The KBzine

KBzine: the original kitchen and bathroom industry e-news - since 2002
24th November 2017

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International News
Products

Thirty-eight stunning apartments pick Nuance for beautiful bathrooms

As a captivating alternative to ceramic wall tiling, innovative home builder Darren Smith Homes in West Yorkshire has chosen Bushboard's Nuance bathroom wall panelling as a compelling and practical way of creating spectacular bathrooms for 38 luxury apartments in Newgate, Mirfield, West Yorkshire.
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Warm up this winter with Amber Underfloor Heating

Amber Underfloor Heating is the new name in underfloor heating; offering excellent, high quality solutions with exceptional customer service.

Distributed exclusively through wholesalers, retailers and retail showrooms, Amber offers the full electric underfloor heating solution. The easy-to-use products include 100W/sq.m and 150W/sq.m AmberMat heating mats, 140W/sq.m AmberDry thin heating foils for installation directly below timber-based flooring - removing the requirement for latex - and two ranges of electronic, stylish thermostats.
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Methven extends Aurajet range with new collection: Rua features unique square handset

Methven, the global designer and manufacturer of premium showers and tapware, has launched the next phase of its Aurajet shower range with the release of the Rua collection.
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Chelsea Matt Dove Grey kitchen from Benchmarx Kitchens makes this year's House Beautiful Award shortlist

The striking Chelsea Matt Dove Grey kitchen range from Benchmarx Kitchens and Joinery has made the shortlist of two categories in this year's House Beautiful Awards.
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British Ceramic Tile extends its feature floor collection with the launch of Retro

Floors have fast become a main attraction in the home. Once the supporting act to walls, floors are now central to design schemes with homeowners paying attention to what makes an impact underfoot.
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Roca to showcase the new Armani/Roca Baia collection at Sleep 2017

Spanish bathroom manufacturer Roca will be exhibiting at Europe's leading hotel & design event, Sleep, at the Business Design Centre in Islington, London on the 21-22 November - stand DG7.
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Add style to any kitchen with the Blanco Envoy tap

The Blanco Envoy tap boasts a sleek and modern design, which is suitable for all modern kitchens. Available in brushed steel, chrome, matt black and trendy rose gold, it will stand out in any home.

The elegant Envoy tap boasts a sweeping swan neck and a tall spout, while the single lever control and high-pressure supply ensures a practical and powerful flow. Its ceramic disc cartridge improves performance and longevity.
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Welcome to the
KBzine

I used to work with a chap who'd disappear off to the loo every morning with a newspaper, which - no doubt - he'd read whilst in the loo as he was always gone for around half an hour. I wonder if he'd have stayed in there for as long, had he been faced with the view offered by the latest winner of the America's Best Restroom Award...

OdySea Aquarium's designers very cleverly placed the washrooms so that users are in a kind of observation tank but of course while you're staring at the fish, they're staring back at you and the thought of sharing with a huge shark such an intimate experience as using the loo may well encourage washroom users to speed up a little. Very clever!

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I was struck by the clever design of the washrooms in London's AquaShard when I visited, as the building's designers had really gone to town in creating a room with a view. Having such memorable washrooms just adds to the experience...

I know this industry works really hard to show off its products to their best advantage by creating fabulous room sets, but when you can show off something in this sort of setting, it's quite a rather special, isn't it?

It's odd to be writing about stand-out washrooms today, having this week been sifting through various press releases written to coincide with World Toilet Day (19th November) which highlighted the lack of toilet facilities for millions of people on this planet. I applaud the actions of those who are working hard to redress this huge imbalance.

Decent toilets should be accessible to all, shouldn't they, whether it's in the home, the workplace or places we visit when at leisure?

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Yours,

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Jan Hobbs

This Week's News

SBID launches SBID Intellectual Property initiative

The Society of British & International Design launched the SBID Intellectual Property initiative on Tuesday at the House of Commons, Westminster, London. The launch was to mark the new campaign to prevent IP theft in the interior design industry.

Developed in association with TM - Eye, with the central aim of assisting the industry in obtaining objective evidence of design ownership, the venture updates the archaic discourse on intellectual property in design and will raise awareness of what designers need to do to properly protect their work.
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Cautious welcome to business-friendly budget from KBSA

The Kitchen Bathroom Bedroom Specialists Association has given a cautious welcome to the 2017 Autumn Budget, agreeing with most other business organisations that it was a business-friendly budget.

National chair Richard Hibbert says: "It was not quite the significant budget we thought it was going to be and whilst it does include some business-friendly measures, the slashing of growth forecasts and warning that borrowing will increase sharply is a stark reminder that the economy is far from stable.
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Smart new finishes join the Elite

Crosswater is delighted to present two exciting new finishes to its ever-popular Elite bathroom furniture collection. The new colours to choose from join the celebrated original options of White Gloss, Steel and Walnut to provide a range of unique finishes designed to suit all bathroom schemes.

