To modify the words of H. L. Mencken, no one ever went broke understimating the desire of the American people to organize their homes. At least that’s what a lot of the exhibitors at K/BIS 2008 were thinking. Having just completed the bulk of my spring cleaning, I’m with them.

Kitchen Organization
One significant problem in the kitchen: having storage that is not easily accessible. The folks at pegRAIL addressed this issue with a modular storage system that keeps everything out in the open and at the ready.

pegRAIL puts your dishes and cook’s tools in easy reach.

Start by installing a 36-, 54- or 72-inch rail capable of holding up to 350 pounds (it comes with the appropriate hardware). Then add a pot rack, shelf, basket, utensil holder or wine rack, or any combination thereof. pegRAIL also makes storage systems for bathrooms, closets, utility rooms and home offices.

Available now through dealers, pegRAIL plans to launch in June a line of starter kits ranging in price from $175 to $350.

Bathroom Organization
Another genius idea: Taking the storage accessories that have long been available for kitchen cabinets and bringing them into the bathroom. More than one manufacturer did this, but the widest range we saw was at the Diamond Cabinets booth.

Diamond Cabinets’ Logix organization system now includes this Vanity Cosmetics Cabinet.

Offerings include drawer inserts for toiletries (instead of utensils), linen cabinets (instead of pantry cabinets), hamper pullouts (instead of trash pullouts) and hair dryer/curler racks (instead of spice racks).

The representatives at the Coway booth thought their new air purifiers looked iPods. I thought they looked more like a Sony Cybershot, but we both agreed they looked pretty cool. Of course, don’t take our words for it.

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A six-foot long kitchen sink probably seems more superfluous than functional, unless you find yourself washing off and preparing marlin on a regular basis. Yet two of Elkay’s newest sinks, the six-foot long Ripple and Cascade don’t scream “too much sink!” rather, the first thing that grabs your attention is all their custom accessories.

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There’s no denying that everyone wants to be (or even claims to be) green these days. Products are laden in the right earthy colors and textures to convey that warm, fuzzy, eco-friendly feeling. And occasionally, a product will be as eco-friendly as it looks.

That’s the case with Sea Stones, a new line of hardware made of natural stones picked from the eastern seaboard. Owners Arra David and Anne Johnson handpick each stone and then “plant” a new stone (purchased from a quarry) back into the water as its replacement. Their wood backplates for display are enviro-conscious too, made from FSC-certified wood. (Arra and Anne also plant ten times the number of trees that they use for their backplates each year.)

The Serena line of Sea Stones is available in two color palettes—naturals and neutrals.

Design trends come in all shapes and sizes, but squares stole the show this year. While squares are nothing new and sweeping curves are by no means on their way out, we couldn’t help but notice lots of booths flaunting squares as their “new” shape. Here is just a sampling of the four-sided stuff we saw.

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