Differentiate or Die - A report from Florida and NY.

The drums are beating. The message is clear. Differentiate or Die. That is the message I received from attending the Decorative Plumbing and Hardware Associaton conference in Florida and my observations at Whiskey Fest in NY.

I believe that a lot of businesses think they differentiate by having "the best service" and count on that concept as there business plan. I too have been one of those business men for the past 10+ years. I have also learned that selling service is not something that you can do up front, but is something that clients must experience as part of what we offer in order to simply hold on to them. If service is what you are counting on to bring you new business, get another plan.

So how do we excite our potential and existing clients about our services? We must have something worthwhile to say. Something unexpected. Something thought provoking. Something extraordinary, not ordinary.

Getting clients excited about there project can be as simple as helping them realize that they don't need to put the tub back in there bathroom, when they are remodeling and they have a choice of a great shower area or a standard tub shower. What works even better than helping with great thoughts, is combining both thought provoking ideas, with great fashion products.

What I have also come to realize is that I can't wow our customers with the same brands that they are familiar with, and we should not try. Selling fashion is similar to selling luxury. Once someone buys a Mercedes, it is unlikely that they will look at replacing it with a Volkswagen at any price level in the future. These customers want a car that makes a statement about there life style. They do not want the "peoples car" sitting in there driveway. So if they don't want the "peoples car" in there driveway, why would they want the "peoples faucets" in there homes. Familiar brands like Kohler, Moen, Delta simply do not belong in upscale homes regardless of there market price. We simply can't get them excited about brands that they already know are mass marketed.

Some of you are probably thinking, "Why not use these brands in the basemen bath?" My answer would be, why set the bar so low. Products don't have to be expensive in order for them to have fashion or luxury. They simply can't be ordinary from ordinary brands. There are lots of great looking products at all price levels with limited distribution and high quality out there. It just takes more effort to discover and develop this mix of products that we offer our customers.

These new guiding thoughts are setting the direction for my store, Union Hardwarefor 2011. Currently we are having a "Brand Realignment Sale" this will help us de-emphasis the more mass marketed brands, clearing the path for us to commit to the harder to find, less mass marketed brands with high quality and support. It has and continues to be a big challenge to find the best mix of products, but we believe that we are getting there.

I invite you to enjoy the great ride we are on. Take advantage of our sale if you please, but more importantly, take a look at the new products we have been bringing in and our new Fashion Gallery in our Maryland store. This new space has gotten such great reaction, we will be expanding this concept starting in January 2011. Lots more great new products coming in January.

Upcoming Trends - Report from Italy

I just got back from a large industry show called Cersaie in Bologna Italy. Well, large does not describe it appropriately. This is a 5 day show that attracts about triple the largest bath industry show here in the states. Most booths are much nicer than the average store. It is said that what you see at this show is two years ahead of the trend hitting us here on the east coast and longer as you travel inland. With that thought in mind, I am now better armed to report on some of the trends that I saw over there, that I believe will head over here.


Fist of all, 95% of what was shown was contemporary in style. Contemporary style has been on the rise all across the US. I see no reason to believe that this trend will slow down anytime in the near future.

Most notable were mirror sizes. The mirrors on display were much skinnier that the traditional proportions or much larger in over all size. Even skinny mirrors hung horizontal or at an odd angle.





Finishes: Chrome remains King, with some matte white and black following behind. Black and white started about a year ago and I am starting to see some products being introduced here in the states. I have am starting to get requests again for white in the store.



Showers: Although there were lots of ceiling mounted shower heads and other wall mounted heads giving a straight down spray path, I remain skeptical that this will every become as popular in the states as it is in Europe. After showering in my 4 star hotel with a hand shower on a slide bar that just sucked due to it's location, spay path, placement of the controls, etc.., anything else they get is an improvement. What I did notice is a large number of "Water Fall" type wall mounted outlets. A lot of them were also in combination with a standard spray pattern head. I also saw mister / atomizers wall outlets like body sprays for showers that I have ordered.

