Blanco’s expanded offerings give us an enormous variety of options allowing us to respond to the preferences of our clients. As guests of Blanco at IMM Cologne Living Kitchen 2013 we were introduced to Blanco’s new faucet technology breakthrough. We saw some game changers in the BLANCO Hot and BLANCO Saga models as well as some beautiful new faucet designs — GRACE II (They named one after me… so kind), HILAND, NAPA and ALTA COMPACT. Here is what we saw in Germany…
Technological breakthrough #1: BLANCO HOT
Blanco Hot integrates instant hot water into one faucet piece. It is a new game changing faucet and technology breakthrough. Other companies in the past have made tri-flow model faucets for hot and cold water with a separate tube inside the faucet for filtered water, but you could not hook that other tube up to an instant hot or an instant cold because the valve couldn’t take that hot water. Blanco Hot is a particularly unique piece that allows you to streamline the look at your sink in one integrated elegantly designed faucet. It works as a standard faucet with your on-off hot/cold lever on the right, and on your left-hand side is the switch giving you access to your instant hot water. Blanco’s engineers paid particular attention to safety, there is a little button that you actually have to depress to turn that faucet on so you don’t turn on the instant hot water unintentionally. The faucet is quite user friendly; it cannot run accidentally.
The idea of simplifying all of this into one streamlined piece of equipment is simply beautiful design. Having instant hot water in the kitchen is a wonderful convenience. You can make hot tea or cocoa instantly, quickly blanch or steep fruit or vegetables to remove skins, sooth a crying baby by heating up their bottle in seconds, and add a bit of boiling water to a heavily soiled pan to ease cleanup. Blanco Hot instantly provides water at a set temperature range from 65 degrees to boiling hot. The technology is innovative and functional.
Technological breakthrough #2: BLANCO SAGA
Another game changer and technological breakthrough is this new streamlined faucet, the Blanco Saga. This faucet is a little heftier in the width that the cylinder comes up in and has a stainless gooseneck faucet design. The black hard rubber section you see on top is where the controls are. By sliding it forward and backwards you turn the faucet on and off and control the water volume. By rotating it around the cylinder right to left you change it from hot to cold and adjust it to your desired temperature. The Saga is a very sleek design with no additional lever jutting out the side. Everything is incorporated into one piece in a technologically advanced breakthrough in faucet design. We have never seen anything like this before.
Blanco’s latest faucets: GRACE II, HILAND, NAPA & ALTA COMPACT
Blanco faucet designs are stunning and functional. It is obvious that the resulting designs are meticulously thought out with precise detail. The Grace II is a new faucet, and what is special about it is that it crosses over to the more traditional side. It is one of the more traditionally styled pieces within the line that allows it to fit well in our traditional kitchen designs. The Grace II comes in two different styles–one has controls on the side and one has controls on the top. This model is available with pull out and pull down sprayers. The push of a button activates the dual spray feature. Available in chrome and stainless steel.
GRACE II
HILAND
The Hiland faucet design is transitional and will work well in any decor. It is a top control single lever faucet with a toggle button underneath that takes it from standard spray to aereator spray.The entire head pulls out. Available in chrome and stainless steel.
NAPA
Blanco’s Napa faucet is available in chrome and stainless and has two different head arrangements to choose from. The first style has a full gooseneck where it comes down a little further. There is a button on the back to toggle its spray features from standard to aerator. The second model’s arc doesn’t come out quite as far, and it has a little larger hand spray that pulls out (shown far right in photo below). The design of the body with the control lever off to the side are the same. Especially appealing is the way the curved body of the faucet blends seamlessly into the handle. Blanco designers paid a lot of attention to the flow of these curves creating an artistic styling of the handle into the body of the faucet. When these faucets stand in your kitchen when not in use, they very much look like sculpted pieces of art.
ALTA
The Alta faucet is significant in that Blanco has also added color finishes to match their Silgranit II sinks. It is available in Anthracite, Biscotti, Café Brown, Cinder, Truffle or White; Chrome, Brushed Nickel, or Satin Nickel. The spout can be swiveled through 128 degrees for greater coverage. This model is especially suitable for compact sinks and work areas. The extendable pull-out design has a dual spray feature.
Last but not least… a Kitchen Designs by Ken Kelly favorite, THE CULINA
Recently we did a video shoot of the Culina semi-professional faucet in our Kitchen Designs by Ken Kelly showroom in the Hamptons (Sag Harbor). Susan Serra, Bornholm Kitchen, and I both made a brief appearance in the video. The Culina’s is a beautiful piece to look at. Its lines are clean, simple, and elegant. The tight nature of the steel spring spout is both attractive and easy to clean. You have a plenty of free range to position the spout exactly where you want it, and the magnetic hook latch snaps the spray hose easily into its “home” position. See this post: 4 Things I Love About the Culina to see the video.
For more information, visit www.blancoamerica.com