IBS

GE to Market Haier AppliancesUAKC offers more appliance choices with HaierIt's only been a couple of short years since GE Appliances became part of the Worldwide Haier Group of appliances. At this year's Builder/Kitchen and Bath Show, GE announced the addition of Haier Appliances to its lineup.This is good news to many in the LA basin. There are an amazing number of homes and apartments in the LA area which have 24" wall and base cabinets. Replacing appliances in these cabinets can be a real problem since most US appliances are designed to fit in 30" cabinets.We've been able to get by all these years by replacing appliances with some 24" wide low end brands which have limited appeal, and more recently with some European brands which commonly are built at 60 centimeters, a width that fits nicely in a 24" space. Also, both Viking and Sub Zero Wolf have added some products in this dimension.Therefore, it's really good news that GE is now launching an updated line of Haier appliances that (for the most part) are designed to fit that 24" space. Here's what GE's vice president of sales, Robert Posthauer had to say at this years IBS/KBIS in Orlando:“Haier offers a full product suite of both built-in and freestanding appliances that fit the needs for smaller footprints and offers our customers new opportunities." The line includes some needed products for this space such as a 24" over the range microwave as well as this stunning 4 door refrigerator

Latest Appliances at Universal Appliance and Kitchen CenterBlack Stainless SteelA quick look around the major appliance displays at the January 2017 *IBS/KBIS confirmed that the new color/finish Black Stainless is THE big trend in appliance colors. Of course, stainless steel is not going anywhere. In a recent survey, 72% of respondents opted for stainless steel. Truth is, there are tons of appliance colors out there. The custom high end range company BlueStar offers several hundred colors, many of them quite stunning. Luxury appliance brands such as Viking, Bertazzoni, La Cornue, and others also offer their appliances in a variety of colors. But for many of us these brands might not be realistic options, and the bright colors aren't for everyone.Voilà! Black Stainless is here to save they day. It's new and it's different. It really looks classy, but I wouldn't call it bold or risky. After all, it's a combination of the two most popular appliance colors. As near as I can determine KitchenAid was the first major appliance brand to offer Black Stainless steel. Recently, Samsung jumped on the Black Stainless bandwagon, followed now by Whirlpool, Frigidaire, GE, Electrolux, and LG. I do know that some supplementary brands are on board with this new finish such as Sharp (microwaves) and at least one of the vent hood manufacturers, Zephyr.I think Black Stainless looks good in the photos, but even better when you see it and touch it. Believe it

New Decorative Plumbing Fixtures and Appliances in 2017January of each year brings the CES (Consumer Electronics Show) where some appliance manufacturers choose to debut their new "smart" appliances. Soon after CES, IBS (International Builder Show), and KBIS (Kitchen and Bath International Show) host a joint show for their respective industries. It's a busy month for the major appliances and decorative plumbing fixtures that are featured at Universal Appliance and Kitchen Center. Here are just a few of the products featured at CES, IBS, and KBIS 2017.UAKC Kitchen and Bath Faucets, Vanities, and More in 2017BrizoBrizo is a trendy, hip line of faucets that have benefitted from the skills of famed designer Jason Wu. It's a great upscale line with great prices too!GroheHere's a display of colorful faucets from GROHE. High quality combined with high design. Which of these colors will provide just the right accent for your kitchen?RobernWhen it comes to completing your bath with vanities, cabinets, mirrors, and more the Robern lineup is sure to have what you need. It's one of the most extensive lines of products for your bath that you''ll find anywhere. Visit our showrooms in Studio City or Calabasas.UAKC New Appliances in 2017VikingEvery year, you can count on a crowd at the Viking booth. This year will be no exception. Here's a new Viking Range in Matt Black with Bronze trim.True ResidentialA commercial refrigeration company, True has recently been making their mark in residential refrigeration. This year they're launching column refrigerators.AGALike the retro look? This