Pedestals: A lot more freestanding pedestals with floor mounted faucets. Makes for an expensive faucet but a lot more personality and more flexible space. I was able to walk under the faucet to the right.

I went to this show as I am purchasing more and more from Italy. I am continually looking to upgrade and stay on top of the latest designs. Italy is where so many great designs are coming from so despite that it was 3 days of traveling for 2 full days at the show, I saw a lot of great products, layouts and design that I plan to bring back to my showroom and stay on top of the trends.

Other Pictures:

Pedestals - The End of a Trend in powder rooms.

I was at dinner the other night with an industry friend from Texas. I told him that I was remodeling my powder room. When he asked what I was putting in, I indicated that my pipes came out of the floor and the drain was too low and the only think that fit, was a pedestal unless I moved those pipes and I didn't want to replace my pedestal with another pedestal. So, I cut a hole in my wall, and moved my water and drain pipes. I did it myself. Just not the big deal that it sounds.

My friend concurred that his pedestal sales have dwindled to a trickle and so have mine.

Here is another example that our industry trends move very slow. Pedestals started there upward trend around 1980. There were few designer pedestals to buy in the US so we had to bring them in from Italy. Sales had been fairly constant and good in that category up until about the last 5 years.

What is replacing pedestals are furniture looking pieces. Wall hung and pieces with legs.

Walk in Showers

Showers are more custom than any other bathroom feature. They are more technical, and require more decision making than any other area in the bathroom. There is no end to layouts and what you can do in the shower, but I want to cover a few trends and once again show some inspiring layouts and designs.

There has been and continues to be a trend toward clear glass and frame-less enclosures. Larger space allowing for walk in showers is also on the rise. With several companies coming out with new drains, and our desire to think ahead more, I am predicting an increase of cleaner, barrier free showers where there is no threshold to walk over when entering.

To accommodate these trends, we need to search out new enclosures that take advantage and enhance these design ideas. Last week, I had the opportunity to meet with and see for myself, a line of shower enclosures from Italy called Elysium. I am happy to report that I liked these enclosures so much, that Union Hardware has made a commitment to this line, and we will be the exclusive distributor of the Elysium line in the Washington DC metro area. Over the next few months, both of our showrooms will be installing these products.

As pictures are worth a thousand words, I hope you enjoy these fresh designs as much as I have.

This is my favorite: The Sparkle. Look at this picture, the layout, the background, the view out the windows. The Sparkle shower screen includes 20 LED lights within the glass to create a sparkling light with no wires showing. We will have this on display in our Bethesda location beginning June/July. (click on it for a larger view)

The Extra is also something that is noteworthy. The curved glass allows the user to have a larger shower space with shorter side walls.

The Sun on the left, available in this walk in shower is also unique. The curved part of the glass is hinged to enclose the space more if desired.

I have only discussed walk in shower screens in this posting. The Elysium Line has a lot of great doors that we will be displaying. They also have a great looking glass tub worth seeing.

I invite you to visit their great website and look at some of their other inspiring products.

Toilets - A trend gone awry

Here's a trend that I believe is ridiculously overrated. Just another political game, and a disservice to our customers. I have no problem conserving non-renewable resources such as fossil fuel. In fact, I have no problem with most environmental friendly concepts. However, I do have several issues with flushing less water in our toilets and calling this helpful, significant or water conservation.

California passed a law requiring that half the toilets being sold there have to be 1.28 gal/flush vs. 1.6 gal/flush. Manufactures are jumping on this "Eco" bandwagon and discontinuing 1.6 gal/flush in favor of 1.2 gal/flush.

Putting Things in Perspective

Approximate Water Usage World Wide:
70% of water usage is in agricultural irrigation (about 85% in USA).

23% usage is industrial

7% domestic use.

An entire subdivision would use around 8,000 gallons per day.

A small 100 acre farm (the size of a small subdivision) could use 230,000 gallons per day.

A 3% reduction in water usage for a small farm would be more significant than an entire subdivision converting everything in the home to the new standard.

