[00:00:00] Eric Goranson: It's Around the House. Hey guys, here with G from Around the House. Coming up in this episode of Around the House, we've got a big show ahead. The last ones of 2023 moving into 2024. So we're going to be talking about design trends. They're going to be hot this next year in 2024. What is new for the kitchen?

[00:00:23] Eric Goranson: What is new for the bathroom? This is stuff we haven't really talked about in the past. And it's stuff that you want to know before you go tackle on that next project. That and a little bit of history. If this is the first time of tuning into around the house, I'm going to tell you a little bit about me.

[00:00:38] Eric Goranson: What's happened in this show over it's 36 to 37 years and so much more. So hold on to your hats. Let's get ready to rock and have some fun. Welcome to the round the house show. This is where we help you get the most out of your home through [00:01:00] information and education. Thanks for. If you want to reach us here at the show, you can give us a call and be a part of the show at 833 239 4144.

[00:01:11] Eric Goranson: That's 833 239 4144. We'll give that off later in the show here as well. And if you want to find us, head over to aroundthehouseonline. com. We've got all our videos and everything else there. And if you're joining us for the first time, welcome. There are so many on the radio that have been listening to Danny Lippert for the last 25 years.

[00:01:33] Eric Goranson: Congratulations on your retirement. And, uh, many of those stations have picked up around the house and, uh, looking forward to providing you guys with great information every single week. So we've got a lot to talk about now. I wanted to give a little bit information out on my background for all you new people out there tuning in for the very first time across the country on the radio.

[00:01:55] Eric Goranson: I've got a big background, about 30 years in interior [00:02:00] design, home improvement, construction, and home technology. So I have had a pretty wide range of stuff over the years. Started out working in home centers in the 90s, a place in the Pacific Northwest that's been gone for decades now, uh, Ernst Home Center, which was a little neighborhood.

[00:02:17] Eric Goranson: Kind of like a, like your neighborhood a size place. And then we had, um, uh, I worked for Eagle hardware there for a number of years and Eagle hardware was eventually bought out by Lowe's. And it was a, um, if you take a Lowe's store and on the West coast, they were pretty big here. And, uh, if you took a Lowe's store and put in polished floors and a bigger selection and, um, every department had, uh, you know, like the electrical department had licensed electricians that were working in there.

[00:02:47] Eric Goranson: It was a pretty information packed place, and there was a lot of great people working in there that knew a lot about home improvement. So, it was a really cool place to learn. I mean, they had a locksmith on staff, and so it was a really cool place to learn, and [00:03:00] that's where I cut my teeth in kitchen and bath design and remodeling.

[00:03:04] Eric Goranson: And, uh, boy, it was a lot of fun during those years and, uh, made a good living. Back then. So it was a lot different in the home improvement world than it is now out there, but it was a lot of fun and, uh, saw a lot of problems early on. And, uh, that was one of those things that, uh, you just learn a lot that way dealing with people and what they're working on.

[00:03:25] Eric Goranson: But around the house here has actually gone on for 36 coming up on 37 years. And, uh, it has been a show in the Pacific Northwest for that long. I'm the fourth host, Eric Gorenson, Certified Kitchen Designer, as well as we expanded here, oh, probably seven, eight years ago, started taking it across the country.

[00:03:44] Eric Goranson: And now we're across the U. S. and every time zone and in major markets. So we appreciate you tuning into the show. Now this is a little bit different. This isn't a full on call in home improvement show. And we dive into a little deeper into subjects. Instead of talking about it for five [00:04:00] minutes, we can tend to drive into them a little bit deeper and hopefully get you some more information.

[00:04:05] Eric Goranson: But if you do have questions, I am here to help you. And I will personally answer that question for you. And you can just give me a call at 833 seven. And if I'm not in the studio, don't worry. I can turn around and give you a call back with a message and maybe put you on a future episode of the show. So I wanted to give you a little bit more about my background here and what I did to learn all of this stuff so you can understand what I've got going on and kind of where what perspective I have out there and I have spent a lot of time designing kitchens and baths and it's probably been, you know, I'm in the thousands of projects completed over the years and everything from a a little tiny, um, you know, affordable home to do in high rises with, uh, you know, a hundred plus units in them of luxury condos.

