kitchen and bath technology

“To design kitchens for the present and future, designers need to be aware of what it takes to keep all of today’s devices connected, used, charged and stored.”

Kitchen and bath designers have always had a wide variety of tools in their arsenal, and today’s rapidly expanding technology has expanded that toolbox exponentially.

There’s a lot of talk about evolution these days. How clients are evolving. How the industry is evolving. How KBIS is evolving. Yet the one thing I keep coming back to is how many of the core basics aren’t changing.

While most trends have a relatively short shelf life, the technology craze just keeps on getting stronger.

Today, the vast majority of kitchen and bath dealers and designers are not only using the Internet, they’re using it several times a day for everything from reading product reviews and watching industry related videos to attending Webinars and purchasing products.

Gradually, inexorably, technology is having a growing impact on the businesses of kitchen & bath design professionals, who are demonstrating a growing propensity to embrace digital tools as a means for researching products, designing spaces, and communicating with clients and prospects.

However, it’s also a potential danger sign if dealers and designers become so reliant on technology that they disregard the need for personal contact, showroom interaction and verbal communication with the customers they serve.

As a consumer, I’ve come to rely on technology unthinkingly. But as a professional in the kitchen and bath industry, I am always thinking about and exploring the different technologies that impact everything from product design and marketing to the way information is delivered.