Kitchen & Bath Business - January 2018 - 101

This kitchen features Thermador cooking appliances, including steam and convection ovens, a
six-burner gas professional range and a microwave
drawer, which Whyte has noticed many visitors
had not seen before. "[These are] little things that
kitchen designers or [those of ] us in the industry
take for granted," she said.
TEST DRIVING TECHNOLOGY

SOURCES
DESIGNER: Dawn Whyte,

Designs by Dawn

PHOTOGRAPHER: Phoenix

Photographic

BRANDS DISPLAYED

APPLIANCES: Bosch,

Lynx, Perlick, Sub-Zero,
Thermador, U-Line,
Vent-A-Hood & Wolf;
CABINETS: Ayr Custom
Cabinetry, CWP Cabinetry
& UltraCraft Cabinetry;
COUNTERTOPS:

Colorquartz, Diresco &
LG Viatera;
FLOORING: Northwest
Decorative Concrete;
TOP Undulating wall tiles
house a colorful electric fireplace in the Master Bathroom,
while interactive features like
bathtub air jets and a smart
showerhead engage visitors.
MIDDLE In the conference
room, coffee is automatically
prepared for guests who order
it on an iPad at the front door,
and Whyte keeps chilled mugs
in the beverage center and
cold beer on tap.
BOTTOM The Working Bathroom gets an old-style look
from a Victorian sink, fun wallpaper and 10-in. baseboards.

PLUMBING FIXTURES:

Galley, Kohler & MTI;
TILE: Ann Sacks,
Artistic Tile, Crossville &
Walker Zanger

On Saturdays, the kitchen really cooks. Cookies bake in the oven, and water boils on a Bosch
induction cooktop with a paper towel placed
between the pot and the cooktop to display this
cooking technology - something else many visitors have not yet experienced.
Several features in the various vignettes are live.
From a bathtub with air jets to a smart showerhead, the showroom abounds with interactive
elements. This concept begins at the front door,
where guests order a coffee on an iPad and find it
waiting for them in the conference room.
"We want our clients to come in and learn how
to use their appliances," said Whyte, who has noticed that visitors enjoy walking up to the Wolf
range in the Rustic Kitchen, opening the door and
playing with the digital controls to find out what
makes it different from other ranges on the market.
The pot filler has proven to be another attention
grabber, and clients like to bend the arm and shift
it around.Visitors can explore walnut storage solutions inside the drawers and cabinets in the Live
Kitchen, where they also feel the leathered granite
and often ask, "What is this?"
The Working Bathroom, an old-style vignette
with a Victorian sink and Art Nouveau wallpaper, serves as the showroom's actual restroom, and
everything is necessarily live and code compliant.
The Master Bathroom features a wider range
of interactive features visitors can experience.
Behind a freestanding tub, an electric fireplace,
which is heated and includes a blower, provides
warm air and an array of changeable colors. The
tub is kept filled with water, and its air jets are on
a motion sensor that kicks in when people approach the vignette. Inside the adjacent shower,
a waterproof speaker in the showerhead can be
connected to visitors' smartphones to play favorite tunes.
Considering the inclusion of current smart
home technology and trendy products, the designer plans to update the window display at least
twice a year or perhaps seasonally. The vignettes
may sit for up to two years but not longer.
"We wanted to show the best possible options
available for our clients," said Whyte. "We chose
the products we feel are most appropriate for our
market. Hopefully, we've provided the canvas to
open their imaginations."
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101

Kitchen & Bath Business - January 2018

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