To call Antolini Luigi a stone company is to gloss over what it does, which is to produce coolly intricate and elegant decorative patterned stone surfaces, such as those in its Natura Collection. The motifs range from butterflies

and snakes (shown on Bronze Armani marble)

to leaves

and more geometric designs (in gleaming gold, no less).

For 2012, the company has expanded its Precioustone collection, which includes Preciousgold, Preciousglitter and Preciousilver. Unfortunately, I don’t have any images of the new additions, but I do have this:

Wow, it’s just like my house… no, not really.

—Alice Liao

The first is of Casena, a designer sauna with a frameless glass front and interior and exterior cladding in dark wenge wood. It boasts an inner glow, thanks to a ceiling studded with myriad points of light.

Then there’s Lounge Q, another designer sauna with a hemlock interior and a below-the-bench heating unit. Colored lighting is also available to create mood and provide a little chromatherapy perhaps? According to the press release, the different colors of light also help maintain the firmness of the skin.

One question: Do people really put these in their homes?

If you had any question about where lighting is headed this year, then the 2012 Dallas International Lighting Market (which just wrapped Jan. 19-23) at Dallas Market Center (and home to the American Lighting Association) is a perfect place to start. With over five million sq. ft. of exhibition space and approximately 3,000 buyers visiting from all over the globe (Spanish and French were frequently overheard this weekend), the event is touted as “the International Home of Lighting“ for good reason. We surveyed the scene and pulled together a quick list of the season’s brightest lighting trends.

1. Non-Traditional Materials
Rope, cable and other “found” objects such as vintage glass telephone insulators and jars were perhaps one of the biggest surprises of Dallas Market. Even the most daring of lighting manufacturers this year took a no-holds-barred approach to rethinking what exists, blurring the line between what is chic and what is familiar.

Pike Place by Troy Lighting

2. Aged Brass
Keeping in line with the weathered looks and “found” object theme, aged brass has made a comeback in the bath (contrary to earlier declarations that it ‘was dead’ a few years ago). This year, lighting manufacturers added more of the vintage finish to their collections for sconces and pendants that range from contemporary to completely timeless.

Alpine by Hudson Valley Lighting

3. Americana Style
No matter what year it is, the casual Americana style has not gone out of fashion in kitchen and bath lighting. While some buyers may go for the “wow” factor, nothing says “comfort” like hand-worked wrought iron, linen, bronze finishes and gentle, curving shapes.

Cymbal by Troy Lighting Outdoor

4. Mirrored Plating
Who said that light must merely illuminate a space? Mirrors incorporated into back plates, shiny chrome stems and reflective detailing give added dimension in and out of the kitchen and bath space. These dazzling fixtures sparked real surprise at Dallas Market.

Hudson Valley Lighting’s Ashley

5. Oversized
Just in time for making bigger spaces seem cozier or making smaller spaces intimate, super-sized fixtures were the rage at Dallas Market. Oversized fixtures—from globes, which feature bubbled and smooth textures, to classic forms and even elaborate ornamental forms—were literally “taking over” several showroom spaces.

Keene from Hudson Valley Lighting

6. Crystal Clear
Embellishments continue to rule in fashion, design and in our surroundings. While classic beads and prisms continue to adorn fixtures—clean modern shapes like circles, squares and obelisks were seen as bases, bringing added crystal clear umpf to lighting in 2012.

Amadeus from Corbett Lighting

DRS and Associates is a full-service branding, advertising and public relations agency in Los Angeles. Headed by CEO and founder David Schlocker, the firm has over 25 years of experience in marketing, design, and merchandising to luxury consumers, architects and designers, specific to the kitchen and bath and architectural products industries. For more information on DRS and Associates, please log on to www.drsandassociates.com.

Thanks to my friend Ray, who sent me a link to a PopSci.com piece on the same refrigerator, it seems the Blast Chiller feature is even cooler than I first thought. What is it they say about a picture being worth a thousand words? Well, in this case, video is much more dramatic and explicit:

via PopSci.com

Of course, being at CES would be even cooler.

Check out the PopSci article for an explanation of how the feature works.

Take LG, which just received a CES Innovation Award for its largest-capacity French door refrigerator—31 cu. ft.—to date, which can accommodate some 50 gallons of milk.