Drip irrigation has been around for a very long time and was modernized in Israel in the 60's. If used it would save 50% of the water farmers use to grow crops.

A single minute variance in showering time with a single shower head putting out 2.5 gal/minute would be a bigger variance than changing toilets from 1.6 to 1.28 gal/flush.

If the government or environmentalists felt that there was a real problem, why approach it on a front that has great public awareness, but virtually no effect.

A Closed System

We have approximately the same amount of water as we had 1,000 years ago, and 10,000 before that.

When we flush a toilet, we are not using water, we are moving it and recycling it. Hence, I have a problem with the thought that flushing less water is water conservation. If I drink less or more water, is that conservation? (same thing just a smaller system.)

Effectiveness

The same toilet flushing 1.28 vs.1.6 gal/flush looses approximately 25% of its ability to clear a bowl.

When people ask us “what is the best toilet?” I believe they are asking first and foremost, which one is least likely to clog, overflow or needs to be flushed twice.

There is no question that there is a trend to reduce the amount of water per flush. There is also no question that the less water available to push waste out and down the sewer lines, the harder it is to achieve that goal. I am concerned that my customers won't be happy with a lesser product that has no real benefit.

For these reasons, I think that this is our industries’, "bridge to no-where". I am not proud.

So, what can we do? At Union Hardware, we recommend toilets by the numbers.

Starting in 2003, there has been consistent independent testing done on over 1,200 toilet models to rate there maximum performance. This is called the MaP test. (Ma)ximum (P)erformance test. The test results are released several times a year. The highest rating that is tested for is 1,000 grams clearing the bowl and trap.

When a customer asks us "what are the best toilets?" very simply, they have to hit 1,000 grams on the MaP test.

There are a few 1.28 flush toilets that hit 1,000 grams. Some of these same toilets flushing 1,000 grams at 1.28 are available in a 1.6 gal/flush. Since we know that 1.6 flushes more, we can estimate that these toilets will flush upwards of 1,200 grams and we would consider them the best of the best.

In our attempt to make things easy for our customers at Union Hardware, we put together some charts of the popular toilets that we sell. This is available on-line at:

http://www.unionhardware.com/MapTest.pdf

The Full MaP test is available at: http://www.cuwcc.org/MaPTesting.aspx

All toilets pictured here are 1,000 gram toilets -- The most efficient and best of the best.

For more information, please contact our sales professional at Union Hardware.

Bathroom Faucet Trends

Although trends in the decorative plumbing and hardware industry are slow moving, they first show up in bathroom faucet fixtures. Faucets are the focal point in the room and the faucet sets the tone for everything else around it. There are thousands of faucets available and selecting the right faucet that reflects the personality of the owner and goals for the room can be a time consuming task.

Design Trends:

For both traditional designs as well as contemporary designs, there has been a trend toward "clean" designs. Ten years ago, traditional had to have lots of ridges and bumps. Those bumps are working themselves out and getting fewer and smoother. The same thing with contemporary. The faucets of 10+ years ago looked like Lego sets. Lots of ridges and angles. The new "clean" look is one that has the fewest bumps, angles, ridges, or any other design that interrupts the smooth flow from the deck or wall to the water outlet.

This is the thought that explains the fast rise in popularity of the single hole, single control faucets. The 4" center-set has never been a factor in the decorative field and still is not. The 3 piece spread set faucet by definition has multiple components and hence can not be as clean looking as a single hole. This leaves single hold deck mount and single hole wall mount as the cleanest look to start with.

At my store, Union Hardware, we have seen a rise in popularity of these types to an estimated 20% - 40% of our sales. We currently display over 125 of these types of faucets. We are also experiencing a trend toward contemporary styles and this works well for single control faucets.