[00:04:58] Eric Goranson: I've done all, you know, point [00:05:00] A to B as well as luxury places and, uh, celebrities homes. So it's been a lot of fun tackling those kinds of projects. And then later on in life, I started opening my own, uh, kitchen and bath firms. And then I spent some time going around and helping rescue. People that were kitchen, a bath dealers, uh, custom cabinet shops and that kind of stuff, helping them get their businesses back on track.

[00:05:22] Eric Goranson: And then when I started getting into a media, I started doing more of this and, uh, started speaking to people all across the country as far as contractors and doing seminars there and teaching. Either home technology, interior design, kitchen design, and how best contractors can actually work with the design community out there.

[00:05:41] Eric Goranson: And so, uh, between that and home tech, uh, it has been something that has been a passion of mine in really helping promote the trades out there, because I think that is one of our biggest problems that we have when it comes to home building, when it comes to remodeling, when it comes to all these things, one of the biggest problems we have is just that labor shortage out there, which unfortunately drives [00:06:00] up the cost of housing.

[00:06:01] Eric Goranson: You know, the good news is if you're a electrician or a plumber or HVAC, whatever you're out there in the trades doing right now, because of that shortage, you're making some pretty good money in many cases, especially if you've got the experience. If you're a licensed plumber, master plumber, master electrician, all of those different things, you're doing okay out there because there's such a shortage.

[00:06:24] Eric Goranson: You know, you can pick up and work anywhere you want in the country. I mean, I know electricians, you know, electrical companies here that are looking for electricians that are paying 15, 20, 000 signing bonuses to come work for them for a year as a minimum. So, uh, there's a lot of cool things happening out there if you're in the trades.

[00:06:40] Eric Goranson: And so this is something that we always tend to promote here within the show. And so there's a lot of fun that can be had out there. And, uh, hopefully we can help you. Navigate, you know, home improvement and keeping up in your biggest investment, which is typically your home. And so that's what this show is about.

[00:06:58] Eric Goranson: And that's what we're here to help you. [00:07:00] We've got some great new products that always pop in. And, uh, we really dive into some great interviews from time to time. And then I help you with all of those remodeling problems that come up as a homeowner. And even for you people out there that are listening that want to be a homeowner someday, we've got some tips for you as well.

[00:07:17] Eric Goranson: So thanks for tuning in. And like I said earlier, if you want to find out more about us, find us on social media, or just head over to around the house, online. com as well as we've got, uh, boy, over 250 videos now that we have done, uh, that I have done here over the last year that are all part of the around the house Northwest television show that airs here over a network television here in the Portland market on Fox 12, uh, and Fox 12 plus.

[00:07:44] Eric Goranson: And, uh, those videos are cut apart over there on the KPTV, uh, YouTube page, which you can also find that it's pretty easy to find it. If you click over to the website around the house online, you can find those there. So we tackle basic projects as well as we have some fun stuff where we actually test [00:08:00] out, um, products that are kind of knockoffs from Amazon to see if they actually work instead of buying that name brand tool.

[00:08:07] Eric Goranson: What happens when you buy one that looks like a name brand tool but isn't for pennies on the dollar? How well does it work? Well, I test a lot of those over there on the channel so you can see what we do. I do a couple of week usually and we have a lot of fun with that as well. Well, coming up today here, we're going to be talking about, um, design trends for 2024.

[00:08:28] Eric Goranson: What to expect moving forward. There's been some new trends that are coming out right now that are kind of fascinating that we're going to talk about. And, uh, that's in this hour. And, uh, for all of you out there that are catching the show. Uh, we do have a second hour and whether or not you're catching on the radio or on the podcast, if you don't catch it on the radio, that's okay.

[00:08:46] Eric Goranson: Uh, we've designed the show specifically that way. So each hour is independent. And if not, you can catch us on any podcast player out there. If you missed part of this, if you're listening on the radio. And that is just look for the around the house show, and that's us out there. So we'll be able to [00:09:00] help you coming up here.

[00:09:00] Eric Goranson: We're going to be talking about design trends for 2024. There are some crazy things happening, which I'm excited about because it's going to really change how we look at kitchens and bathrooms and stuff for this next year. And these are things that are kind of opening up design wise. You know, we've been so busy with, uh, over the last decade with the shiplap and the white kitchens and the white, this and the white, that, and, uh, well.

