2011 Kitchen & Bath Report – For My Car Guy Friends

As I walked through the Kitchen & Bath show in Vegas I couldn’t help but notice a few items which in my mind have a “Car Guy” or an automotive bent.  I think us interior designers can fairly consider the garage our design domain too.  So imagine your own Dream Car Garage redo…  Sorry, but “Man Cave” sounds just so sexist and demeaning.

Of course I expect you already have the stable, and as every woman knows, a man will accessorize a car in a much more excessive manner than we will with handbags and shoes.  Oh come on, you know it is true.  Look at the AmEx bill.  Who added the flat screen to watch Top Gear?

From Lisa’s gift list: Ferrari 458 in TDF Blue

What is one thing almost every automotive nut can’t get enough of? Carbon Fiber.

Lamborghini Murceilago in 100% Carbon Fiber

What does every garage have, a faucet.  Excuse me but the darn thing should at least coordinate!

The Starry Series faucet is one of the many carbon offerings from Kona Faucet.  It comes in typical black, gold (not so great) and white.  If your garage is really chic, it might also include a shower faucet – you can have this in carbon too.

What else?  Hardware of course.  Every current garage-mod is full of cabinetry.  Oh I’ve already heard the cost rationalization of walls of garage cabinets vs. kitchen cabinets, “but its functional and necessary.”   Yeah, so is the addition for my closet.

Anyway so you need hardware, for the discriminating “car guy” standard will not do.  Let’s accessorize!  These remind me of some vintage automotive cable – what exactly I’m not sure, but something.  Giusti Hardware, made in Italy of course, provides the goods.

Drawer pulls and handles

Almost all new cars come equipped with LED lighting, so one must upgrade the garage to match!  Task Lighting has this fantastic Sempria LED linear undercabinet lighting.  (A picture is a mute point.)

Finally, every garage must have a electric drying rack for those countless car rags, chamois, and lint-free drying towels.  This might be a little bit out there, but it does double duty as an auxiliary heating unit in the cold damp garage.  (See, I will even spoon feed you the rational because there is no way she is going to go for an addition to the furnace or redoing the floor with radiant heating.) For professional garage door services that help maintain your garage door in optimal condition, Read More Here.

These  are all “useful” items you can add to the Father’s Day or birthday lists.  However, even as much as I like cars, only the Ferrari 458 qualifies as a joint anniversary gift.  Fortunately my husband knows better than to call a new carbon fiber faucet, “our” anniversary gift.