Prepare Worst Mistakes People Make in Designing a Kitchen From Tampa Bay Times By Laura Reiley December 1, 2012 Celebrity chef Geoffrey Zakarian and developer James Ramos were trying to find a place upstairs for an espresso machine. As far as Zakarian was concerned, you roll out of bed, take a spin through the bathroom, and then are ready for the morning's first cup of Joe. No need to traipse all the way down to the kitchen. Read more >> Changing Customer Service Needs in an Increasingly Online World From forresidentialpros.com By Jeff Kaliner December 1, 2012 As the number of customers turning to online reviews for advice continues to grow, the inclusion of an online reputation management plan can seem like a no-brainer for home remodeling companies working on their 2013 marketing plans. Read more >> New Homes Deliver the Top 10 Features Home Buyers Want From newhomesource.com By Jay McKenzie December, 2012 Plenty, it turns out. It's clear the preferences of Canadian home buyers closely match those of American home buyers. The award-winning interior designers from Rooms in Bloom shared their experience. These experts help real estate professionals and home builders "stage" or decorate homes currently for sale. Like many top designers, they find the challenge of staying one step ahead of the latest trends when they're staging new homes for sale to be of great value in all of their interior design work. Read more >> Universal Design for Kitchens From forresidentialpros.com By Lisa Lou Shin October 10, 2012 Following a few simple tips can help create a kitchen that is functional for every user, and that follows universal design guidelines. Unlike universal kitchens designed years ago, universal design today doesn’t mean boring design, but quite the opposite. It is important to note that universal design practices are broader than that of barrier-free design, and are in fact universal. Read more >> Baths, Kitchens Are Most Popular Remodels From Kitchen & Bath Design News May 10, 2012 Remodelers report that kitchen and bathroom projects remain the most popular remodeling jobs with homeowners increasingly upgrading both rooms and making major repairs as they decide to stay in their current homes longer. Read more >> Marketing & Design in the Social Media Age From Kitchen & Bath Design News By Janice Costa March 18, 2012 As a consumer, I've come to rely on technology unthinkingly. But as a professional in the kitchen and bath industry, I am always thinking about and exploring the different technologies that impact everything from product design and marketing to the way information is delivered. Read more >> Designing for the Future: The Real $$$ of Renovations Know the numbers and steer your clients wisely Kitchen + Bath Business Magazine's kbbonline.com By Dick Wolfe February 14, 2012 The bad news on the housing market just keeps coming. I won't dwell on the latest numbers other than to say they are still dropping significantly. This affects the renovation/remodel market because no one likes to invest in a declining asset. Plus, less value in the home means less opportunity to draw equity out for updates, which is where most renovation funds come from. Read more >> Smaller Kitchens and Baths? Not So Fast RICKI's latest homeowner study finds that smaller isn't necessarily better Kitchen + Bath Business Magazine's kbbonline.com By Alice Liao February 9, 2012 McMansions may be out of style, but according to a recent study by RICKI, the Research Institute for Cooking & Kitchen Intelligence, downsizing one's home—and in particular one's kitchen and bath—isn't topping most people's wish list either. Read more >> Dreaming Online RICKI mines the web for talk of kitchen wants and desires From Kitchen + Bath Business Magazine's kbbonline.com December 15, 2011 Imagine social media as a kitchen table. It may seem like a stretch, but social media spaces are fast becoming virtual kitchen tables of sorts, where online “neighbors” discuss everything from who's seeing whom to what's the best dishwasher and what makes for a dream kitchen. Read more >> Interest in Kitchens and Bathrooms Beginning to Build From KBBOnline.com April 11, 2011 Kitchen or bath remodeling projects may be picking up! According to a recent American Institute of Architects (AIA) Home Design Trends survey, homeowners are indicating a preference for larger and, in some cases, additional kitchens and baths. Read more >> NKBA Releases Design Trends Survey Results What's popular in kitchen and bath design? Here are the top 10 kitchen trends from the NKBA. And the survey says… February 18, 2011 If you believe what they say about the past—and this may also apply to the immediate past—being a good predictor of future behavior, then you may want to pay close attention to the results of the National Kitchen & Bath Association's (NKBA's) annual survey of kitchen and bath design trends. Participating in the survey were more than 100 designers who are association members and have designed kitchens and/or bathrooms during the last three months of 2010. Although the survey findings may not reflect activity in all parts of the country, several commonalities did emerge, indicating that changes in kitchen and bath styles are afoot in this new year. Read more >> Age Defying Understand the emotional side of aging in place By Erin Gallagher March 18, 2010 There is a great deal of emotion tied to the concept of aging in place. In a study exploring the impact of aging in place on kitchen design, the level of denial on the part of older consumers is clear. “It is essential for designers and marketers to be sensitive to the emotional aspects of aging,” said N. Riley Kirby, the chief of research for the Research Institute for Cooking & Kitchen Intelligence (RICKI), the firm that conducted the study, The Golden Years: Aging-in-Place in the Kitchen. Read more >>