[00:09:23] Eric Goranson: I think times are changing and we're seeing some wild stuff happening. We'll talk about that when we come back. Don't change that dial. We'll be right back round the house of return after these important messages. Don't go anywhere.

[00:09:46] Eric Goranson: Should I

[00:09:49] Eric Goranson: be so hot?[00:10:00]

[00:10:18] Eric Goranson: Welcome back to the round the house show. This is where we help you get the most out of your home through information and education. Thanks for joining me today. Appreciate y'all all of you listening on the radio show and the podcast out there. If you want to find out more about us, head to around the house, online.

[00:10:33] Eric Goranson: com. And if you've got a home improvement question and you want to be part of the show and want to help somebody else out. Feel free to give us a call. Our studio line is 8 That's 8 3 3 2 3 9 41 44. Make sure and leave us a message. If we're not in the studio, it's okay. This could be during the week and the evening, whatever.

[00:10:54] Eric Goranson: You're not going to wake anybody up, send that in and leave us a voicemail. I will personally call you back and I [00:11:00] will. Bring you into the show. If it's a, if it's a question that I think can help other people out there, but, um, I can give you a call back. So that number 833 239 4144, we're talking design trends here for 2024.

[00:11:14] Eric Goranson: And there is a new one that has come out. It is really, I wasn't sure if this was going to take off, but looking at the trends early on, I was like, it could. And sure enough, it's blowing up out there. You know, over the last couple of years, we have seen design trends start to really circle back. As if you noticed, uh, into some of those, you know, mid century to late mid century into seventies colors that we've been seeing.

[00:11:42] Eric Goranson: And I really saw this this last year at the kitchen and bath industry show or design and construction week in Las Vegas, where companies like Kohler and others were really showing a lot of those reimagined. Everything from the aca, you know, avocado golds and all those different, um, [00:12:00] you know, crazy colors that we saw out there that were out of our history.

[00:12:05] Eric Goranson: The pinks, the yellows, the buttercream yellows, you know, all of those colors were coming back. And it was interesting to see them trying to kind of gauge the Publix or even the designer's influence out there to see what people thought of it. So now the big trend that we're seeing coming out. Is a hybrid of that, and it's a trend coming out in kitchens, and they're calling it kitchens, but it's K.

[00:12:31] Eric Goranson: I. T. C. H. E. N. S. like kitschy kitchens, and it is a Bryant brand new luxury trend that is actually replacing that quiet. It's a quiet luxury that is now changing that what I would call the built in big subzero look and that we're seeing out there. And so, you know, with kitchen trends, these are things that typically last more than a few years.

[00:12:56] Eric Goranson: And it looks like we're getting away from that, you know, [00:13:00] professional stainless steel ranges and all of that stuff with the white cabinets in the, in the, in the marble countertops and this kind of monochromatic. Tone. Now we've gone to the complete other side. And so that's, what's crazy is that we're starting to see this.

[00:13:17] Eric Goranson: And so what am I talking about? We're talking about. Um, some really fun colors. I'm talking vintage appliances. I'm talking bright, you know, tones from, um, jeez, you're seeing stuff like purples and bright, bright yellows. And you're seeing Um, a lot of the new appliances that are coming out from, you know, secondary companies, you're not seeing this from your whirlpools, your GEs, but you're seeing it from, uh, Elmira Stoveworks and some of these other companies out there that make brand new vintage looking appliances.

[00:13:54] Eric Goranson: And that's what's cool is we're starting to see this stuff. And if you really want to take a look at [00:14:00] this trend, just jump over to Pinterest and take a look at it. But it's fascinating to see what's happening. And so these are kitchens that I've actually done in the past, but what we're seeing now is in 2024 is you're seeing that, that, um, mint green appliances coming from some of the other brands out there, not your traditional brands, but some of the brands like best and And some of these other ones out there, and you're seeing all of these cool colors now.

[00:14:29] Eric Goranson: And so they're really being embraced. Um, you could have a lime green kitchen with stainless appliances, but you could also have a buttercream vintage appliance package. And you could be doing that with You know, another color of kitchen. So we're starting to see, you know, it's kind of the reaction to the beige on beige blur that we've had over the last decade.

