The team at Guhde Flooring America reveals the latest trends for home and floor
By Patricia Nugent
The design gurus at Guhde Flooring America have just returned from the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show in Las Vegas, the largest show in the country dedicated to all the latest in interior design.
The tenacious trio of Office Manager Monica Guhde-Rosa, Sales Manager Shawn Rosa and Special Projects Manager Cait Rudolph was treated to a fabulous preview of product and technology introductions.
“We like to stay ahead of the curve and act as a design destination for our customers, to help inspire them to reimagine their living spaces,” says Monica.
Are You as Smart as Your Home?
According to Cait, many of the bells and whistles at the show had to do with smart homes.
“You can walk into any room and ask Alexa or Google to accomplish a variety of tasks, from dimming your undercabinet lighting to warming the oven,” says Cait. “We work with a manufacturer called Hafele that offers a diverter that literally syncs everything in your home to one voice-activated unit. It’s amazing.”
Here are some other trends Cait uncovered at the show:
• “While last year’s trend of subway tiles is still popular, larger tiles are all the rage right now for kitchens and baths, averaging two to three feet, even in backsplashes. We also saw lots of designs where the countertop just continued up the wall to meet the cabinets.”
• “Handmade ceramic tiles were popular, and splashy floors with intricate designs and unusual shapes were everywhere.”
• “I was wowed by all the big, bold colors. Appliances were shown in vivid tones from bright cobalt blue to racingstripe red. And one cool innovation is appliances or farm sinks that feature front panels you could change out to fit your mood.”
• “We saw lots of mixed metals, putting together black, gold, copper and brushed nickel within the same room for a sophisticated touch.”
• “In one class I took, the instructor mentioned that open floor plans are losing ground in popularity. Designers aren’t knocking down walls to conjoin spaces, but keeping a kitchen a kitchen, a family room a family room.”
• Lastly, in the “it did not just do that” category, Cait also mentions the voice-activated smart controls within bathroom wall mirrors, whether you direct them to provide the best lighting for your skin type or play your favorite jam.
No matter what the trends are, Cait says her job is to educate and enlighten customers, while finding ways to bring out their own unique flair in any design.
If You Can Dream It
One of the coolest trends in home décor is large-format porcelain wall slabs. They are so thin. The product is described as “stone wallpaper.”
“Within the Wonderwall Collection, homeowners can punch up the personality of any room by transforming a boring white wall into anything from beachy palm leaves to funky geometric patterns, frescoes of paper birch trees to a dreamy watercolor cityscape of Venice,” she says. “The sky is the limit on the mood you can evoke with Wonderwall.”
Look for panel samples to be featured in Guhde’s showroom this spring.
Guhde Flooring America is located at 1880 Mentor Avenue in Painesville Township. Hours are Monday, 10:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m.; Tuesday, 10:00 a.m.-5:30 p.m.; Wednesday, 10:00 a.m.-5:30 p.m.; Thursday, 10:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m.; Friday, 10:00 a.m.-5:30 p.m.; and Saturday, 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. Call 440-639-1990 or visit GuhdeFlooringAmerica.com.