The accolade, however, was not for how much milk it can store and keep fresh, but for its Blast Chiller feature, which is aimed at those who like their drinks cold and fast. Pop a 12-oz. can of soda into the dedicated compartment and five minutes later, it’s ready for consumption. Have company? Two cans of soda or a bottle of wine can chill in eight minutes.

Other features include a Smart Cooling Plus system, which uses a patented Linear Compressor and Dual Evaporator, as well as sensors, to ensure optimal humidity and temperature for keeping food fresh; a Multi-Air Flow system that surrounds food with cool air; an air filter; a slim in-the-door ice maker; a four-part crisper system; 13-in.-tall ice and water dispenser; and Smart Diagnosis technology, which allows customer service representatives to diagnose and troubleshoot mechanical issues over the phone.

LG is also showing a suite of smart appliances that incorporate the company’s proprietary Smart ThinQ technology, which allows users to better monitor, say, the contents of their refrigerator or the status of a load of laundry from a smartphone or Smart TV.

Made a New Year’s resolution to waste less food and/or eat healthier? The refrigerator can help you with that, thanks to the Smart Manager, which keeps track of stored items, their expiration date and location and can recommend dishes based on what’s available.

Contents are recorded through a variety of ways: Users can select icons from the refrigerator’s LCD control panel, say the names of items—the unit is equipped with voice recognition technology—or scan receipts or barcodes with a smartphone. The system can also generate shopping lists and send them to your phone and, if you’re too busy (or lazy) to go to the store, allows for online shopping (I’m not sure how that works, though).

As to keeping you healthy, Smart Manager includes a Health Manager feature, which can suggest recipes and menus based on your age, gender, weight, height and Body Mass Index (BMI). Once you’ve settled on a recommended recipe, there’s a button you can press that will send the recipe to your LG Smart Oven, which automatically preps it to the correct setting.

Needless to say, you can monitor and set the temperature and cooking time in your oven via your smartphone. The Smart Oven also comes with an Infrared Grill, which cooks food evenly and efficiently.

Interestingly, another CES Innovator Award winner is Wolf’s E Series Built-In Wall Oven line, which isn’t new but apparently has been made smarter with connectivity. I’m not sure what that’s about, so I’ll see if I can find out more today.

Wow, writing about all this makes me feel as if I’m actually at the show. Not.

Feel free to contact me about any new appliance innovations launching at the show.

—Alice Liao

It was shown at the inaugural LivingKitchen in Cologne. Maybe this video will refresh your memory:

Gaggenau’s booth at the show was mobbed with people trying to get a good look at the CX480 full-surface induction cooktop, which—you have to admit—is pretty cool. In fact, after I wrote about it in an Editor’s Note, I received inquiries about its availability in the U.S.

Well, Gaggenau’s sister brand Thermador has just announced that it will be demonstrating the Thermador Freedom Induction Cooktop on January 8 at the official press event for this year’s Consumer Electronics Show.

Similar to the Gaggenau product, the Freedom Induction Cooktop incorporates a natural-mapping user interface and several—48 to be exact—3-in. induction heating elements that together allow users to not only place their pots and pans anywhere on the cooking surface but also move them around while cooking.

Cookware shape and size are reflected in a 6 1/2-in. touchscreen display, which also controls power setting and cooking time.

The cooktop can accommodate up to a 21-in. x 13-in. pan and has a 4,600W maximum power output with Boost feature and a 15W minimum power output.

So when will it be available? According to the company, you’ll have to wait until July 2012. MSRP is $4,949.

—Alice Liao

They include the Marlowe Shell Chest, a curvy, silver-and-gold-painted unit that features three drawer fronts accented with shimmery capiz shells and measures 46 in. x 19 in. x 36 in.

Chamberlain is slightly wider and deeper at 48 in. x 20 in. x 34 1/4 in. and has three drawers—only two are working—lined with a wallpaper. Made of hardwood solids and veneers, it comes with two styles of pulls, both finished in antiqued pewter.

If you have space to spare but not enough for a double vanity, there’s also Lindsay, which extends 52 1/4 in. wide, 20 in. deep and stands 38 1/4 in. high. The unit comes in a surf and visage finish with antiqued mirror doors.

