As evidenced by 2025’s Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS), it is with cautious optimism that I report a shift in how manufacturers and other material brands are now approaching the application of new technologies to their products for the sake of health and wellness. As with any advancement, companies tend to commodify features to capitalize on novelty, but it feels like things are finally turning a corner.
Individual brands competing in this arena are figuring out what they do best, where they can improve, and to whom their products will appeal. Kitchen brands like LG and Monogram fashioned incredible – and in some cases subversive – user experiences to demonstrate new ways to use their appliances. Bathroom brands like Kallista, Kohler, and Laufen leveraged technology to enhance human connection with the elements. And activations from the likes of Emtek and Alkemis educated visitors on how deeply personal things like hardware and paint, respectively, can be. Continue reading to discover nuances of this year’s showcase and some lessons from the trade.
Concept Kitchens Tease of Future Integrations
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Arranged and orchestrated with great harmony, SKS (formerly Signature Kitchen Suite) showcased their technological prowess in a highly-evolved Island System Concept that seamlessly integrated cutting-edge cooking, ventilation, and refrigeration modalities. The induction cooktop blended into the countertop’s subtle finish when not in use. And the hidden downdraft ventilation, which employs SKS’s proprietary air curtain technology, could be activated to reveal shelving for spices book-ended by refrigeration compartments within the island.
Make Marble Your Touchstone
From bathroom fixtures to architectural details, Italian marble has always captivated audiences, but Rosso Levanto and the statuary White Carrara stole the show in a number of places across KBIS.
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Kallista introduced the Bezel
Collection in partnership with Italian manufacturer CRISTINA Rubinetterie and creative industrial design team Busetti Garuti Redaelli. The design marks a noteworthy departure from tradition as the brand’s first soft square profile. Its form is intricately faceted in the likeness of gems with natural stone adornments assuming the place of traditional metal knobs. What’s more, it was displayed in a room laminated in deep burgundy and oxblood marble.
Beyond the utility of access and egress, door knobs are responsible for first impressions before visitors move beyond the threshold. Emtek has tapped the same iconic red colorway for the sense of something substantial in the palm of your hand. Their SELECT Program has folded the very regal Rosso Levanto marble into their production alongside other more modest customization options including wood and terrazzo.
Appliances Move to the Bathroom
Luxury appliance brand Monogram experimented with their technology by taking it beyond traditional applications and perceived uses for placement in new contexts throughout the home. The most outstanding and perhaps compelling vignette, admittedly to me, was their elevated bathing space.
This room illustrated how a warming drawer – traditionally used for things like heating plates, proofing dough, or keeping entrees at the ideal temperature prior to serving – could be repurposed to warm towels or heat other warmable therapy products.
Homeowners could complement this with a refrigeration drawer to preserve skin care products and cool depuffing under-eye tools.
Dishwashing Tailored to Your Needs
Cleanliness is next to godliness, and a hygienic kitchen is important for food safety. But what it means to maintain a tidy countertop and spotless dishes totally depends on your lifestyle. So brands are diversifying as they cater to different types of home chefs, entertainers, and sticklers when it comes to clean-up.
SMEG, the wildly popular and instantly iconic Italian home appliance manufacturer, has been gearing up to tackle the super-sized needs that American kitchens demand. In particular, the brand has refined a new line of dishwashers with a top-of-the-line model that caters to every entertainers need: support clips on the dish rack to accommodate pots and pans, oversized bottles, and baking trays; a support rack for smaller items, such as espresso cups; a ‘Flexi-Duo’ cutlery basket with movable trays; and their WinePro accessory for wine glassware with designated decanter support on the bottom rack.
In a delightful contrast, the Chinese home appliance manufacturer FOTILE, has pioneered a dishwashing solution for tight urban spaces and tiny homes as well as some RVs and even select boats. Their 3-in1 In-Sink Dishwasher has a sleek, unassuming design with a surprisingly nimble capacity for place settings without sacrificing on wash quality. It’s worth noting that the ergonomic countertop design is good for those who have limited mobility and may not be able to bend to use a traditional machine. What’s more, it can be used as a produce and seafood cleaner for additional food safety.
Ventilation is Key
FOTILE’s other wellness innovation on display was their FreshBake Electric Range. The brand prides itself on this concept of ‘cooking cleaner’ and boasts an exclusive filtration system that neutralizes over 90% of harmful gases released when in use. In addition to syncing with external ventilation, it purifies the air within the oven as you cook to break down grease, odors, and VOCs.
Bathtubs Make Bold Moves
Connoisseurs of time in the tub would argue that a hot bath is best taken in a cast iron vessel – I don’t disagree. But what if you’re looking for something beyond a traditional hot soak? Perhaps your lifestyle and budget allow you to invest in other types of hydrotherapies at home.
Premium Swiss bathroom manufacturer Laufen launched their freestanding VAL Luminex Bathtub with integrated LED technology for a bathing experience that now includes a colorful play of light in motion. But the innovation begins with the material itself, debuting a new translucent version of Sentec, a mineral casting material. In terms of functionality, the lighting mechanism features 9 ambient settings, each with 3 lighting scenarios, that can be selected via remote control.
Ice Bath by Kohler, in partnership with Dr. Jonathan Leary, founder of Remedy Place social wellness clubs, is an exquisite fusion of moody, minimalist design with self-care at home. If you can, consider ditching the makeshift at-home contraptions and invest in something packed with a competitive amount of wellness tech including a water-management system with UV sanitization and a guided user experience complete with visual cues.
Paint That Pulls Pigments From The Earth
Architectural paint is the greatest contributor of microplastics in the ocean with some 1.9 million tons of the substance meandering through our waterways annually, outweighing all other plastic waste streams. Alkemis is the world’s first wellness paint with an inimitable recipe consisting of a clear quartz base, artist-quality crystalline pigments, and earthen raw materials. In addition, the company boasts cradle-to-cradle certification.
The duo behind the hues have advanced the paint-making trade from its perceived “dependence” on synthetics to all-natural formulation, and were invited to participate in the Disruptor Series of TED-style talks for show attendees.
Knurling Is on Another Level
Industrial spaces have some iconic, eye-catching attributes like glass block, steel panels, and exposed structural joinery – oftentimes complemented by door and drawer pulls detailed with knurling. But until now, this aesthetic has felt rather one-note. Emtek designer Will Zhang has broadened the trade’s creative capacity to specify knurled hardware with fresh scales, densities, and runs across the hardware surface.
Thumb through KBIS archives here.
Photography provided by Design Milk Staff.