February 26 – 27, 2011, Orlando World Center Marriott

We are at Booth #1251

December 2-4, 2010 │ Expo: December 2-3
San Diego (California) Convention Center

IHRSA 2011

See us at Booth #1644
March 16 – 19, 2011
San Francisco (California) Moscone Center South

After a recent trip to the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show, Joe Hollman, owner of Hollman Inc., and his team are armed with the latest knowledge and trends in fabulous, flawless kitchen design.

The top kitchen trends at KBIS, Hollman reports, featured products that are earth-friendly, high-tech, colorful and designed with healthy food preparation in mind. Contemporary design and modern European styles reign supreme in the world of high-end kitchen planning, he says, especially for young professionals and emerging residential high-rise condominium living. From limited-space apartments to sprawling villas, homeowners are looking for products and appliances that are energy efficient, serve as a convenience to the entire family and prove to be multi-faceted in functionality. This is a living space where kitchen meets office, dining room, breakfast nook and entertainment space, Hollman says, so convenience, accessibility and versatility are key.

Homeowners have begun searching for new materials other than stainless steel for interesting and original elements in the space. Exotic materials such as bamboo, wenge, and zebra wood, paired with metallic hardware add a special touch of customization. High gloss kitchen paired with matte wood finishes are raising the bar for brilliant combination design and aesthetic. While style and eye appeal are at the top of the list for design planning, so is the focus on function for today’s contemporary at-home culinary artist and four-person family alike. “Interior accessories help organize and utilize a space to its maximum potential,” Hollman says. Hard to reach areas are made easily accessible with pull-out shelving; while large wider drawers with organizational units and separators simplify food preparation, cooking and clean up.

“Everything is about convenience-meets-multi functionality,” says Hollman, as the evolution of high-end, beautiful and functional kitchen design continues to support contemporary, healthy and simplified living.

Interviewed by Rayven Williams, Copy Writer

Jesse Rogers waited 10 years for the moment he experienced Thursday: leading a guided tour of the newly renovated D.L. Ligon sports facility, with his board of regents oohing and ahhing behind him.

The Midwestern State University president and other MSU officials began talking 10 years ago about the updates needed at the coliseum that eventually grew to require $10.5 million for Phase 1 of the renovation and another $6.7 million for a Phase 2 renovation that is still to come.

Ligon was like “a 100-year-old home that looks good, but then you dig into it,” Rogers told his regents, staff members and members of the media who participated in the mini field trip that kicked off Thursday’s quarterly board meeting.

Much of the replacements, refurbishments and improvements were tucked away where they weren’t obvious, in previously antiquated infrastructure, air conditioning, fire safety and ADA upgrades.

“There will be few facilities like this built again,” Rogers said. “It’s a wonderful place for this university.”

Kyle Owen, associate vice president for facilities services, pointed out new bleachers, new hand rails that were raised to ADA standards, new fire sprinklers and new ADA seating marked out on the floor.

Even though the lighting still gave off a steady hum, it was “not so bad” as it used to be, he said.

MSU’s Director of Athletics Charlie Carr joked with regents about the “Great Wall of Ligon” that was a safety code requirement on two ends of the upper deck. The walled-up areas were designed to reduce capacity by 800 seats to more properly match the facility’s number of exits.

“The timing couldn’t have been any worse because shortly thereafter we hosted the NCAA Tournament with a countless number of people,” Carr said.

The MSU regent tour continued into the newly finished football locker rooms that the football players had not yet toured. The carpeted, light-filled room featured handsome wooden built-ins for seating and stowing gear.

A large Mustang logo of galloping horses was tiled into the floor of the large shower room.

“This is as fine a locker room as you’ll see at any level, pro or college,” said Coach Bill Maskill. “I had a parent in here who had been in the locker rooms of the Dallas Cowboys and at Oklahoma State and said this is nicer than both of them.”

And that was in February, when the locker room still had no floor or lighting, Maskill said. “There’s not a finer facility anywhere. We want to win the national championship, and this will be a tool to help us do it.”

The locker room was designed by the same talent that fashioned the Dallas Cowboys stadium, said Rogers.

The project came in under budget, too, he said.

MSU is working on giving the same fine facilities to its other athletes, Rogers added. Locker rooms for men’s and women’s soccer, tennis and cross-country (Phase 2 of the Ligon renovation) in the south end of Ligon are at the dust and demolition stage but should be finished in spring 2011, according to Carr.

The locker rooms also included a study area with space for computers and televisions to watch their games.

Regents toured the former Wellness Center that is now a weight facility for student athletes. “Our kids are in here all the time,” Carr said.

On their next stop, regents toured the university’s newest dormitory/apartments, Sundance Court, which will be open for the second year this fall.

The 276 beds in Sundance Court are already spoken for, with 50 to 70 on a waiting list.

The university is in an overflow situation again, one year after opening the new facility and having a few spare rooms.

“It’s good for revenue,” said Keith Lamb, associate vice president for student affairs, but it puts the university right back where it was two years ago, needing more dorm space.

The furnished apartment -style dorms rent for $500 to $600 monthly, with cable, TV, Internet and all utilities paid.

Rogers also showed off the new Fain Instrumental Music Building, a $2.63 million facility that came in under budget. Most of the funds were provided by a gift from Martha Fain, Rogers said.

The old facility could hold 45 band members; this one seats the 133 current band members, with two faculty offices, a computer lab, clean air and no more carpet.

The building will be dedicated in October but open for MSU’s first band practice Aug. 15.

As the MSU tour bus wound through the campus, Rogers pointed out several buildings along Louis J. Rodriquez Drive that needed to be razed: Marchman Hall, a small paint shop, the old music hall and the McGaha building.

He estimated it would cost one-half million dollars to raze the old buildings that are full of asbestos and free up that part of campus for new growth.

“There are lots of possibilities that we need to work out in the master plan,” Rogers said.