Redmond designers clean up at kitchen and bath show

Beverly Staal and Sheila Tilander, who work at Redmond’s Showplace Design and Remodeling, “cleaned up” at the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS) in Chicago April 10-13.

The National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA) recognized Staal as having the Best Before and After entry and second place in the Medium Kitchens category for its 2008 design contest and Tilander won second place in the Other Rooms category for a home office design.

Judges from magazines such as Better Homes and Gardens’ Kitchen and Bath Ideas look for designs that are new, fresh, dramatically different and photogenic, the ladies explained.

“The kitchen from the Before and After project started out as a 1950s galley kitchen with white cabinets and was closed off from the rest of the home,” Staal noted.

She gave it a vaulted ceiling, opened up a wall into the family room, and used modern materials such as Red Dragon granite on flat surfaces, Alder cabinets in Fireside Red, lots of stainless steel and reed glass with vertical texture.

Tilander’s home office design, called The Gentleman’s Hideaway, included Knotty Cherry cabinets with a Sienna stain and oil-rubbed bronze handles, Green Rainforest granite, Oak hardwood floors, a faux copper ceiling and walls faux-finished to look like leather.

As NKBA certified designers, Staal and Tilander do continuing education every year, to keep up with new products and trends.

“Build Green is a huge trend now,” said Staal. Designers are encouraged to use sustainable materials and also use local and regional suppliers to reduce pollution caused by long-distance transportation.

“Also in the ‘green’ arena, one of the easiest things to do is to reduce water consumption with low-flush toilets,” said Tilander.

Manufacturers are “re-engineering faucets to have a finer mist instead of a trickle,” said Staal, to solve the problem of wanting to conserve water while still having adequate pressure for cleaning or showering.

Among clever products they saw at KBIS, they liked Kohler’s Karbon Articulating Kitchen Faucet which lets you position water flow wherever you want it, new induction cooktops which boil water almost instantly and the Towel Rail TV, which combines a 17-inch LCD television with a towel warmer for your bathroom.

At Showplace Design and Remodeling, “we use all licensed, specialized tradesmen,” said Tilander. Their work is customized for each client and “the more time we spend upfront (talking and planning), that helps to keep the project on-time and on-budget.”

They urge prospective clients to plan way ahead, especially if they’re revamping a kitchen or bathroom before a family wedding or other special event. This is particularly true if you’re moving walls or changing roof lines to accommodate the remodel.

With all the kitchen and bath options out there, how can you pinpoint what you want and be sure it will meld with your lifestyle?

Staal and Tilander recommended starting a “tear file.” In other words, when you see things that strike your fancy in a magazine, tear out the pages, and when you’ve assembled a number of pictures, sit down with a designer to discuss the pros and cons.

Showplace Design and Remodeling, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary, is located at 8710 Willows Rd. NE; (425) 885-1595.

For designers’ biographies, photos of projects and other information, visit www.showplaceinc.com.

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