[00:14:52] Eric Goranson: And this has gone the entirely other route. And so when you start looking at it, it's fun to see these [00:15:00] trends come out, you know, green kitchen paint, retro pink kitchens. Are also really big terms out there that are popping up. So you're starting to see a lot of this. This is a big trend for the year. And it's interesting.

[00:15:13] Eric Goranson: And we talked about this in an earlier episode, but you're seeing this with all the different colors of the year for 2024. You know, a great example, when you start looking at this, you just take a look at all the different paint companies and the suppliers out there of what colors are hot, like Pantone, which is a big company of doing color systems.

[00:15:34] Eric Goranson: These guys are, are, you know, a, a base of color. And everything from advertising to art and, uh, they are out there, their color of the year for 2024 is peach fuzz, which is 13 dash 10 23 and it is a warm peach color. So you're seeing that, for instance, from Pantone, but then we start looking back at what the changes are here for the different [00:16:00] colors and it's fun, especially when you start looking at paint colors.

[00:16:04] Eric Goranson: And you can start to see a trend, and so we're really seeing these bright colors, you know, if you look at, uh, Benjamin Moore, they came out with this rich, rich blue color, almost purple, uh, there's this blue Nova, and this is a. Really a bright blue. So it's blue Nova eight 25. It's a mid tone that is just really cool.

[00:16:33] Eric Goranson: It almost has a little purple to it if you look at it, but, um, it is a very cool color that works with like, uh, muted oranges and creamy grays, pewter grays, deep greens, that kind of stuff. And so really a bright color there. Now, another one here, C2, uh, their color is thermal, which is a, it's a mid sky [00:17:00] blue, so, um, just very kind of a wintry sky blue.

[00:17:04] Eric Goranson: And so that is another one, uh, from C2 paints, which is amazing. And so, um, really colorful, bright colors is cool. And so, uh, Krylon, even your spray paint company, you know, the rattle can guys, they have blue bird is their color, which is very much a bright blue. It's almost that, um. Oh, BMW M three blue, you know, if you wanted to pick a color, you know, and that's where that gets interesting as well as upward by Sherwin Williams, which is again, another kind of sky blue.

[00:17:41] Eric Goranson: Um, it's just a very bright, little more beachy color and then, uh, you go a different direction, which is very much a kind of a turquoise color. From Minwax, which is a bay blue, which is a stain that they have. And so you're seeing a lot of that. Valspar has another [00:18:00] one, Renew blue. So you're seeing a trend when you start looking at this and that Renew is much more of a.

[00:18:05] Eric Goranson: A lighter turquoise fog, you know, fog, mist, clouds kind of thing. And then, uh, Bear came out with a much darker, rich color that I really enjoy. And that one is cracked pepper. So it's almost a black, gray charcoal. Very sophisticated color. We'll continue to talk design trends. Just as soon as around the house returns.

[00:18:28] Eric Goranson: Don't go anywhere[00:19:00]

[00:19:11] Eric Goranson: Welcome back to the round the house show. This is where we help you get the most out of your home through information education I'm Eric G. Thanks for tuning in today. If you're catching us for the first time in the radio today Thanks for tuning in if you want to find out more about us And more about me head over to around the house online.

[00:19:28] Eric Goranson: com, where you can check out all of our videos, our contact information, and a lot of different things we have. A ton of episodes in the podcast over there as well. So if you miss something, you want to hear something that came up in a previous episode, you can catch it all right there. And if you love our premium stuff, we do have a premium membership where you can catch exclusive content for that.

[00:19:50] Eric Goranson: And that is over there at around the house, online. com. You can find it right there on the homepage. Well, we've been talking about design trends here for 2024, looking ahead. And we were just talking [00:20:00] about color here and you know, it's, we've seen a lot of the colors of the year in the greens and in those colors, but one that I wanted to talk about, that's kind of popping up here too, is a persimmon by HGTV home by Sherwin Williams.

