Technology is pervasive in our lives, providing added convenience and time savings not to mention a healthy dose of wow! At the 2019 Kitchen & Bath Industry Show, the industry’s largest trade show, manufacturers unveiled a bevy of new technology for the bath to bring more functionality and pleasure to homeowners and builders. We weren't lucky enough to attend this year, but followed along closely on social media and attended KBIS recaps.
At KBIS, we saw LED lighting features incorporated into tubs, mirrors, vanities, sinks, showers and water closets to provide the right levels of light to better match natural biological processes commonly referred to as circadian rhythms. Controlling lighting levels helps prevent the jolt to your system that bright lights can create when you have to use the bathroom in the middle of the night or early in the morning before the sun comes up. Today’s lighting controls enable homeowners to navigate in the bathroom by providing a gentle glow, or program lighting levels to match needs and lifestyles.
Warm lighting under vanities and mirrors, as shown here from Furniture Guild and Wetstyle, provide ambiance and double as a night light.
Lighting can be controlled and activated through applications, motion control sensors, voice commands or home assistants such as Amazon’s Alexa and Google Home. Home assistance can fill a bathtub, turn on a shower, adjust mirror lighting, start a steam bath, play music or activate other smart devices in your home. One manufacturer has embedded Alexa in a mirror so that homeowners can utilize all of Alexa’s functionality while preparing for the day ahead or a night on the town.
Check out the Savvy Mirror by Electric Mirror, it can be the technological heartbeat of your home, putting your entire house under your control, and the entire world at your fingertips.
Customization is another benefit of technological advances for the bath. Homeowners now have the ability to set the water temperature, steam temperature and lighting preferences for every member of their family in the shower. Advances in showerheads enable homeowners to change spray patterns through Bluetooth-enabled devices thereby eliminating the need to change settings physically. It’s a great feature, especially for those who may have a difficult time reaching the showerhead.
Shown here is Fantini's Aqua Zone Dream. Waterworks and lights envelop the person, the pleasantness of the showering moment is lit up with the colour of emotions. The rain is one luminous mist like impalpable water, and the changing colours is like a desirable rainbow. This new generation ceiling shower head, with electronic controls and six different moods of water and light.
If you thought you had to take a ride on a space ship to float in a gravity-free zone, think again. KBIS featured new, more cost-effective models of tubs that create a zero-gravity environment. Other high-tech tubs on display combined air technology with a waterfall that massages shoulders while you soak, and featured light and aroma therapies that help to wash away the stresses of the day.
Check out this waterfall feature from DXV, and chromotherapy and audio therapy from MTI.
KBIS featured water closets that are self-cleaning and deodorizing and an expansion of bidet seats and functionality. Alexa has also been integrated into one toilet model, which enables customers to check the weather, order a driver service or listen to music while on the John.
DXV's Spalet offers a nightlight in the bowl, as well as heated seats, a built in bidet, deodorizer and so much more.
If you are interested in incorporating technologically advanced products into your new bathroom that make your life easier, more enjoyable and fun, please give us a call at (215) 454-2258 or visit our showroom at 127 S Easton Rd. Glenside, PA 19038.