KBIS is a little like speed dating for design: bright lights, bold promises, and you leave with 47 new opinions about faucets and the hope of having captured all your favorites in the plethora of pictures you took.
What stood out to Monika Nessbach, Founder and Chief Creative Officer of DESIGNBAR, at this year’s KBIS wasn’t a single defining trend, but a broader shift toward customization, performance, and personalization. Kitchens and baths are no longer purely functional spaces. They are evolving into environments for self-expression, wellness, and quietly integrated intelligence.
Monika Nessbach’s KBIS 2026 report highlights the most repeatable patterns she observed across brands, booths, and product launches and why they matter beyond the trade show hype.
Customization is the new baseline (and colors are leading the charge)
If you walked KBIS 2026 and didn’t notice color, I’m convinced you were only looking at spec sheets.
Manufacturers, especially in bath, are leaning into customization hard: finishes, tones, accents, mix-and-match options. And it wasn’t subtle. Every vignette was a statement.
Why this matters: customization isn’t just “fun.” It’s a competitive advantage. It lets projects feel more personal, more intentional, and less like another default builder style space.
Soft geometry, fluting & ridges everywhere
Round is still ruling. Oval, circular, curved edges, softer silhouettes, plus ridges/fluting showing up on everything from fixtures to furniture-adjacent details.
My take: This isn’t just a style moment. It’s a reaction to years of hard-lined minimalism. People want spaces that feel tactile, warm, and human again.
Smart tech isn’t “extra” anymore, it’s expected
KBIS had real “future living” energy this year, especially around AI integration, invisible cooking, and wellness tracking. The message was loud: technology is no longer a feature you add at the end. It’s being designed in from the beginning.
We’re moving from “Is smart tech worth it?” to: “How do we integrate it so elegantly it feels like architecture, not gadgets?”
That’s the real shift.
Though sometimes I ask myself whether we’re overengineering our lives. We live in a world where we can track our sleep, glucose levels, steps, heart rate, etc. Do we really need another device that analyzes our pee and tracks hydration levels? The thought alone gives me anxiety.
Smart bidets are officially mainstream
Integrated bidet toilets are moving from “luxury upgrade” to “why wouldn’t you?”
Self-cleaning, deodorizing, night lighting, and other built-in features are the norm. Almost every toilet fixture that was shown had some kind of bidet and touchless screen/ tech integration
Translation: expect demand to rise in higher to mid-end residential, hospitality, wellness-forward properties, and luxury multifamily. Clients are educated and expect a clean butt.
Flat/matte sheens are still in (quietly, but confidently)
This one’s more of a designer “IYKYK” observation: glossy is not staging a comeback. The show floor still leaned heavily toward flat and soft-touch finishes, the kind that photograph beautifully and read modern without screaming.
Why it matters: matte finishes read as premium, calm, and architectural; especially paired with warm woods and sculptural forms.
Fixtures are becoming art and I’m here for it
Some of the most interesting moments weren’t products that looked “new.” They were products that looked intentional. Towel bars, handles, faucets, even accessories are being treated like jewelry and sculpture and it’s absolutely breathtaking.
Takeaway: If you want a space to feel elevated, never ignore the small stuff. The details are doing the heavy lifting.
Integrated lighting is king
Integrated LED continues to show up everywhere: mirrors, vanities, niches, under-cabinet systems, and built-in architectural moments. The best LED moments were the ones you didn’t notice at first because they were integrated as architecture, not decoration. Mood control is everything.
Natural wood is having a moment
Finally, after years of cool gray and stark white, the market is craving warmth, tactility, and a design that wants to be lived in. Warmth is winning. Natural wood and woodgrain finishes were everywhere and they’re showing up in ways that feel elevated and elegant, not rustic. The industry is clearly leaning into grounded materials that feel honest and sensory.
Vessel sinks are back
Above-counter and vessel sinks are reappearing as intentional design statements, not retro throwbacks. They pair perfectly with the return of sculptural forms and softer geometry.
My opinion: vessel sinks are back because they behave like art objects and right now, the industry is obsessed with design that feels curated.
And finally, the trend people might skip (but you shouldn’t)
The biggest meta-trend I felt walking KBIS 2026: design is being engineered for emotion. Not “emotion” as in fluff. Emotion as in:
- Does this feel calm?
- Does this feel luxurious?
- Does this feel personal?
- Does this reduce friction in daily life?
- Does it photograph like a dream?
That’s where the market is going: personalization + performance + wellness, wrapped in materials that feel warm and intentional.
About Monika Nessbach
Monika Nessbach is the Founder and Chief Creative Officer of DESIGNBAR, a commercial interior design firm specializing in hospitality-forward environments across restaurants, multifamily, and lifestyle-driven spaces. Known for blending business strategy with bold, experience-led design, Monika helps real estate developers, hotel owners, and operators create places people remember and return to.