[00:20:15] Eric Goranson: And it is a bright. Peachy pink neutral pastel. That is really cool. And that's another one there. So you can take a look at that one. Um, that's persimmon by HDTV by Sharon Williams. And then you're seeing stuff as well, which is a little safer as far as a color. And like iron side by Dutch boy, it is very much an army green with a little bit of a metal look to it.

[00:20:42] Eric Goranson: It looks like, looks like something off an army jeep. And you're seeing some of those colors like that. But if you noticed in the colors of the year, you're seeing pastels in bright pastel blues. And greens that is the big colors of the year right now. So we [00:21:00] are going exactly opposite of what we saw before in many of the colors that we are playing around with out there.

[00:21:06] Eric Goranson: So that is where we're kind of going on the color side of things moving forward. So anything from wallpaper has been very back for a while. And the nice thing with wallpaper is now you can buy wallpaper that is designed to be removable instead of having to go spend weeks and weeks on a steamer and trying to.

[00:21:24] Eric Goranson: Tear it off. You can actually get stuff now that is made to be removed, which is kind of handy if you're thinking about taking on a project like that. Well, I wanted to go around in different rooms and talk about the hot trends. Uh, that we're seeing in each and every room out there and 1 of those that's very interesting is in the bathroom.

[00:21:42] Eric Goranson: We're seeing a lot of trends in the bathroom that are changing. And, um, some of this happened because of covid. Some of it happened because of our tastes and styles and some of it has changed and how we look at our home, you know, with the pandemic, uh, is bad as [00:22:00] it was for everyone and it was worse for others.

[00:22:02] Eric Goranson: Then me, but I'll say this, it changed how we look at our homes because so many of us love to be out doing stuff out hitting restaurants and in parties and friends. And all of a sudden, we kind of got brought back into our own homes and it really changed how we want to have luxury within our home. And I think this is something.

[00:22:26] Eric Goranson: That brought people home, you know, the, the inclusion now of things like a steam shower, you're seeing it used to be that only very high end luxury things that you would see in a bathroom, like a steam shower. Now they're getting brought in by companies like Brizo, which have been making a more affordable and you're seeing a lot more of these things that are coming into your home.

[00:22:48] Eric Goranson: And in the bathroom specifically, you're seeing, um, you know, bidets coming back. Um, and you know, that's something that has been in Europe and Japan for decades. And the U [00:23:00] S just went, Nope, not us. But then we had the toilet paper shortage of 2020 and, uh, people went, Oh, wow. I do like a warm seat. I do like cleanliness.

[00:23:10] Eric Goranson: And here's another trend that I've been writing about a little bit from time to time, and it's a big one out there. We're seeing people. That are Gen X and above planning ahead for their retirement and living in their home as long as they can. And I think some of this has really happened because of what we saw with COVID and things like that, that we saw, you know, our loved ones trapped in retirement communities that when COVID went through, there was a very high mortality rate in certain areas.

[00:23:44] Eric Goranson: And. That really changed how people looked at, no, I'm going to stay in my house as long as I can. And that stuff's getting dang expensive. I mean, you can spend five to 12, 000 a month. Without being in some crazy luxury place, [00:24:00] depending on if it's a memory care, if it's just a retirement home. But here's the thing, we want to stay in our homes as long as we can.

[00:24:07] Eric Goranson: So you're seeing people plan ahead decades earlier than they used to. It used to be people would get into their 70s and go, wow, I need to really design out something that's going to work long term for me. And now you're seeing people in their 40s and 50s going, I can't afford to move because I can't buy another house.

[00:24:24] Eric Goranson: With an interest rate that's double of what I have. So we're going to stay here for a while. So let's make this our forever home. And so what that means is in the bathroom, when you're seeing someone do a bathroom remodel, you're seeing the curbless showers. Cause one, it's nice not having to stub your toe on a curb too.

[00:24:40] Eric Goranson: If you're ever in a walker, you need to roll in there as an older adult, or maybe you got hurt on the ski slope or whatever. You're giving yourself that access. You're seeing people add that power outlet when they do their remodel, even though they're not putting a bidet and they're adding that in and you're seeing things like the [00:25:00] total new arrest and those kind of things being included in bathrooms and they're becoming, you know, I mean, look at last week's show is an example.

