Las Vegas — Dubbed “Everyday Getaways,” the 10,000-sq.-ft. Design Idea Center (DIC) featured five distinct, calming and soothing kitchen and bath vignettes by five of Meredith Corp.’s consumer magazines: Kitchen and Bath Ideas, Better Homes and Gardens, Country Home, Traditional Home and Midwest Living. Each space evoked the feeling of getting away without leaving home by reflecting a specific theme based on the individual magazine’s core readership.

For the second consecutive year, the DIC marked the collaboration between Meredith Corp. and the National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA) at the 2007 Kitchen/Bath Industry Show & Conference (K/BIS). Visitors were transported to five, distinct, serene and relaxing atmospheres upon entering the Everyday Getaways pavilion, a main attraction at this year’s K/BIS in Las Vegas:

• Kitchen and Bath Ideas: Gourmet Traveler At Home was designed for the adventurous couple that loves to discover food and wine while they travel across the globe. Inspired by the trend of combining passions for cooking and traveling, everything in this gourmet kitchen was created to evoke the feeling of past trips, and was positioned for the ease and enjoyment of cooking, such as countertop cut-outs in the prep island and next to the range designed to hold a series of metal bins filled with everything from spoons and spatulas to seasonings. A wine room, which served as an extension of the kitchen, was ideal for those who wished to participate in the burgeoning trend of at-home wine-tasting parties.
  
• Better Homes and Gardens: A Gardener’s Kitchen brought the outdoors inside via a kitchen designed to act as an oasis in the midst of one’s hectic life. Created for those who think of their garden as the ultimate get-away, this kitchen opened onto a back deck with a container garden and potting table nook. Playing on the trend of multi-functional living, this kitchen’s spaces were designed to be used for cooking, dining, gathering or just unwinding. For example, opposite the range was a dual-function laundry center whose long counter was also perfect for setting up a buffet for relaxing get-togethers.
  
• Country Home: Big Little House in the Woods was designed as a 525-sq.-ft., two-room cottage that offered a low-key alternative to the massive spaces that have come to dominate home building today. Perfect for empty nesters or the newly single, this tranquil get-away incorporated big design ideas and inventive space solutions in an intimate setting. The cottage, inspired by Minnesota’s wooded cabins, was a cozy get-away featuring a combination dishwasher/sink, a built-in bed alcove and a soaking tub.