I don’t remember much about that small, yet critically acclaimed indie film Old Joy. What I do recall, however, is the hot springs, where the main characters soaked in large wooden tubs while being soothed by the sounds of the forest and their reconnection to nature. So vivid was the scene that it prompted me to look up the location, Bagby Hot Springs, as if I would actually hike out there.

I most likely won’t, but the appeal is real and may, in part, account for the continued interest in wooden tubs, be they humble and rustic  or über-contemporary. It may also explain why the movie came to mind when I came across three such tubs via email and at recent shows.

The first comes from Oregon Hinoki Products (OHP) and is handcrafted from hinoki, a Japanese white cedar that was much favored by the country’s emperors and aristocracy, who used it to build palaces, temples, shrines, noh theaters and, of course, bath environments. As a tub, the wood is ideal because it’s highly resistant to rot and, when filled with warm water, releases aromatic oils that are believed to be healing to the body and mind.

OHP offers its tubs in two sizes: a standard 42-in. x 30-in. x 26-in. model for $6,500 and a deluxe 60-in. x 36-in.x 26-in. version for $8,500.

Custom sizes are available, or if you already have a tub, there’s a 16-in. x 15-in. x 10-in. foot bath that can be had for $800.

At the recent ICFF, AFNY’s booth showed Rapsel’s Ofuro, which seemed to stop many a passerby in their tracks. Made of solid larch wood, which is naturally waterproof and abundant in the cooler climates of countries like Russia and Canada, the tub is only available by special request from AFNY sales or Rapsel. Its wood hails from 300-year-old trees in Siberia (which may seem kind of a shame to cut down), and its ovoid cylindrical form results from a labor-intensive layering process that requires 25 steps—all of which may explain its exalted price tag: $28,000, give or take.

A sleekly modern take, and an unabashed attention-getter at this year’s KBIS, Maax‘ Viaggi is also a custom product that is still being tested. The 70-in. x 36-in. vessel is formed of polished maple and supported by a wenge-tinted oak base. If the name sounds familiar, it’s because the tub, when launched, will be part of an existing collection that currently offers a white acrylic version with bases in oak, bamboo or burl wood. The company estimates pricing to range form $12,000 to $20,000.

—Alice Liao

If you happened to catch our report on this year’s Best of KBIS winners, then you know that the Best of Kitchen Gold award went to King Slide’s 1A88 push-open silent soft-closing undermount slide. Unfortunately, this was the only image we had relating to the product:

However, since KBIS, the Taiwan-based company has sent us a video, which might provide a better idea of how the product works. You can access it by clicking here. (After clicking on the link, click on the movie-related icon for the video to play)—Alice Liao

I didn’t attend KBIS this year, and I really wanted to. I hate missing the excitement of finding products I can use, seeing the new trends and hearing the buzz, meeting other designers and taking in the sights, sounds and constant design talk that all say KBIS to me. However, while my company’s workload is steadily increasing, it wasn’t viable for me to attend, so I did the next best thing: I followed KBIS on Twitter.

Now I know some of you out there are making faces as you read this. I understand; I was one of you. What could possibly be the attraction of 140 character one-liners on what one had for breakfast?

However, once I dipped my toes into the Twitter world, I soon learned that Twitter is what you make it. If you want to shoot the breeze with family and friends, follow each other and you can. However, I’ve found if you follow other designers, architects, contractors, magazine editors, manufacturers and artisans, you have a fantastic way of keeping current with the latest news, learn what other industry folks are facing and, yes, get into KBIS without actually attending.

Here’s what happened: As KBIS approached, some of the manufacturers who were attending tweeted where their booths were. (Which I would have found handy if I’d attended. Not that I couldn’t look the booths up, but I might have made a note or two.) I also “heard” some of the pre-planning and quite a few tweets on what some companies were planning to exhibit.

When the show finally opened, I followed the hashtags (the numerical sign in front of a name, like this—#KBIS2010 or #KBIS—which links all the tweets with this tag in a group) from the comfort of my own office. For those of you still new to Twitter, here’s the best part: People take photos and link them to Twitter, which means I was seeing products and booths “live” along with the attendees—shots of sinks, hardware, glass and even dancers. I also heard some of the buzz (bronze appliances?) and even “attended” a panel discussion about aging-in-place and the latest trends.

Now you may not want your news that quickly. But if you’ve gone in the past and know the excitement the show brings, it’s nice to be a part of it—minus the sore feet.

Until next time~

Kelly

Even before Hansgrohe’s PuraVida collection hit these shores, we marveled over its smooth modern curves and could appreciate the difficulty in achieving its seamless integration of white and chrome finishes. But it took actually seeing the handshower (PuraVida 150 AIR) in action to understand what was meant when the press release mentioned a “five-finger massage” as one of three spray functions. Three different spray modes—nothing special, right? Actually, no. Said shower function, which the company has dubbed “Caresse AIR” and is limited to the nozzles in the center of the spray face, produces five jets of water that spiral downward. According to the company, when water passes through the showerhead, it causes an internal mechanism to spin, creating that whirling effect.

Much has already been written on Safety Tubs‘ kid-friendly fire-engine-shaped tub, so I’ll keep this brief. To be honest, our first look at it here at the magazine was in an ad. And while a picture may be worth a thousand words, in this case, it certainly didn’t tell the whole story. Simply, that fire engine is designed to install over an existing standard-size tub and comes with a handshower that can be connected to the existing water line. Ohhhh… that makes so much more sense. Obviously, show attendees agreed, as the product won People’s Choice Award in this year’s Best of KBIS competition.

For an image that tells all, check out this blog entry by Ken Kelly.

There are ventilation systems and then there are, well, ventilation systems. Broan-NuTone’s booth offered a diverse array of ventilation hoods and systems to target just about any budget, but one of two products located out front—probably to catch one’s attention, which worked in my case—was this:

Cool, no? Actually, there was another ventilation hood that was equally beguiling with its changing color lights and funky shape, but alas, I don’t have an image to share. Both are part of a new Best by Broan collection that was also shown at Eurocucina this year. According to Karen Collins, marketing communications manager for Broan-NuTone, their appearance at KBIS was intended to gauge designers’ responses. All still have to be adapted to the U.S. market, but because Double Vertigo (above) requires no ducting, it could be the first to launch. Also included in the lineup was Lipstick.