Kohler Karbon Faucet

I had the opportunity to go to Kohler, Wisconsin in October, courtesy of Kohler, to attend the Kohler Food and Wine Festival, quite simply, a food and wine fantasy weekend escape! While there, I had so many wonderful experiences which I will share here and there, but as I casually went through my images today, I was struck by those I took of the Karbon faucet at the Kohler Design Center, here, in the Vibrant Moderne Brushed Gold finish. How gorgeous is this faucet? It's like owning a sculptural, or 3D, piece of art in the kitchen. It also comes in a wall mounted version.

Kohler Colors by Jonathan Adler

As color, wonderful, bright, bold, free-spirited, color, has moved into the center of our lives, seen in our clothing, in our interiors in so many forms, in our outdoor living areas - and in all sorts of graphic design online and in print (and that is just for starters-as we know, color has upped its presence everywhere) it makes me think that such a significant part of Kohler's culture has been color-focused.

Kohler has had a love affair with color, and few would disagree. Kohler has quietly kept an exceptionally wide range of colors in its collection of products year after year. Although white is king in the kitchen and bath and always a classic, nevertheless, Kohler's commitment to color has been enduring - and passionate! Even if you really dislike a color, I KNOW, as a designer that any one of Kohler's colors is able to play the perfect role, whether bold or understated, a focal point or a quiet design element, in every kitchen and bath - yes, even those peachy, fleshy tones (pair them with white or charcoal for a sophisticated look!)

Take a look at this very interesting, brief, history of Kohler's colors. I loved looking at Kohler's color timeline.

Jonathan Adler Colors

It is with real interest that I observe Kohler's special edition colors by Jonathan Adler. I view these four colors as decidedly non-trendy colors, which is to say, they are colors that you can use to clearly personalize your kitchen or bath that will stand the test of time, and I do not say that lightly.

The colors, Piccadilly Yello, Greenwich Green, Palermo Blue and Annapolis Navy, are not neon - the color darling of the moment. THESE colors can be translated into a kitchen design that can be centered around elegance, country comfort, modern design, or one with a playful theme. These colors are versatile....thus, personal!

Quite honestly, I purposely did not read the press release about these colors because I wanted to go by my instincts as a designer when I went to see the collection in person. It's often a practice I employ for many new product introductions. I knew as soon as I saw this collection first hand, taking my time to work through the colors and sink configurations, that design flexibility is built in, in a very, very smart and aesthetically pleasing way. Surely, that was Kohler's intent-intelligent design flexibility.

I have to say that Kohler is providing the tools for pretty much wherever your design inspiration will take you...so many tools!! The Jonathan Adler collection is available for a limited time but the colors will prove to be enduring - sweet!

Kohler

And here is the last, and I hope you'll agree, the best post of the series on my trip to Kohler's headquarters at Kohler, Wisconsin. The trip was a visual feast! It was also an actual feast throughout the weekend since my trip was centered around the Kohler Food and Wine Experience - a weekend event (among many all year 'round) that I highly recommend which takes place in October of each year. 

The piece de resistance of Kohler Village, to me, is the Kohler Design Center. A three level building of beautiful products and room vignettes in beautiful settings surrounded by fabulous materials, products, accessories and design elements, I want to share some of this gorgeousness with you. Without further ado...here we go (all images have been enthusiastically taken by me)!

Please see MORE images on my pinterest board, "Kohler's Design Center", and follow me!

I was so excited and wanted to take as many shots as I could that I did not stop to take note of each and every fixture, fitting or designer's name. If you have questions, please ask and I'll get the information to you!

Below, a stunning interplay of warm and cool tones in a graphic, strong, yet elegant setting

Below, this is a part of a larger master bath which is designed via a universal design philosophy

Below, modern, sophisticated, whimsical...creative

Below, an interesting combination of patterns and proportions that works beautifully

Below, I'm not sure what else to say besides: ahhhhhhhhh. I'm relaxed.

Below, I feel like a superstar being in this space, perhaps somewhere in Paris?

Below, a closer look at beautiful warm design elements set against the purity of white

Below, I feel like I'm living in a loft in Soho - very cool design elements...always love the cool/warm mix

Below, a stunning environment that feels like it's in a penthouse - a warm modern design

Below, seen in the image above from a different angle. I'm on board!

Below, simply stunning, elegant, perhaps Will and Kate's powder room?