If you’re desiring something a little darker, Dalton features cherry veneers and a medium espresso finish. It measures 36 in. x 17 in. x 34 in.

For something a little tropical, Kona Beach is a striated design with quartered mahogany veneers and hefty dimensions of 43 in. x 19 in. x 36 in. Its four drawers—only three are functional—are adorned with aged patina pendant drawer pulls.

And if you’re needing a little emotional pick-me-up in this new year and you’re thinking a vanity may be the perfect vehicle for a dash of exuberance or funkiness in the bathroom, check out Cheshire, a 38-in. x 18-in. x 34 1/4-in. retro-inspired piece with multicolored striped doors and sides, an adjustable shelf and antiqued brass hardware.

—Alice Liao

Introduced at Cersaie 2011, its Allday radiator doubles as a peg board for hanging towels, bathrobes and other bathroom items. If installed outside the bathroom, say, in an entrance hall—as mentioned in the press release—it can be used to keep keys, a helmet or clothing within easy reach. The system features an aluminum plate punctured with holes for inserting magentized pins.

If Allday isn’t quite your thing or seems a little out there, Duravit’s OpenSpace should make plenty of sense, especially to those of you who are short on, well, space. Shown at ISH 2011, the shower enclosure made its U.S. debut during Duravit’s Design Week last October and was designed by Viennese design firm EOOS.

In case the following images are unclear, OpenSpace consists of a chrome frame and two doors, each of which is equipped with 8-mm-thick safety glass. When the shower is not in use, the doors can be folded back into the frame and out of the way. The enclosure is designed to accommodate wall unevenness of up to 18 mm and can be used with tiled floors as well as Duravit’s DuraPlan shower trays. It is available in a clear and a mirrored finish; with the latter, the door also acts as a full-length mirror.

—Alice Liao

But Pantone is not the only company with a color forecast for next year. This past fall, Benjamin Moore revealed its palette for 2012, which features colors that seem reflective of the uncertainty still lingering in the country as it struggles to recover and of perhaps the desire for comfort and the familiar in these troubling times.

Among them are tranquil blues with a green and/or gray cast, such as the company’s top pick, Wythe Blue HC-143,

Montpelier AF-555 and a slightly purplish Amethyst Shadow 1411.

The forecast also calls for an array of grays, some of which have names suggestive of a more sober and subdued—but not necessarily depressed—mood: Nimbus Gray 2131-50 and Storm Cloud Gray 2140-30. And then there’s Sharkskin 2139-30.

Naturally, with the economy still up in the air and a future somewhat nebulous, one may find oneself yearning for clarity and purity—whites are still popular—as well as an emotional anchor, especially at home. Why not try on a rich earth tone, such as French Press AF-170,

Farm Fresh AF-360,

Masada AF-220,

Dunmore Cream HC-29 or Fresh Olive 2149-30.

And for a hit of color, the 2012 forecast offers up Gypsy Love 2085-30 and Persimmon 2088-40.

Consequently, I’m mentioning it to all of you.

How does the site may differ from others you’re already using? It features a virtual remote that allows you—the designer—to set who, what, where, when and for how long you want someone—your client or a project member—to have access to a file. You can also determine if you want to allow printing and comments. By controlling the former, the site cuts down on the possibility of your client taking your design and going to someone else with it (which is just plain shady).

In addition, the files you send can only be viewed on the first computer/IP address they’re opened on. They can’t be copied, printed or shared—unless you say so—and you get a complete record of who’s viewed the files and the amount of time they spent viewing them. If you enable comments, your clients or other members of the project team can view the files, provide immediate written feedback and/or make suggestions without altering the original designs. The site automatically alerts you via email or text when files are opened, and comments posted are relayed to you in real time.

According to Gary, who is president and chief creative officer of TLG7, an ad agency in Purchase, NY, the site started out as a way to prevent prospects from using the agency’s pitch work without its permission and to get feedback from clients more quickly. “As an ad agency, once we sent a proof, file or concept by email to a prospect or client, we lost all control of our work,” he said. “There was no real proof anyone saw our work,” requiring multiple follow-up calls to confirm receipt and obtain changes and comments (sound familiar?).

If you’re intrigued, you can demo IPTLOCK for free at www.iptlock.com. If you have any questions, please call Gary at 914-251-9300.

—Alice Liao