Friday, March 13, 2026 from Floor Covering Weekly

By Suzy Krogulski

The NAHB International Builders’ Show (IBS) and the NKBA Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS) shared the Orange County Convention Center here in Orlando during Design & Construction Week (DCW) from Feb. 17-19.

Emerald Expositions, which produces the show, reported around 117,000 people were registered to attend and there were 2,250 exhibitors on the expo floor. Indeed, a huge draw was the opportunity to not only learn about new offerings but also collaborate.

Shared Bill Darcy, global president and CEO, NKBA/KBIS, “What makes KBIS special isn’t just the scale — it’s the collaboration. Designers, manufacturers, builders and innovators are all in the same room, shaping the future together. KBIS continues to prove that when the industry comes together, collaboration follows. The success of this year’s show reflects the strength, resilience and forward momentum of the kitchen and bath community.”

IBS and KBIS shared similar themes. For instance, throughout the expo floor was a focus on wellness, as seen by the number of exhibitors displaying water dispensers (such as the recipient of the “Best Home Technology Product Winner” Zurn Elkay Water Solutions); technology solutions, such as Roomvo; and, luxurious offerings from brands like E by Emser and Daltile. Personalization was another key theme here.

Inspiring Collaboration

Inviting collaboration was a huge draw at KBIS/IBS, said Ola Kronvall, business unit director and sales director from Välinge Innovation. Välinge was focused on making connections to share its furniture and cabinetry offerings at the show.

“We are a partner for the flooring and furniture industry. We have a large portfolio of patents and a lot of new technologies to improve and make it easier for the industry. In our case, we have a unique, easy assembly technology which we are growing with the U.S. market right now,” said Kronvall.

Roomvo had similar goals for its first KBIS/IBS event. Murtaza Abedin, head of product, said that given Roomvo’s ability to create visualization for flooring, paint, tile and more recently, appliances as well as kitchen and bath spaces, KBIS/IBS offers an excellent opportunity to show what the company can do. “We’re here to meet retailers as well as suppliers — all sorts — to show them how we can help accelerate their sales and help close business faster.”

Roomvo’s current reach, with customers in more than 70 countries, makes it a perfect partner for those in the kitchen and bath space (or looking to enter), and the goal was to spread this message. Said Abedin, “We work with over 200-plus brands in the space. We work with over 7,000 retailers, doing everything from visualization to helping them operate their business better, including websites, CRM, ERP. We are a one-stop shop.”

LATICRETE also came to KBIS/IBS with the goal to connect. “The appeal of the show is the exposure. We’ve met a lot of different people that we wouldn’t normally be able to reach,” said LATICRETE’s Will Galeano, technical sales representative. “One of our goals for us as a company is to get more into residential. We’re very strong on the commercial side, but not as much on the residential side. So this show has been good for us.”

Hallmark Home’s Mark Casper, vice president of sales and marketing, noted that attending was a critical step in sharing Hallmark’s cabinet offerings. While flooring, he explained, takes a more national approach, the distribution of cabinets happens more on a regional level.

It was also important, noted Casper, that the company’s presence helped attendees become more familiar with the Hallmark Home name. “It’s branding and synergizing the two brands and making sure that our flooring specialized retailers have an opportunity to increase their business and exposure to all the referrals that they typically have. They’re already at about a 50 to 70 percent referral — this is a way to add on to their business for the long term,” he shared.

New cabinet lines were on display at Hallmark’s booth, such as slim shaker cabinets, as well as new colorways.

Tile Shows Strength

Synonymous with kitchen and bath is tile, and tile companies brought their most on-trend and in-demand offerings to share with the crowds at IBS/KBIS.

MSI’s goals, said David Raymond, senior director of sales and marketing, is ultimately putting the customer first, and KBIS/IBS offers an excellent opportunity to speak directly to them. “MSI plays in a lot of different categories. This is the one place we get to show that you can come to MSI as a one-stop shop for interior and exterior finish.”