Below, I'm awed and excited - I think I'd like to hang out in here!

Of course I knew that Kohler is all about design and function but visiting Kohler's headquarters was a reminder as well as a series of new visual lessons about their quest for beauty, innovation, always a celebration of tradition and a commitment to a strong and clear look to the future. Sounds like copy text, doesn't it? Can you question Kohler's intense interest in design in the most open way, celebrating all design styles? I can't. Just look at the previous posts just below this one. Kohler is a giant in the kitchen and bath industry...for very good reason. I'm also very proud to call Kohler a great American brand. 

From this....

to this, introduced in 2010, the NUMI!

I hope you've enjoyed these posts. Don't forget to see more fabulous images on my Kohler's Design Center board on pinterest! Kitchen images are on that board too!!

Kohler Design Center - Kitchen & Bath Plumbing Products, Furniture, Tile

The best part of my trip to Kohler's headquarters in Kohler, Wisconsin a couple of months back at the invitation of Kohler, was to visit the Kohler Design Center (how could I have said that without four "Kohler's" in the sentence??) A beautiful brick building in which all of Kohlers brands are showcased, it is a place that will take a design aficianado hours and hours to go through. There is something for everyone.

First, there were selections from Kohler's furniture brands such as Baker and McGuire...

There was a display of stunning Ann Sacks tile and down the road, a tile store with the complete line

But here's what I REALLY came to see, below....and which did not disappoint. In fact, it made me see, as I learned about Kohler through the factory tour as well as discussions with Kohler designers, the incredible depth of design talent, commitment to design, and breadth of style that Kohler embraces and has embraced for decades. 

DID YOU KNOW that for nearly 40 years Kohler has offered an Arts/Industry Program in collaboration with the John Michael Kohler Arts Center in nearby Sheboygan to emerging artists? There have been nearly 400 artists in residence since the program's inception. These artists may work in the Kohler Co. pottery, iron and brass foundaries and enamel shop to hone their skills and explore their vision in functional and sculptural forms.

It was the Kohler family's desire some decades ago to celebrate art by introducing artists to freely reinterpret their products with a fresh vision and point of view. This philosophy has made Kohler's products known for beauty, creative design and originality. From many years in the kitchen and bath industry, I can tell you that Kohler's product introductions each year always excite the senses!

Ok then, time for the good stuff!! I do not have names on these pieces, but ask me what they are and I'll find out for you. These are random shots of product displays that I took from the first floor of the Design Center.

Ann Sacks tile below-looks like fabric!

And there's MORE....

There is so much to show you from this trip to Kohler's Design Center that I cannot leave out what rivals anything you have seen so far, and that is a peek at the fabulous kitchen and bath vignettes situated on the second floor of the Kohler Design Center. Coming soon. Can't leave them out!

As you can see, this is truly a destination. Who knew? More soon

Kohler Food and Wine Experience & The American Club Resort

My weekend at Kohler, Wisconsin, at Kohler's gracious invitation, included attendance at a tempting array of food and wine related events of my choice. As I said in my previous post, I would go back to the Kohler Food and Wine Experience in a heartbeat. The vibe was fun, stimulating, insightful...and quite tasty. From beginning to end, all of my experiences, every one, were sincerely, and very solidly, positive. But first, a bit about the historic American Club Resort. (this season's winter image below)

A Forbes Five-Star Resort Hotel and AAA Five Diamond Resort Hotel, the American Club Resort was founded by Walter J. Kohler, Sr., originally to provide rooms for immigrant workers who were employed at Kohler. A Tudor style building and interiors, the wood paneled hallways and public spaces lend an air of history and traditional design that is at once comfortable and inviting. The rooms? The word "divine" comes to mind. The bathrooms? Perfect...or certainly, near perfect if one wants to quibble (not me.) But, the weekend (an annual event in October) centered around food and wine, so here's a little taste (pun intended-image from the seminar on baking with apples-yum-I almost died when this was passed around!)

Celebrity chefs included Alexandra Guarnaschelli, Jacques Torres, Charlie Trotter, Andrew Zimmern, Jon Ashton and many more. Tastings, seminars, the Kohler Chefs' Challenge and signature events such as the Taste of the Vine are just the beginning of a very, very packed schedule of events. 

