simple style done with gracious details.

Objectives

• Keep material selections and related costs to a “cost benefit” ratio of getting most bang for the buck
• Open floor plan good for entertaining and conducive to young family
• Simple styling but nice appointments
• Desired a “white” kitchen but did not want a country kitchen or too traditional

Design Challenges

• Original floor plan had flanking walls where the pantry and hutch wall is located not deep enough for countertops and uneven with other side (we simply pulled the wall out more and created a small “hall” for the pantry doors to be recessed into)
• Working within a tight budget
• Getting the island to be PERFECT stain color
• Used a more modern countertop and backsplash selection to keep the
  space from appearing too country

Design Solutions

• Pulled out the pantry wall on right side to create a more attractive recessed view of doors and this also gave us more room for countertops
• CAREFULLY considered every decision for budget and only made sacrifices where it would not impact design
• Worked late nights on the stain…may not appear to be that tough but when you “see” it in your mind, you will know it when you hit it!
• Created a pullout pantry to act as a large and functional “filler” for the ovens to not be up against that wall. This allowed the ovens easier access as well as gave us a nice pullout pantry for every day staples

Special features

• Custom stained island crafted from Rifted oak
• Unusual size of glass tile for backsplash 2×12
• Drift glass inserts in hutch cabinets
• expansive windows to take in the view from kitchen even though technically a interior space
• Pull out pantry which is excellent use of 7 square feet!

Posted in Designer Spotlight | Tags: bayou, BLANCO sink, Cheryl Kees Clendenon, in detail interiors, kitchen design makeover, pensacola florida, SILGRANIT II | Comments Closed