IBS/KBIS 2016 more new products...and one more thingLiebherr Under Counter Slide-Out RefrigeratorComing Soon to Universal Appliance and Kitchen CenterIt's no secret that there is considerable growth in the undercounter appliance category. At the January 2016 Kitchen and Bath Show (KBIS) in Las Vegas Liebherr showed a unique "pull-out" undercounter refrigerator. Here's what they said about the UPR 503:"The new UPR 503 undercounter pull-out refrigerator ensures that fresh food is always within reach. Combining high energy efficiency with optimal storage space, the UPR 503 can be adjusted in height to match that of the countertop for perfect alignment with your kitchen design. The UPR 503 offers maximum ease-of-use thanks to its SoftTelescopic system of self-retracting and fully-extendable tiered storage compartments. This is the perfect space-saving addition for any kitchen or living area."The growth in the undercounter appliance category is a reflection of the practicality and the increasing need for accessibility for everyone. This includes our largest demographic group, baby-boomers, as well as all those in our population who for any number of reasons don't have easy reach for food stored higher than counter height. While at one time, most under counter refrigerator products were inexpensive fridges for college dorm rooms, major luxury and specialty brands such as Sub Zero and U-line, and now Liebherr are recognizing that accessible is not age or price point driven, but need driven. Regardless of your interest in undercounter refrigerators or other major appliances and plumbing fixtures, you're sure to find what you need at Universal

GE Monogram Shows Pizza Oven at IBS/KBIS 2016Amidst all the traffic at the 2016 International Builder Show/Kitchen and Bath Show in Las Vegas, GE Appliances and Monogram seemed to be quite busy. In addition to all the questions about the acquisition of GE by Haier, GE and Monogram showed a steady stream of new products including GE rolling out some additional refrigerators with the unique Keurig® coffee feature, and Monogram's new Pizza Oven for the home.Over the years, various systems and techniques, from pizza stones on up, have been marketed for cooking restaurant quality pizzas in the home. Now, a unique new home pizza oven has been developed by Monogram.Restaurant-style pizza has long been an aspiration for home chefs everywhere, but lacking has been a reliable way to achieve the perfect slice. Residential pizza oven options have run the gamut from cumbersome and complicated to convenient yet disappointing, spurring the development of the new Monogram® Pizza Oven.Perfectly crisp crust. Browned, bubbling mozzarella. GE’s Monogram Pizza Oven brings restaurant-quality cooking capabilities to the home kitchen, enabling home chefs, entertainers, families and pizza enthusiasts to recreate their favorite pies—from the perfect Neapolitan to New York style and everything in between—quickly and with ease. Key Features Include:Simple installation. Takes no more space than a standard wall oven, yet fits a pizza peel and large pies. The oven requires no exterior venting, and no special installation.Precision and power. Using standard household electric power, the Monogram Pizza Oven delivers precise zone-controlled heating, enabling exact temperatures

What's New in Appliances at CESOddly, CES (the Consumer Electronics Show) has become THE place for several appliance manufacturers to show their latest innovations. It's odd, since the rest of the appliance industry seems to have settled on the joint IBS (International Builders Show) /KBIS (Kitchen and Bath Industry Show) to display their wares. The IBS/KBIS show is to be held near the end of January also in Las Vegas. This year's CES hosted appliance manufacturers showing refrigerators with touch screens, fridges that revealed their contents with a knock on the door, and a refrigerator that claims to have re-invented ways to organize your refrigerator. Not to mention an interesting update on a washing machine within a washing machine that was launched at last year's CES.Knock on the door of this refrigeratorThe "smart" refrigerator from LG is loaded with high tech features, but the most interesting feature requires a manual knock on the door which activates a lighting system that reveals the contents inside the fridge.Washer Washer DryerIn 2015, LG first launched this washer within a washer, eg. a full-sized washer with a mini washer in a bottom compartment. This year, it appears that the full-sized washer has been converted to a combo full-sized washer/dryer still with mini washer at the bottom.Easy to Organize French Door RefrigeratorFrench Door refrigerators have become so popular partly because of the ease of seeing and arranging the contents. In this new CES award winning refrigerator from Whirlpool, redesigned lighting, shelves and compartments as well

