New Blanco Faucets

I’ve been wanting to write about the new faucets from Blanco for a while and now seems like the perfect time. If you have not already heard, I will be going to London as part of the BlogTour London 2013 founded by Modenus CEO Veronika Miller. Blanco is one of the fine sponsors for this trip.

The new faucet collection from Blanco is making a Splash. Beauty and Performance go hand-in-hand with water-saving options.

The new series includes the Victorian GRACE II, the sleek ALTA COMPACT, the elegant HILAND and the graceful NAPA. Blanco’s tradition of high quality materials and innovative design is carried forward in this collection. With all the possible design and color combinations, most homeowners are sure to find a faucet that fits their style and needs.

Grace II

Traditional Design for today’s world.
Pull-down and Pull-out Faucet Design with dual spray
2.2 GPM flow rate
Chrome or Stainless Steel finish

Alta Compact

Clean contemporary design
120° degree spout swivel
2.2 GPM flow rate
Café Brown, Chrome, Satin Nickel or Anthracite, Biscotti, Cinder, Truffle, White combo finishes

Hiland

Transitional Design for any decor
Pull-out faucet with dual spray
2.2 or 1.8 GPM flow rate
Chrome or Stainless Steel finish

Napa

Elegant high arc design with gentle curves
Pull-down and Pull-out Faucet Design with dual spray
2.2 or 1.8 GPM flow rate
Chrome or Stainless Steel finish

This series of solid brass faucets retail from $375 – $525 and include a Limited lifetime warranty.

About Blanco

For three generations, BLANCO, the German innovator of finely crafted sinks and faucets, has passionately elevated the standards for luxury sinks, faucets and decorative accessories.

BLANCO offers a large variety of award-winning kitchen sink designs at all price points, with bowl configurations, bowl depths and installation styles available in both stainless steel and granite.

BLANCO has a long tradition of environmental stewardship and their production facilities operate to strict DIN EN ISO 14001 environmental performance standards.

Showing their commitment to provide their customers with unsurpassed service, Blanco has produced educational how-to videos on www.blancoamerica.com. The videos offer step-by-step tutorials designed to answer the most frequently asked questions about sinks and faucets including: How-to change a ceramic faucet disk cartridge.

July 28, 2013

St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway

For as little as $100, you could win a new home worth between $300,000 to $600,000 and help the children who receive life-saving treatment at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

The state-of-the-art facility, located in Memphis, Tennessee, is two-and-a-half million square feet of magic with about 3,600 employees.

On average, about 7,800 patients are seen at St. Jude every year, most of whom are treated on a continuing outpatient basis as part of ongoing research programs — having treated kids from all around the world and all 50 states.

St. Jude is the only pediatric cancer research center where families never pay for treatment not covered by insurance. No child is ever denied treatment because of the family’s inability to pay.

Since it began in 1991, more than 200 houses have been given away. To date the Dream Home program has raised more than $260 million for St. Jude. The Dream Home program is now one of the largest single-event fundraisers for St. Jude nationwide.

This year, the program will include more than 30 St. Jude Dream Home Giveaways and will continue to grow.

Houses for the St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway are now being constructed in multiple states using donated land, labor, materials and fixtures. One national donor, Brizo Faucets, recently hosted a tour and sponsored children activities at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Target House; where children and their family stay if the treatment is scheduled to last more than three months.

Brizo is a fashion forward brand that has united talented Designers and Design Bloggers from across North America and abroad for social media events that go beyond discussing design and inspiration. They treat each group, fondly referred to as the Blogger19, as part of their design family. They genuinely care about our thoughts on where the industry is going as well as the challenges we face in the field.

The recent reunion trip of all the Blogger19 groups was a great way for me to feel like I was finally able to let Brizo know I care about what is important to them.

blogger19 group photo Memphis — Blogger19 Group Photo

This was an amazing, eye-opening experience. I have to thank Brizo for opening my eyes to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital network of patient care and research. I wish Florida had a Dream Home – you have to be a resident of the state where the home is built to buy a ticket. Fortunately, there are other ways to give support. I find it impressive that 81 cents of every dollar donated to St. Jude goes directly towards funding the research necessary to fight some of the most heart-breaking diseases.

A fellow designer commented that she didn’t feel like she was in a hospital but rather a mall food court. At St. Jude you don’t see wheelchairs; children are pulled by their parents in little red wagons. The air is triple filtered so it has no odor. The walls and corridors are painted and decorated in fun themes. It’s quite possibly the most inspirational place I’ve ever been. I have so many photos from the trip I really have no idea how to share them all.

St. Jude Brizo Collage | KitchAnn Style — Activities at St. Jude with Brizo

We got in on some of the fun and posed in the photo booth after the kids were done with their props and camera ready poses.

If you’d like to know more about St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital or make a donation, follow the link HERE.

July 15, 2013

Blogger19 Reunion

This week I’m traveling to Memphis to take part in the +Brizo Faucet Blogger19 Reunion. I want to thank Masco for hosting this event and handing all the travel arrangements – that couldn’t have been a small job considering groups of 19 Bloggers have attended Brizo Fashion Week events biannually since February of 2010.

I’ll be posting and Tweeting about our tours of the Jackson manufacturing facility and St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. Brizo is a sponsor of the St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway. To date, 315 dream homes have been built across America using donated land, labor and products.

xoxo –Ann

July 9, 2013

Traditional Pulldown faucet

One of the difficulties in designing a theme kitchen or bath is finding plumbing fixtures that meet both the theme and the modern functionality homeowners want.

I was pretty pleased to discover this new traditional pull-down faucet from Waterstone Faucets. It’s designed and made in the USA from solid brass.

The PLP Pulldown is extremely gorgeous and would you believe it, available in 31 finishes. It also comes with 3 decorative handle caps and is reverse osmosis compatible.

The PLP spray head has a unique “PLP” positive lock that keeps the head in place. The counter balanced spray head extends 18″ from the spout and features two spay types.

Other convenient features are a control handle that adjusts up to 45 degrees (right or left) for clearance from backsplashes and the 360 degree swivel spout.

Coordinating accessories such as an air switch and soap\lotion dispenser are also available.