[00:25:07] Eric Goranson: I had Mario Lopez on and we were talking about How he was watching that South Park episode, and that was the Japanese toilet South Park episode, and he went out and bought a luxury bathroom suite and in a very beautiful top of the line total toilet for his home based off a South Park episode, and that's crazy to me.

[00:25:34] Eric Goranson: But it's very real too. So we're seeing these trends and luxury in the bathroom is a big thing paired with health and wellness. So you're seeing the steam showers, you're seeing the chromotherapy, the aromatherapy. But here's the one thing that I want to talk about with steam showers that you really have to pay attention to.

[00:25:53] Eric Goranson: If you go in there and build a shower, and especially as DIYers like many of you are, you really got to plan ahead for this stuff [00:26:00] because we see problems now. Now, when I did my steam shower, I went in and did a full Vapor proof system using wetties, um, or weedy, depending on where you're at, uh, their vapor 85 system, which means steam can't go through the membrane behind the tile or the slab porcelain that I put on the wall.

[00:26:21] Eric Goranson: So steam won't go through it. You can't just go in there and put a coat of red guard on it. And expect that the steam is not going to come through there because what you can cause is a bunch of different problems. If you don't build that steam shower correctly. So if you're paying someone to build the steam shower, pay attention to the specifications that, um, that they're building it with, because you want to make sure that waterproof is waterproof, steam proof is steam proof.

[00:26:46] Eric Goranson: And those are 2 different specifications because steam can go through places that are waterproof. So you need to make sure that it not only will stop water, but it'll stop vapor. Otherwise you'll get mold behind the wall. You have other problems where [00:27:00] you can have a water condensing behind it. Cause you're getting that so hot in there, you can have water condensed in the backside.

[00:27:07] Eric Goranson: So little tricks that you can do, like in my shower, I wanted to make sure that I kept it warm. So I put rockwool insulation in behind the system, even though none of it's exterior wall. I insulated that to keep it quieter, and to keep that heat into the system as best as I could. So the other thing we always have to worry about too when we're designing these out, Uh, is to make sure that you have the best bath fan available with the shortest run.

[00:27:31] Eric Goranson: So, I want to see something with at least 110, 120 CFM and to make sure you have the right duct that's insulated or whatever your building code is, depending on your area going out to the outside. Because otherwise, I guarantee you, you will have the biggest mold growth problem by putting a steam shower without the right ventilation.

[00:27:50] Eric Goranson: And then my trick was putting in a, uh, Air modest system. That is a drying system for your shower, which is really cool. And you just hit a timer button and it [00:28:00] blows 100 CFM into the shower of dry air and it dries out that shower. So you don't have to have it with a sealed up steam shower. You can get mold and gunk and an unhealthy environment in there really quickly if you don't clean it all the time and that really reduces your cleaning and that's a big one right there.

[00:28:18] Eric Goranson: Now when we come back, I've got a couple other design trends for the bathroom. They're going to dive into the kitchen and living areas as well, including the bedroom. We'll do that just as soon as around the house. Returns don't go anywhere.[00:29:00]

[00:29:06] Eric Goranson: Our show, this is where we help you get the most outta your home through information and education. Thanks for joining us today. If you wanna be a part of the show, write this number down. 8 3 3 2 3 9 41 44. That's 8 3 3.

[00:29:22] Eric Goranson: Make sure you got that number written down or you can head over to our website around the house online and we've got it over there. And then, uh, don't forget to follow us on social media as well. We'd love to see. What you have going on and we're going to be doing a lot more on social media here for 2024.

[00:29:37] Eric Goranson: So there's going to be a lot more for you to check out over there. Well, we've been talking about design trends here for 2024 in this episode, and we're just going to kind of wrap up my thoughts on the bathroom. Other things that we're seeing in the bathroom that are, that are hot right now are things that save energy.

[00:29:53] Eric Goranson: For instance, heated towel racks, they have come back. And that is something that is big because You [00:30:00] know, washing towels uses a lot of energy. And what happens is you can actually extend the life of that towel by, well, three or four uses on average, which means you can reduce a load of laundry of towels a week.

[00:30:17] Eric Goranson: By using a heated towel rack and I tell you what, first off in the wintertime, there's nothing like grabbing a warm towel off the rack when you jump out of the shower and, uh, or a bath and having that right there ready to go. But the cool thing is that you can have a towel that has been used every day for 5 or 6 days and when you grab it and it's warm, it smells fresh because it didn't have a time to sit there and get all kind of funky on you.