Parts of my itinerary included a cooking demo with Alex Guarnaschelli (she is truly hysterical), the Taste Of The Vine wine event, cooking demo with Andrew Zimmern, a seminar on baking with apples and a few other great cooking demos. To escape into the world of food and wine, for me, was sweet in more ways than one. The program was run so efficiently, with such attention to detail and with a whole lot of entertainment value, it was a super enjoyable experience.

Winter activities abound at Kohler Village. Check out Kohler Village's winter outdoor activities. Take a look at the Demonstration Kitchen events. Dog sled demonstration anyone? Check out these very cool winter events on the weekend of January 28-29. OR, just forget all those outdoor activities and studying how to slave in the kitchen and go to the Kohler Waters Spa - "dreamy" is an understatement. I went, I zoned out, I exfoliated.

Kohler - A Great American Brand

I had the distinct pleasure and privilege of visiting Kohler at their campus in none other than: Kohler, Wisconsin at their invitation. To see and feel the heartbeat of this great American brand was a professional goal fulfilled. 

I visited Kohler's headquarters at the end of October during a perfect fall weekend. It also happened to be the weekend of Kohler's Food and Wine Experience, a weekend filled with food and wine related events, seminars and workshops. I'm not overstating that this was such a great series of events that I'd love to go annually!

There are clearly several posts which I would like to share surrounding this weekend. First, you'll see some interesting pieces of Kohler's history. Second, I'll give you a look at the weekend's events which I know you'll also love. Third and probably fourth as well, you've just GOT TO SEE Kohler's fabulous Design Center! It will be worth the wait, I promise!

John Michael Kohler was 10 years old when his family came to the US from Austria and settled on a farm near St. Paul, Minnesota. At age 18, he moved to Chicago and became a traveling salesman for a wholesale grocery house and later sold furniture. His territory was the western seaboard of Lake Michigan. He formed a partnership in 1873 with Charles Silberzahn when they bought a foundry and machine shop from Kohler's father-in-law, Jacob Vollrath.

Kohler expanded the foundry to manufacture decorative iron pieces, cooking utensils and plumbing products. At the end of the 1800s a new factory was built in today's existing location, Kohler Village. Halfway through construction the plant burned down. Three months later John Michael Kohler died. Kohler's sons rebuilt the plant and renamed the busines John Michael Kohler Sons Co. in 1901. This is the overview. 

Below, plumbing begins...

In 1883, John Michael Kohler, and I quote, "enameled the inside of a horse trough/hog scalder, attached four cast iron legs, and sold it to a farmer as a bathtub. By 1891, the company expanded its line to include roll-rim bathtubs, washbowls, and drinking fountains. Acceptance of the Kohler bathtub and other enameled cast iron plumbing fixtures rapidly spread beyond the farm community. Cast iron products attained the reputation of being durable, sanitary, and 'superior as to beauty of design, excellence of finish, and quality of workmanship' " 

Below, a bathroom from 1900

The mission of the company, from a 1900's catalog:

Over twenty years' experience in the manufacture and sale of Feed and Ensilage Cutters, Horse Powers, Feed Mills, and other Agricultural Implements has given us a thorough knowledge of the business. It has always been our aim during this time to manufacture the best goods that ingenuity and money can produce. There are grades of cheaper machines than ours on the market, we thoroughly believe, however, in the maxim, "That the best articles are the cheapest in the long run" and we have made it a rule not to see for how little money we could make an article, but how good we could make it for a moderate price. The fact that farmers who bought our machines twenty years ago are still using them, is conclusive proof of their excellence and a good endorsement. Our cutters and powers are all built on the most improved, scientific and practicable principles. We manufacture both the fly-wheel and the cylindar cutters. 

We trust that the following pages will prove interesting and if in want of any machinery therein illustrated you will give them a fair, unprejudiced inspection and trial. Liberal discounts from lists allowed. Correspondence solicited. Respectfully, Kohler, Hayssen & Stehn Mfg. Co., Sheboygan, Wisconsin, USA.

As I put together this post, I truly am honored to have had the opportunity to learn about the history of a great American brand. I also walked through several large, old buildings (with state of the art machinery) that houses Kohlers factories and foundry. I saw the molten iron worked by expert craftspeople. I also saw highly skilled craftspeople work with great precision applying a finish. Impressive procedures, machinery and cleanliness are what I observed first hand. This was no small tour - it was 2 1/2 hours of walking and learning, led by a retired factory worker. It sure was memorable. 

I hope you've enjoyed this first installment of my time spent at Kohler's headquarters. More to come, just wait!