Design & Construction Week 2018 Recap

We recently returned from the 2018 Design & Construction Week (DCW) in Orlando, FL and have so much to share! If you are not familiar, DCW brings more than 80,000 design and construction professionals together for three days of networking, education and exhibits. It is made up of two separate shows in one location NAHB International Builders' Show (IBS) and NKBA Kitchen Bath Industry Show (KBIS).

We discovered many amazing new products, innovations and design concepts. Here are our Top 5 Home Trends For 2018.

1. Clean, Simple Lines

While there still is a presence of ornate styles, designs trends are leaning towards clean, simple lines. Craftsman, Modern Farmhouse, Scandinavian Minimalist and Contemporary are the best ways to describe the common styles we saw this year. This was especially present in the door and window category. Andersen and Jeld-Wen had an excellent presentation of doors & windows that embraced clean, simple design.

2. Geometric patterns

Whether it is for flooring or wall treatments, geometric patterns are going to be popular this year. Bedrosians Tile and Somer Tile had some impressive options for any style. In addition to geometric, decorative patterns on tile in general is becoming popular in kitchens & bath design.

Say hello to the future of smart home technology. With KOHLER Konnect featuring voice-enabled technology, your shower, bathtub, toilet, smart mirror and smart faucet are finally all connected-to you and each other. From adjusting lighting on your vanity mirror with Amazon Alexa technology to automatically filling the bathtub to the perfect temperature, discover how KOHLER Konnect can make your life easier.

3. Smart Home Integration

"ALEXA...FILL MY PASTA POT!" Yes, that is correct. Chip Wade and Allison Victoria confirmed that smart technology is invading every aspect of our live's to make it just that much easier. This feature found on Kohler's faucet may not be completely necessary for everyone, but it really illustrates where the industry is going. Integrating smart technology into as much as we can to create time savings where possible. From Kitchen and Bath to entertainment to HVAC applications, 2018 will bring more tech integration into the home.

4. Bold and dark Colors

The popular colors at this year's show ranged from bold pops of color to ultra modern dark grays and black. While color is a personal preference, it seems like these two color palletes will dominate 2018.

Lowe's Innovation Labs is proud to launch the Lowe's Vision app, powered by Tango, a new technology which enables augmented reality on the Phab 2 Pro by Lenovo. The Lowe's Vision app is a powerful visualization tool that enables customers to measure, design and drop Lowe's products into their real, physical home.

5. AR & VR

We are at an interesting crossroads. Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) are are being used in more applications and are becoming more practical. Lowe's Innovation Labs (LIL) showed us The Lowe's Vision app. It enables customers to easily measure any room in their home with the touch of a finger, and style it with virtual Lowe's products in real-time through augmented reality. While there are many companies dabbling in AR & VR, it will be interesting to see who does it best.

See you next year at the International Builders' Show in Las Vegas, Nevada || February 19-21, 2019