Top Picks

" As editor of Kitchen and Bath Ideas magazine, I love finding new products to share with you. At this year's Kitchen and Bath Industry show, I picked 20 of my favorites. I'm betting that some of them will be showing up in your new kitchen and bath. So off we go to the show floor."

" -I'm here in the Blanco booth and they have double dared me to try and scratch this sink which is called Silgranit II, 80% granite, 20% acrylic resin. So I'm going to give it my best shot. They say if I try and scratch it, that anything, any mark I make on here will come right off. Hard to scratch."

" Look at that, they're right. Smooth unmarred surface. I think I want one of these in my kitchen. Before now, if you wanted a quartz, granite, or solid surface countertop, you have to choose a regular or undermount sink, but now the designers of edge sinks have come up of a way to integrate stainless steel sinks seamlessly. So you get the benefit of a tough,"

" durable countertop and a heavy-duty stainless steel sink without having to clean around the raised sink clip that attracts all the gunk. The Robern Uplift cabinet is also highly integrated. Built into the wall directly behind your bathroom faucet. Its seamless mirror lets you sit while applying your makeup but lifts easily upward and holds in place. So you can plug in your hairdryer and curling iron and also watch TV while you're styling your hair. The mirror even has a defogger."

" Here's another bathroom innovation you'll love. It's from Moen, the IO Digital Shower and Tub Filler lets you program the shower ahead with your favorite temperatures and flow settings and lets you fill your tub to the level and temperature you like. Using a remote, you can fill the tub before you even get out of bed in the morning. Now that's convenience. Don't you love products that make life easier? The designers of Frigid Air showed us a terrific new range with all kinds of"

" great features and my favorite is that shelves that automatically roll out when you open the oven door giving you hot cookies out of the oven just got easier. I'm in the LG booth and this is a terrific refrigerator. It has great capacity. It has French doors so when you open both sides, you've got access to everything in the refrigerator, very easy to use. Plus it's got this terrific, tall dispenser for water."

" Fit this right here, water here, holds tall pitchers and tall glasses. But what I really love about this refrigerator is how accessible the freezer section is. All you do is press the button and you don't even have to pull the drawer out. Press it again and it's closed. No bending or stooping. In the [unk] Kenmore booth I admired another convenience feature. A microwave oven with doors that are"

" reversibly hinged making it easy to access from either side. And speaking of oven doors, here's a French door wall oven that American range can't keep in stock. Once available only for commercial settings, it's now being introduced for use in homes like yours or mine. I love the pro style look and that I don't have to reach over or around a hot oven door. Elsewhere in the kitchen, if you like"

" using filtered water, you'll appreciate RO's new triflow faucet. It's the first faucet that has an integrated filter. A front to back push of the lever controls temperature and a sideways push triggers filtered water. There's also a lavatory faucet for bathroom sink so you can brush your teeth using filtered water too. I'm in the Caesar Stone booth. They make court surfaces. This is their newest one called Motivo. Look at the pattern, it's"

" gorgeous. It has a feel and a texture to it it's called lace. It also comes in a black finish which is called crocodile. Like all quartz surfaces, it's nonporous, it's scratch and heat resistant, stain resistant. It could be used on your countertop. It can be used on a backsplash or a wall. Is that gorgeous? Here's a product you don't typically see. It's Kichler's Design Pro LED Under Cabinet Lighting Discs."

" Nearly invisible but discs provide excellent hasp lighting when you're chopping veggies or slicing bread. Three feet of pre-spooled wire make them easy to install. Just pull out the wire you need and the excess stays neatly in place. Plus these discs use 75% less electricity than similar incandescent lights. Here's another product that's behind the scenes. GE's Hybrid Electric Water Heater. "

" -GE is introducing a brand new hybrid heat pump"

" electric water heater that will save you up to 50% on the cost of heating water and water heating is the second highest single individual user in the home."

" -Now this is one sexy product. It saves you a whole bunch of money. I also love Kohler flipside hand shower which rotates on its axis. Each of the 4 sides of this great face provides a different spray pattern and intensity including one called coverage, cotton,"

" commotion, and current. And you really can feel the difference. In Atlas Homeware's booth we talked with product designer Adrian Morea."

" -I've designed all kinds of hardware that has been trendy and elaborate and very interesting, but this season I feel that consumers are looking for classic, simple, elegant styles that are understated but upgraded."

" -I liked Brizo's Smart Touch"

" Venuto Faucet and so did our senior associate editor, Megan Boettcher. That's because she's often carrying her baby son Derek on one hip and she could start and stop this faucet's water flow simply by tapping it gently with one hand. It also has a magnetic dock design which makes it easy to pull out and put back into place."

" -I'm here Vetrazzo booth. They're the original manufacturer of recycled glass and concrete countertops. These are some really fun"

" colors. Love that one, it's really bright. This one matches my sweater. But you know what, people are really craving right now and that is very timeless, neutral colors, and Vetrazzo has come out with 4 new ones this year that really fill that bill. This could be used in any kitchen or bath. They're 85% recycled content. You know what I say? Here's to Vetrazzo. Here is another countertop surface that's earth friendly. Teragren's bamboo which"

" comes in 3 varieties and is extremely durable for cutting and chopping. The firm synergy, strand, wide clank bamboo floating floor is the first to feature glueless, self-locking option for easy installation. These surfaces are not just earth-friendly, they are beautiful too. And so are the new faucets from Symmons'. I'm here at the Symmons' booth and I found some faucets I really like. This one is"

" called the Ballina. It's in a beautiful brushed bronze. This one is the Winslet oil rubbed bronze and here's another model of the Winslet in satin nickel. I really like that you can choose the kind of water stream you like. Here it's aerated. Here it's not, a little softer. But the very best thing about these products, beyond the fact that they are beautiful and incredibly functional, is that they're guaranteed for the life of your home."

" We all want to be using our kitchens for a long time and it's easier to do so with cabinetry by Armstrong. It's designed to accommodate seniors, children, and people with different abilities. Features include a removable front sink base cabinet, upper cabinets with adjustable shelves, a raised dishwasher cabinet, and varying counterheights with open news space. They make this kitchen last a lifetime. And here is a final product that baby boomers like me are going"

" to love especially after a 3-day trade show. Because of its size and shape, this new Bassino bath tub from Kaldewei lets you stretch out and float freely. There's even a cushion for your head and neck. Very relaxing. And those are my top picks for this year's show. See you next year."