[00:30:42] Eric Goranson: So it's drying out really quickly. So you get a lot more use out of it, which means you have multiple things. One, you have a really cool situation where you're reducing laundry to your towels will last longer because if you're not washing them twice a week, you're doing pretty good. And three, [00:31:00] you know, you're saving energy.

[00:31:01] Eric Goranson: And anytime that you're not doing having to do it, a load of laundry where you're having to wash it and dry it, you're not using the hot water. You're not using the dryer. That's a lot of energy saved. And so, uh, one, you can add luxury too. You just have a comfortable situation with a little warmer towel warmer in there.

[00:31:20] Eric Goranson: And depending on the one you get, you can get them where they have a plug into an outlet or you can make them where you add a box and plug it in that way. They don't use that much energy and there's a lot of smart ones out there. The one I put in is made by AMBA. Those guys are really cool and you can get them at, um, at your favorite kitchen, a bath retailer or even online.

[00:31:37] Eric Goranson: So you can take a look at that AMBA products, good stuff out there. That's who I've worked a lot with. Well, let's get into the kitchen here. And, uh, as we move from the bathroom into the kitchen in design trends and styles, you know, we were talking about the, uh, kitschy kitchens earlier, but other things that we're seeing in kitchens and baths that are hot and we [00:32:00] get into kitchens, one of the biggest pieces is getting into, um, Appliances.

[00:32:06] Eric Goranson: That all match up. Now we're seeing a number of years ago, we would see people use kind of the best of both worlds. They would maybe put in their favorite dishwasher brand and then they would mix them up a little bit or the refrigerator was different. These days we're seeing a huge trend of making sure that we have all the appliances the same for many reasons.

[00:32:27] Eric Goranson: One is they have really got into their own styles on their handles and their colors and tones. So maybe One company has a different grade of stainless steels, the other or the handles different. We're matching those styles. But more importantly, we're matching the operating systems that these things work on because so many now are starting to talk to each other.

[00:32:46] Eric Goranson: So what we're seeing is we're seeing the dishwasher and the refrigerator and all these appliances. Running on a smart home system. And so you can, if you have a party, you can jump on your phone and say, Hey, I need you to make sure that the ice machine's working at its best, and I'm going to put [00:33:00] it on the fastest ice refill capacity possible, or, you know, you're changing, uh, any setting out there for whatever you're doing.

[00:33:08] Eric Goranson: So these are things that you're seeing and people don't want to have four different appliances and four different apps on their phone just to run them. And so you're seeing it where you can, uh, you know, maybe you're. Your range is now turning into the air fryer as well. And those are some of the things that we're seeing as well as we're seeing these appliances, some of them have over the air updates, so they will have a.

[00:33:29] Eric Goranson: A, you know, just like your phone, right? You get the new operating system or the new thing that comes out and all of a sudden you're looking at it going. Wow. G. E. did this a few years ago where they added an air fryer that wasn't on there before, but it showed up on the touch screen and all of a sudden people had an air fryer on their convection oven.

[00:33:45] Eric Goranson: So these are really cool things that we're starting to see with over the air updates and sharing of information in between things. So we're going to see here. That's the next thing coming into trends on them. The smart home stuff is we're starting to see more [00:34:00] interoperability between let's say like a Samsung and an LG that is around the corner.

[00:34:04] Eric Goranson: They are making the rules up as we speak. So those are going to be trends in 25 and 26 where you're going to start to see things work better together, which I think is really important. Now, there's still some trends that I wish that I've been talking to appliance companies for years. No one's doing it yet.

[00:34:20] Eric Goranson: And I don't understand why and they should be. We have the technology to Make it so if you had a kitchen fire, let's say on the stovetop that You know, we, we turn the stove off. If the hood caught a fire, that technology exists and I'm just surprised we're not doing it yet, but we could easily make it where there's an overheat sensor in that cooktop that the ranges, you know, the range hood is talking to, and that's an important one.