Finish Trends:

Currently, Chrome is King. Brass is at its lowest interest level in bath that I have ever seen. Within traditional, finishes that are popular in order of popularity (my opinion): chrome, satin nickel, all the bronzes, polished nickel, and there is a slight up tick of antique brass. For contemporary: chrome, polished nickel, satin nickel, and nothing else worth mentioning. Formal you have less percentage chrome. This category has been so slow for us, I am not sure of the proper order, but there are rumors that gold finishes are coming back. I have always liked the antique and highlighted finishes that show off the workmanship in these more detailed fixtures: antique brass, pewter.

Although this posting was about trends, keep in mind that trends are just a part of a much larger puzzle. I wrote about this in my March 22 posting.

Other great looking single hole faucets:

Shower Design and Controls

There are many factors that go into good shower design and enjoyment. If I had to boil it down to one simple statement about what makes a good shower good, it would always come down to the number of gallons of water coming at you per minute. Few people can enjoy showering with a little drug store type shower head that spits out a trickle. Water coming at you is what it is all about.

Unfortunately, as you might have already guessed, shower enjoyment is mostly at odds with water conservation. That being said, understand that the more water coming at you, the more enjoyable the experience. A 5 gallon/minute shower is more enjoyable than a 2.5 gal/min shower. A 10 gal/min shower is more enjoyable than a 5 gal/min shower, and a 20 more than 10. You get the picture.

The following guide will help you expand your knowledge of all the wonderful possibilities that exist for improving your personal shower experience. It will take you through some of the many options that are available to you, and hopefully inspire you to start designing your perfect bathroom retreat. You will learn a lot from this guide, but I can't stress enough how important it is to talk to a shower specialist.

When designing a custom shower your first few considerations should be about how you want to use your shower. Some questions you should be asking yourself are: Will this shower be used for more than one person at a time? Do I need separate temperature controls if it is a two person shower? Should I get a steam shower? Can I stand in the shower so that when I first turn the water on, I won't be in the direct path of the cold water? Should there be a bench? The amount of space you have in your bathroom that is available for the shower will be a large factor in helping to answer the above questions.

The more room you have to work with, the more fun we can have with the overall design. However, that doesn't mean that you can't have a fabulous customized bathroom if you don't have a huge amount of space. It just means that we will have to be a little more creative with our use of space, and we will have to prioritize the number of outlets (shower heads, body sprays and hand showers) we place in that space. It's best not to overdo the number of outlets in a small space.

Fixtures:

After determining the general space and layout of your shower area, we can now consider how to add to the enjoyment of your shower experience with multiple outlets. Lets go in order of importance:

1. A wall mounted shower head, not a hand shower acting as one, is the first and most important outlet. The ability to keep your body warm with water coming out in a wide spray, at an angle, should be your top priority. Any other outlets should be in addition to, but not instead of a good wall mounted shower head.





2. A hand shower comes next. If you have a bench it becomes more important, and if you build a steam shower, it becomes a must. If you have a bench, the hand shower should be placed where you can sit and use the hand shower. I have seen some poorly designed showers that have a bench far from any water outlet. If a bench is too far from a water outlet, the user becomes too cold to enjoy sitting and relaxing on the bench. The bench is therefore of limited use and ends up as little more than a foot rest. If a hand shower is placed by the bench, the bench becomes useful as an alternative to a standing shower when you are tired, have an injured ankle or leg, or if you cannot stand for long periods of time. The hand shower is also a must with a steam shower to greatly enhance the experience by cooling you off during your steam time. A hand shower is also very helpful to clean the shower after it has been used.





3. Body sprays are great for increasing your enjoyment because they increase the water coming at you. They are also great for concentrating the water on a specific body part such as a sore back or a pulled muscle; and they are nice alternative to an unsightly shower cap if you want to shower without getting your hair wet. If you have the space, I generally recommend installing at least 4 body sprays. Left and right for the upper body and left and right for the lower body. Body sprays should be placed 15-18” to the left and right of the center; angled in toward center.





4. An overhead shower, sometimes called a rain shower, can do a great job to increase the water coming at you, and thereby increase your overall enjoyment. A lot of people will be unhappy that I put this as the last option. Rain showers look great and project an image of a relaxing deluge of water. The reason the over head shower comes in last for me is simply the direction the water is flowing; straight down. Standing up straight, staying warm, breathing. Pick any two of these three when you use an over head shower.
   