Frigidaire Professional Appliances at Affordable Prices We've been to this year's KBIS and IBS (Kitchen and Bath and International Builder Show), and more recently the PCBC (Pacific Coast Builder Conference). So, we've seen a LOT of new appliances. One of the most impressive and practical is the new Frigidaire Professional Collection. It may be true that everybody has Pro-Look appliances these days. But outfitting your entire kitchen with this "look" can easily begin with a budget breaking $50,000. Frigidaire had a different idea with it's Professional Collection by offering professional styled kitchens starting at $4,999. Of course, you can easily double that with some of their more deluxe models, but I think you get what I mean here. When describing the Frigidarie Professional Range the reviewer below called it:"A great looking range for the rest of us."-James Atchison, Reviewed.comFrigidaire All Refigerator and All RefrigeratorThe all refrigerator and all freezer combination that Frigidaire offers is unique among the mass brands, and offers some real possibilities for a refrigerator and freezer wall or even a completely separate location for refrigerator and freezer. Here are the details:Frigidaire Professional® All RefrigeratorFPRU19F8RFClick on model number above to go to the UAKC link with additonal features and pricing. PureAir® Filtration System removes up to 7 times more odor than baking soda by eliminating odor particles with fast-acting, highly absorbent carbon technology2. The SpacePro™ Shelving System offers quick access to fresh ingredients with organizational solutions designed for space optimization

Tasty Breakfast or Brunch Frittata Recipe We're always looking for tasty recipes to share, and we appreciate getting some really great ones from our top brands. Here's an awesome frittata recipe from Thermador. While we may be a little late for Mother's Day, this recipe is perfect for any special breakfast or brunch occasion. Thanks to Thermador for the recipe and and be sure to take a look below at their new Pro-Harmony 30" wide, 24" depth range that gives you Pro performance, yet fits in a standard kitchen range opening. Goat Cheese and Spinach Frittata Enjoy this frittata as a breakfast or brunch main course. Add any of your favorite vegetables along with the spinach, including mushrooms, onions, slices of heirloom tomatoes, bell peppers or asparagus. Serves: 6 10 large eggs ¼ cup milk ¼ teaspoon kosher or sea salt, or to taste ¼ teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper, or to taste 2 tablespoons butter, divided 3 cups fresh spinach leaves, tough stems removed 4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled (optional) serve with toast, fresh tomatoes or fresh fruit Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F. In large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, salt and black pepper. Heat a 10" cast iron or oven proof skillet on medium-high heat. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter, then add spinach leaves. Saute spinach until wilted, about 1 -2 minutes. Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter, then pour in the egg mixture. Stir egg mixture and cook untouched for about 20 seconds or until the sides

New Miele Range a Winner in Las VegasMiele Appliances shown at KBIS/IBS 2015It's hard to come away a winner when you go to Las Vegas. But, the new Miele range was a good bet at the 2015 Design and Construction Week (*KBIS/IBS) show in January. Miele partnered up with some top kitchen brands (Haefele, Bauformat, and Cosentino) to showcase their luxury appliance brand. The new Miele Range, their first EVER, was a huge hit. (To clarify, Miele has been very successful in cooking products such as built-in cooktops and ovens over the years, but they've not ventured into the range business until now).Miele's range model line up consists of several configurations in 30", 36", and 48" ranges. The range line has been eight years in the making, and the attention to detail shows in the innovative features, and stunning Miele design, not to mention the durable construction. Miele's 30" range weighs in at 337 lbs. Compare that to the 160 lbs. of a typical Whirlpool gas range.You might also expect state of the art technology in a range of this class, and Miele does not disappoint. With a high-tech control panel that includes their exclusive MasterChef electronic controls, the new Miele features algorithms to perfectly cook many foods, and it will also store your own special recipes. Miele has taken a fresh look at every feature on a range. For example, Miele's unique range handle is designed to swivel from its vertical

Time to Get Smart Appliances? The Consumer Electronic Show (CES), and the Design and Construction Week (IBS + KBIS) are all being held this month in Las Vegas. New "smart" appliances are sure to be shown at each venue. What's a "smart" appliance? Maybe not what you think. When the word "smart" is prepended to the word appliance, it usually means that the appliance connects remotely to a device such as a smartphone to allow the device to communicate with the appliance and vice versa. So far, the appeal of smart appliances has been limited. Most of the very early smart appliances didn't do much. So you can control the appliance from your easy chair or maybe even from your car. Not exciting. But much more is on the way. For example, new smart refrigerators can send you a text message to tell you that you left the refrigerator door open. I'm not going to rush out of the house just to buy a new smart appliance...BUT if I'm buying a new appliance, and I can get one with smart capabilities, I won't laugh it off. If my new refrigerator can send me a note telling me that the power to my refrigerator has gone off, I want that! Here are just a few new developments in smart appliances coming soon: GE Currently GE makes smart wall ovens that allow you to pre-heat your oven when you’re on your way home. They're now adding smart appliances including a French door