Good Enough to Eat

In an industry for which innovation is measured in increments, a little creativity in design can go a long way. Market, a new collection of wall tiles from Ann Sacks, takes it all the way to the produce stand. Designed in collaboration with glass artist Tony Davlin, the series features tissue-thin slices of fruits and vegetables that are dried and pressed between two glass lites. The vivid, near-translucent hues of the overlapping pears (shown), tomatoes, carrots, gourds, citrus fruits, and cucumbers add ocular flavor, turning interior walls into a natural form of eye candy. –Hallie Busta

Why Be Choosey?

It’s great that Caesarstone combined a patchwork of their countertop options into a single tabletop in their KBIS booth, because that’s what we would have to do at home. There are too many great options to choose just one! Caesarstone’s vice president of marketing, Karen Schakarov told us that the brand brings affordable luxury to home builders, allowing them to leverage the Caesarstone name to lend a little added-vaue luxe when selling their homes. What’s even more eye-catching? The new collection of semi-precious stone surfaces! They might be less “affordable” and more “luxury,” but they’re sooo pretty to look at. –Lauren Hunter


The Little Black Dress for Your Home

We’ve seen black deck railings, black toilets, and other black accessories and fixtures for the home. But just like in the fashion industry, every good designer’s latest collection needs a new LBD for the season (that’s “little black dress,” for you fellas). This year the new design comes from Clopay. The company worked for a good year to develop a factory-finished black steel door that would look great (not too blue), not fade, and not raise the home or garage temperature by a thousand degrees. The thermally reflective cool paint wont’ retain as much heat as dark colors often can, and the door’s polyurethane core helps with insulation too. You can glam up your homes with this little number starting in March 2014. –Lauren Hunter

Turbo Tool

It’s a saw! It’s a vacuum! Wait…it’s both! Roan Tools is getting a lot of attention in their little corner of the James Hardie booth. The two companies are partnering in the face of proposed increases in silica dust regulations by OSHA. The tool will be a great addition to any contractor’s toolbox, especially if they regularly work with fiber cement, PVC, OSB, wood, and other materials. The corded saw’s built-in vac doesn’t require any hoses, and the filter lasts a lifetime. Small fins in the blade cover pull dust into the attached canister and remove 93% of dust from the workspace, and an even greater percentage of micro-particles like those causing silica dust concerns. Dump out the dust every 50 to 60 cuts and you’re good to go. –Lauren Hunter