5. A Waterfall type of shower head is also available. This type gives the user a deluge of water. Some people like it over there bench just on the wall to give the user a fresh fealing of standing in a waterfall.

Once the outlets are selected first, we can configure the needed controls. There are two main types of valves that are used to control the water temperature and meet the anti-scald safety requirements: Pressure Balance Valve and Thermostatic Valve.

A pressure balance valve is the type you find in most hotels. You simply turn the dial from off, though the cold setting to the hot. There is typically no volume adjustment. This type of valve is best used when there is just a single shower head outlet. This type of valve will sense pressure drops like those from a toilet flushing.

A thermostatic valve is always the better choice. Even for a single outlet. Most thermostatic valves allow you to adjust the temperature separately from the volume. This allows the user to set the temperature and then turn the water on and off. With this method, you don't have to find the temperature you used last time. You simply turn on the water and it is already set.

Thermostatic controls are the valve of choice when using multiple outlets. They are designed to allow multiple outlets. They also have a much greater water flow rate needed for multiple outlets. Unlike the pressure balance valve, the thermostatic valve looks at the outlet temperature not pressure to maintain the set temperature giving it the greater ability to maintain the proper temperature.

I can not stress how important a knowledgeable sales person can be in correctly configuring the controls and calculating what is needed based upon the desired outlets. Nothing is more disappointing that having a large car wash type shower and not having enough pressure to run it after the tile is up. I'm not going to get into the technical side of making the dream shower work,

Shower Floor:

Most upscale showers will have a custom floor. Traditional floors have a drain in the middle. This forces the tile or stone to be made from relatively small pieces so that they floor can be sloped properly towards the drain. This is inconsistent with the trend for larger and larger tile over the last 20 years everywhere else. A relatively new type of drain can solve that problem and add to the design as well. It is called a linear drain that I will talk about next. This type of drain is put along one of the walls, (back wall) and will allow you to use any size flat material that you would like. This also opens up the possibilities to have a great looking, non-barrier, no threshold shower. This is an upcoming trend.

Shower Drain:

There is a trend to pay more attention to the drain than there has been in the past. Square drains are on the rise and heavy cast drains are more desirable than the thin stamped drains. As noted above, linear drains will become more popular as they are both good looking and solve design problems.

Shower Door:

While the trend is to have a walk in shower if you have the space, there are some great looking doors that can add design to the shower. I am going to take a trip next month to see such great looking Italian made encloses that I will most likely talk about them in greater detail next month. In the meanwhile, pictured is a contemporary barn door steel roler system that has become popular at our showroom. Also an Italian design screen that creates shower space and looks great.

Steam:

Steam Showers are a great way to relax and treat yourself to a little extra "me" time. Steam opens up your pores and rejuvenate's you skin. Designing a steam shower is easy. You buy the generator and controls. You slope your ceiling. You build your shower door to the top of the shower. All other features you do are icing on the cake. I do typically recommend with steam that you place a hand shower by the bench to cool off. We sell two lines of steam. Steamist and Thermasol. Both lines offer may luxury features including aroma-therapy, chroma-therapy, music integration and remote controls.

Storage:

This is a battle I always seem to loose. The more storage, shelves, baskets that are put up, the more that ends up in the shower. That being said, by far, the most popular storage and continued upward trend, is corner basket shelves. They are convenient, out of the way, have many sizes and relatively easy to clean. You can put them in more than one corner and it even looks good to stack a smaller corner over a larger corner shelf.

Another combo solution that works well is if your long wall is an outside wall and you want a hand shower by the bench but you typically can't run a line in an outside wall, you build a half high wall along that exterior wall to run your pipe and create a very long shelf the is convenient for lots and lots of shower products.