The first of the two new colourways, Driftwood, creates the elegance and character of natural wood without any of the practicality concerns that often come with this organic material. Responding to the latest interior trends focused on reclaimed wood within the home, the distinctive texture of wood is explored in a contemporary weathered tone.
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Record-breaking results for The Homebuilding & Renovating Show in 2017

The Homebuilding & Renovating Show experienced its busiest year ever by delivering a total of over 102,000 visitors in 2017, marking a 9% year-on-year increase for the exhibitions.

The results were announced following its final successful event, which took place at The Bath & West Showground over last weekend.
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Discover the unexpected with HD Galvanised from British Ceramic Tile

Industrial chic takes centre stage with British Ceramic Tile's new HD Galvanised collection. Offering a sense of the unexpected, this new range of metal-effect ceramic tiles brings new surface textures to walls for a look that's completely different.

With its unique oxidised finish and aged metal-effect, the new HD Galvanised range typifies the industrial trend and has been created using British Ceramic Tile's latest XD high definition printer. Available in platinum white or steel grey in a 30x50cm size, HD Galvanised recreates the look of subtly rusted metal on a ceramic tile bringing retailers a visually intriguing new design within the popular HD collection.
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Franke's new electronic 4-in-1 tap offers instant 100 degree C boiling and cold filtered water

Franke has launched the Minerva 4-in-1 Electronic tap, the company's first digitally controlled tap with simple push-button functionality, offering enhanced convenience and user-friendliness with pre-set 30 and 60 second programmes that dispense two litres of water, ideal for filling pans, teapots, cafetieres and jugs with instant filtered boiling or filtered cold water.

Designed to offer fast and intuitive access to the four water options, a separate electronic dial dispenses the instant filtered 100?C filtered boiling and filtered cold water, while standard mains hot and cold are operated by a single lever.
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Important environmental award for bedding manufacturer

We normally cover beds but not bedding in KBzine, but with a story as good as this one, we just had to give it a mention... The environmental best practice by one of the UK's largest manufacturers of filled bedding products - Trendsetter International - has been recognised with a Gold award for Engineering and Manufacturing at the Green Apple Awards.

The Green Apple Environment Awards is a scheme run by The Green Organisation, which recognises, rewards and promotes environmental best practice around the world.
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Builders' merchants see continued growth

The latest Builders Merchant Building Index shows that builders' merchants have experienced continued strong sales value growth in the third Quarter (Q3) of 2017.

Taking one less trading day difference into account, average sales per day in Q3 2017 were nearly 7% ahead of Q3 2016. The largest increases were in the Ironmongery (+10.0%) and Kitchens & Bathrooms (+9.9%) product categories.
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British made heritage goes international with Thomas Crapper

Established in Britain in the 1860s, Thomas Crapper has always been a quintessentially English bathroom manufacturer. While it remains true to its roots, its heritage and 'Made In Britain' label are making it as popular overseas as it has always been in the UK.

As the creator of the first bathroom showroom in 1870, Thomas Crapper publicised the toilet at a time when no-one spoke of such 'necessities'. Fast forward 150 years and consumers around the world are familiar with the brand and keen to know more about its history and where home sanitisation began.
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Set up and sell in a Nano

Macdee Wirquin has created this new counter-top merchandiser to encourage a quick and easy sale of its innovative Nano 6.7 all-in-one basin waste and trap. This new Point of Sale merchandising box has been designed to sit on a trade counter and holds six Nano 6.7 Quick Clac boxes, so easily collected by the installer.

Nano, launched earlier this year, is really quick and easy to fit, helping to save time on the job for the busy installer. It offers a compact solution at just 67mm in height, so freeing up valuable space under the basin, it's quick to assemble and allows cleaning from the top once installed.
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Croydex unveils new range of Flexi-Fix toilet seats

roydex continues its expansion into the toilet seat market with the launch of a new range featuring an innovative hinge system that promises to always fit and never slip.

The no mess, no fuss Flexi-Fix seat uses grip pad technology and pioneering patented V plates that provide a huge range of adjustment to fit the fixing holes of any standard toilet.
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Keller Kitchens welcomes Marc Wilson as area sales manager

To support the company's ongoing growth in the UK, Keller Kitchens has appointed Marc Wilson as area sales manager.
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KitchenAid donates premium appliances to Holiday House London

KitchenAid, the premium appliance manufacturer, has donated three major appliances to Holiday House London - the unique interior design show house, which raises crucial funds for the prevention and cure of breast cancer. All proceeds from ticket sales fund UK-based projects that are supported by the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Top interior designers and brands transform different rooms of two neighbouring houses in St John's Wood, to represent a past holiday or experience that has a personal meaning to them. KitchenAid is exhibiting its Black Stainless Steel Twelix oven, combination steam oven, and warming drawer, in the Butler's Pantry.
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The KBzine Archive Search

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How to contact us at The KBzine:

Jan Hobbs
Publishing Editor
Email:[email protected]
Tel: +44 (0)1372 811 307
Mobile: 07980 288 373

John Austen
Publishing Director
Email:[email protected]
Tel: +44 (0)1580 755 863
Mobile: 07766 707 888

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