What I Saw: Design and Construction Week 2014

Whew! The week of February 3rd was a blur of great new products, attention-getting displays and slot machines. I was in Las Vegas for the annual International Builders’ Show (IBS) hosted by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).

But this year they partnered with the annual Kitchen and Bath Industry Show (KBIS) and created Design and Construction Week. Basically, both shows happened at the same time and at the same place. And if you’re a bargain shopper like me, it’s a twofer you can’t resist!

These shows are great opportunities for people in the industry to check out the new products being offered by big and small brands alike. So I walked the aisles in search of fun, useful, and aha! products and ideas to bring back to all of the fans and followers of Today’s Homeowner. So without further ado, here are my picks for things that would look awesome in my house 🙂

ODL Brisa Retractable Screen Door

ODL’s Brisa screen door in action at the International Builders’ Show

The first thing I like about this-it’s a DIY install! All you need is a door (check!) and a drill driver (check!).

Then there’s no metal cutting involved because their “Quick-Snap Track” can be snapped into the screen housing and adjusted to the proper width.

You probably can’t tell from my iPhone picture, but it has two subtle lines on the screen near the top and bottom to keep people and pets from running through the screen.

Another cool feature I like—you don’t have to guide the screen along to the open position. You just release the latch and let it do the opening for you!

Is it too early to put this on my Christmas Wish List?

Gladiator GarageWorks Everest White Cabinets

Laundry room application for Gladiator GarageWorks’ new cabinet color

Gladiator is well-established in the blinging-out-your-garage arena. But they are moving inside the home with a new finish and color for their classic cabinets. It’s called the Gladiator Select Series in the Everest White finish.

Instead of their traditional diamond plate finish, this is a softer, smoother finish. Maybe since it’s partnered with those bluish-green towels, dress, and “Laundry” sign, I think this grey finish is so feminine!

The cabinets themselves can be attached straight to the wall, or you can incorporate their Gear Wall and hang it on there.

Part of the cool factor in this particular laundry room is the accessories that are also hanging on the Gear Wall. A neat little basket would be perfect to keep dryer sheets and detergents. And I’m sure I could come up with something fun to hang on a hook or two. Plus imagine the endless storage possibilities with a cabinet that large above or next to your washing machine!

Another new product featured in this laundry room is Gladiator’s “Mobile Work Station” which is the bottom left cart in the picture above. They’ve had this available for a while, but now it comes with options for the legs and surface, like the bamboo seen here. Plus it’s on wheels. If you have a small laundry space like me, you can roll it out to fold laundry and then tuck it back in when you’re done.

I’m pretty sure laundry would be way more fun with cool cabinets and accessories like these!

NuTone College Pride Doorbells

NuTone doorbell buttons in a variety of college logos

These doorbell buttons from NuTone are something I saw last fall. And something Dad (Danny Lipford) has shown off before. But it’s too good not to share again!

They are part of the College Pride series. Each one in the picture represents a different college or university. Over 25 to choose from!

But what I think is so cool about them is not the button, but the door chime mechanism (aka the part that hangs in your hallway, kitchen, etc). You can download any mp3 song you want and make it your door chime! It holds up to 40 songs at a time. You can control the volume and which song or pre-loaded chime you want.

So if college football is where your passion lies, download your team’s fight song and feel that pride every time someone comes to your door!

You can upgrade most existing, wired doorbells with this one. Or if you don’t already have a door bell, it can be used wirelessly as well! So no crawling through the attic to run wires to your front door.

I’m an Auburn Tiger fan (which is available in the College Pride collection), but I think my song of choice might be something more along the lines of Taylor Swift or Jason Aldean.

And last, but not least, you have to have a little fun while in Vegas. And I did just that…

Wall of M&M’s on the Las Vegas Strip

…by sampling a few M&M’s at M&M’s World! You’re not supposed to “sample” on your own, but they had a nice gentleman handing out mint flavored delicacies. Mmmm! Now if only they had my favorite available in the USA, Crispy M&M’s. But alas I’ll have to wait for a trip to Europe!