More importantly, said Raymond, the show offers an opportunity to connect with consumers that may spend less time in showrooms, such as architects, builders, designers, specifiers, among others. The products MSI offers, said Raymond, complements everything on the KBIS/IBS expo floor, from appliances to cabinetry for both commercial and residential spaces.

Luxury and personalization were key themes that arose in conversation, reported the MSI team. “We see a lot of people where price is not part of the conversation at all — it’s more about ‘what’s on trend, what’s going to last in my house and what I really like’,” Raymond elaborated. “We see [demand for] that upmarket product. We see tile, natural stone and hardwood also being popular — they want quality and trend.”

Emily Holle, creative director at MSI, noted that trends are warming. Blonde tones, she explained, are extending to countertops, with greater demand for creamy ivories, stemming from shifts in cabinetry wood tones. Holle also noted color is in play at the show, such as blues, sage greens, terracottas and chocolates.

This stems from the consumer who “wants that level of personalization, [and] is willing to take a little bit of a risk,” said Holle.

At Cosentino, large formats and technology stole the show. From a strong showing of warm-toned Silestone offerings, to the new brand Éclos featuring zero silica offerings and heat resistance up to 428 Fahrenheit, Cosentino reported that Éclos offers a 3D integrated design and incorporates more than 50 percent recycled materials.

According to the company, “Inlayr technology enables Éclos to be manufactured using a layered design system. Thanks to an advanced robotics engineering process and innovative decoration techniques, it gives the entire surface a 3D design with unique veins and patterns, as well as unprecedented depth and consistency. The result is a surface with a three-dimensional design integrated into the edges, with realistic aesthetics and a natural touch and feel.”

And warm, nature-inspired colors offerings dominated across all brands, such as Silestone XM in Jardin Emerald, a verdant wall tile with gold veins that sparkled and Dekton Amazonik, a wood-look cladding.

Attendees were eager for upscale natural looks. Emser Tile’s Amri Gonzalez, marketing and events specialist at Emser, provided FCW with an overview of the company’s soothing, natural tile offerings. From water-like blues to wave-like E by Emser Martel tiles, “earthy tones with a bit of pizzazz” was how Gonzalez described Emser’s new tile offerings. Polished marbles, mosaics and wood looks also appeared throughout the Emser booth.

Builders are asking for more upmarket looks, said Gonzalez, as well as handcrafted looks. “We have a lot of the extruded porcelain — it’s trending. People like a lot of dimension and texture versus flat,” she said.

Indeed, said Gonzalez, “[KBIS/IBS] is a good place for us to see our customers, be able to introduce them to our new products, give them more information about what we see that’s trending, and what we know that people are asking for. It’s also a good way for us to meet new potential customers.”

It was also important for the company to stress that it’s not just looking to make the sale, it’s looking to forge a partnership. “We want to collaborate with [our customers] from concept all the way to completion,” stressed Gonzalez.

At Daltile, Marazzi and American Olean’s booth, a celebration of tile’s beauty was on display in its clever selfie-spots and large, glittering tile chandelier. “Our marketing team has done an amazing job of not only presenting huge, delicious slices of product so people can really see what an installation is going to look like, but also the overarching intent to show that tile is a true design element for a space,” explained Michelle Corley, PR manager, Dal-Tile.

She continued, “Tile can be exotic, it can be playful, it can be functional, it can be any style and design that you possibly need. And I would think [our booth is] showing it as design element and really showing the elegance and the versatility of it.”

Alongside tile’s beauty, the company’s goal was to also highlight its artisan-style options to attendees. “We’re able to bring that same artisanal style, that same handcrafted beauty, but do it at a price point that fits into almost every budget. Plus you get the functional aspect of its performance.”

Some of the highlights included the handcrafted look of Nu Bare glazed ceramic wall tile and a faux outdoor space featuring Sand & Stone terrazzo floor tile and Haddonstone floor tile with RevealSync3D technology and StepWise slip resistance, which emphasized tile’s strengths outdoors as well as indoors.