I have just scratched the surface on this subject. The goal of this guide is to help you to examine the possibilities to enhance the enjoyment of your shower. To focus on design and desires, rather than on the technical aspects. Remember, your master bathroom can be a private sanctuary in your own home. It should provide you with the restorative powers of a day at the spa and the relaxation of a day on the beach. And it doesn't have to cost a lot. Poor shower design consists of a shower space that doesn't properly fill your needs.

For more information or to see most of the products shown here, please visit us at Union Hardware.

It's not about trends alone.

This blog will not be like twitter and simply say, hey, "I saw this cool thing. Here it is."

Trends are easy and quick to talk about. Make a list on different subjects and it's a done deal. As you know, nothing worth doing is that easy and quick. This is no exception. This blog will combine trends with good creative design along with function to create a more complete picture that just trends.

Unlike the clothing and shoe business, trends in home products are much, much slower to change. For example, Satin Nickel, as a metal finish is a trend but not new. I put my first traditional satin nickel faucet on display 15+ years ago. 15 years later, it is peeking in my world but is still growing in the real world. I will cover trends, but trends by themselves is like a car with out gas. It looks good but by itself, won't get you where you want to go. Trends combined with good timeless design is the winning combo that we are all looking for.

Things that catch my eye, catch it for a real reason. There has to be a story. Something that makes and emotional connection. Something that solves a design problem. My favorite things are designs that make us question our past and give us the tools to re-think space in a different way and get us out of the box. An example of this is the Betty Blue "water table" pictured above. This unique product brings water up one leg and drains down another allowing you to place the wash stand in the middle of a room. This item is best anywhere other than in a bathroom. This is an item that allows you and your guests to walk around a piece of art after you come in from your swimming pool, or deck and wash up on your way to your evening meal

Does this type of unusual product create a trend? There are only 2 in North America. (I have one of them.) Should we be covering this type of product in the blog? Quick story to answer that question.

I go to Whiskyfest up in NY every year. I pull up to an Irish whisky table and ask "what's the difference between Irish whisky and Scotch whisky". His answer was simple. "You want to order Irish whisky on your first date." I was intrigued. When I asked why on my first date, he replied that Irish whisky has doubled in popularity. It when from 1% to 2% of the market in the last few years and if you want to impress someone and stand out, you order Irish whisky. There is something for everyone, and a trend start with the first sale. You will see lots of new products that are more than just another cross handle traditional faucet. Item here will have to catch my eye.

For each topic, I want to cover trends in that area, but more importantly, I want to show thoughts and products that will make your project stand out from the crowd. Discuss ways that will make your project more interesting and enjoyable for you and your guests. To add real value and bring your own personality into the space.

The stage is now set.

Be prepared to both learn and be challenged.

What is good design. (What makes a beautiful woman beautiful)

I was walking though Home Depot a few years ago and wondered why I thought that every towel bar seemed so ugly. Was there something wrong with me or am I simply a snob?

A month or so later, I got my answer. While driving to work, a news story came on the radio about an MIT study on what makes a beautiful woman beautiful. (It's fun to tell this story around a table and watch the women listen intently). MIT researchers took lots of measurements. How far the eyes are apart. Nose to mouth ratio. How far down your eyes are on your head, etc. In the end, MIT discovered that the closer a woman's proportions were to the average, the more beautiful she appeared. (I like to use the term, "uniquely plain" and watch all the women around the table get pissed off.)

So if judging beauty is all about proportions, what's my problem at Home Depot.

I sell to and work with the luxury market segment. I grew up and live in Washington, DC, home to eight of the 20 wealthiest counties in America. My perspective and that of much of my clientele is invluenced more so by European design than the very important middle America perspective catered to by Home Depot. All the towel bars at Home Depot were bulbous and convex. Similar to American gentlemen's jackets. The towel bars that I see with European influences are more like European tailored jackets, tapered and concave.

So, while I understand and appreciate the design preferences of middle America, my postings to this blog will pursue a different track. My experience has been working with affluent, well-traveled customers who have been exposed to fine European design and look to make personal design statments in their homes that are far from average. It is this European influenced design path and function that I will be writing about.