[00:34:48] Eric Goranson: And I think that'll be coming soon. And I've been really waving the flag for that one. I'd like to seek, you know, appliance companies start to do that kind of stuff. It would be great to see if we can make that happen. So let's see if [00:35:00] we can put some pressure on these appliance companies. Please. And I'm doing that now by bringing it up to see if we can bring some more safety into our homes.

[00:35:07] Eric Goranson: And speaking of that, that is one thing that we're seeing a lot now. And that's something that, um, health and wellness has been big in the kitchen and making sure that you have a large enough vent fan that goes to the exterior. Um, and I'll say this now and in my state where I live here, I live in the Pacific Northwest.

[00:35:24] Eric Goranson: And so our states up here in the Pacific Northwest, generally all of our codes say that all of our range hoods have to vent to the exterior. So none of those recycling hoods, which don't work, they are the probably the largest contributor to bad indoor air quality in your home. Um, those are not something you can put legally in a kitchen.

[00:35:46] Eric Goranson: And if you go to remodel it, you have to put in a hood. That fence to the exterior, which is great for your, you know, for your air quality in the home is amazing. How many chemicals just naturally cooking food end up in the air [00:36:00] just through the process of cooking. And so we want to make sure we get that moisture and bad air out of the house.

[00:36:06] Eric Goranson: And so. That is one thing that we're seeing. We're seeing smarter, larger hoods that will work better. You know, those microwave hoods is handy as they are in a small condo. Those are something that we're seeing going away just because they don't work well, and quite frankly, they're a safety hazard having to reach over a gas cooktop, for instance, and you're leaning over to an open burner, which you can catch a shirt as you're trying to put that bowl of something in the microwave.

[00:36:32] Eric Goranson: And then of course the microwaves are mounted too high. So you're putting it over the outstretched arms of most people, which means now you're pulling liquid out over your head, over your line of sight that you could easily spill on yourself. So microwave hoods are something that I always recommend as a last resort.

[00:36:48] Eric Goranson: If that's the only way you can get a hood and a microwave in a space, because it's so tiny, those are great things for the kitchen. And we're starting to see more and more that now the other thing that we're starting to see in kitchens design [00:37:00] wise, which is hot is we're seeing large format tiles on the floor.

[00:37:04] Eric Goranson: We're seeing basically I'm seeing the elimination design trend wise of using the luxury vinyl plank unless you're doing something as a basement or something like that. Luxury vinyl plank is out, but the large format tiles are in and these tiles could be 3 ft by 2 ft, 4 ft by 3 These are massive tiles that we're seeing coming in and they work better in larger kitchens They can be goofy in a small kitchen just because of you'll have this one big offset line That is where you know, the seam is between the the the tightly fit grout joints on this So be careful don't go all in on a tiny kitchen with these large format tiles Unless you plan out your seams correctly on the tile, this is where tile layout really comes in and that's an important one.

[00:37:56] Eric Goranson: So take your time with that and lay that out, but large format [00:38:00] tiles and even heated floors in the kitchen are big as well. And we're seeing more and more of that, which is kind of cool. You're seeing that come out from the bathroom into the kitchen a little bit more. As well as there's some cool new products out there that you're starting to see, and we're going to have an interview with one of them coming up.

[00:38:18] Eric Goranson: There's a appliance brand called tulip cooking out there and they now put You can actually put in a induction cooktop or a gas cooktop instead of dropping in the cooktop you're actually machining it out for the knob and for the burner, so if you've got a slab marble counter or stone counter you actually are machining out or even porcelain You're machining that out and putting the burner up through that.

[00:38:46] Eric Goranson: And so you're given a really sleek look. So it actually looks like your cooktop has the, you know, grain, the grain of the marble or, or, or quarts or whatever you're doing. And always check your courts to make sure this works [00:39:00] because Heat and quartz is not always the best thing. So you need to make sure that, uh, your specifications work with that.

[00:39:06] Eric Goranson: But, uh, with porcelain and stone, that's not an issue, but that's some of the cool things that you can do with that is to go through and make those work. And it gives you a really sleek, um, look without having that. Big cooktop dropping in it's a brand new look out there. So check out tulip cooking. That is not Not a typical one, but it's a hot new design trend for 2024.

[00:39:27] Eric Goranson: We're out of time for this hour Thanks for tuning in to around the house