July 7, 2014

From left to right: Mark Williams, Kim Lewis, Kerrie Kelly, Courtney Cachet and Julia Buckingham inside the Kips Bay Decorator Showhouse kitchen, designed by Matthew Quinn.(Photo credit: Jack Lane) 

Silestone has identified its five Trendspotters as part of its three-year-old program, adding a dynamic new component to the program — Silestone color design. The 2014 program kicked off during a special event at the Kips Bay Decorator Showhouse in New York City, where Silestone was featured in the kitchen. 

The five Trendspotters — a mix of renowned and influential designers from across the country — each represent a critical design destination and will continually share their design inspiration and trends using the hashtag #SilestoneTrends via social media and through the program’s dedicated website, SilestoneTrends.com. In addition, this year’s program will leverage the Trendspotters’ design expertise and regional market insight to develop the next color series for the Silestone natural quartz line, which will be unveiled at KBIS 2015. 

This year’s Silestone Trendspotters represent five important U.S. markets: New York City, Chicago, Sacramento, Austin and Atlanta.  

• Courtney Cachet is a celebrity designer and TV personality based in the greater New York City area. Widely regarded as an international style influencer, she has logged more than 1,000 TV appearances and is known for her designs, including home décor accessories, paper goods and furniture. Cachet has made a career out of helping people realize their fullest potential – relying on her global travel and love of color and textures for inspiration.

• Julia Buckingham Edelmann is the founder of the full-service interior design firm Buckingham Interiors + Design, which creates timeless and award-winning interiors. Her beautifully curated retail showroom is a mélange of furniture, a rotating collection of fine art, lighting, unique artifacts and accessories. Edelmann is the Chicago blogger for Material Girls and is a 1^stDibs dealer.  A former antiques dealer, she creates interiors by integrating antiques and modern furnishings using her trademarked Modernique design aesthetic. 

• Kerrie Kelly is an award-winning interior designer and author who founded Sacramento-based Kerrie Kelly Design Lab in 1995. She has authored two books: Home Décor: A Sunset Design Guide and My Interior Design Kit. In addition to being a certified interior designer, she’s also earned an MBA and is a Certified Aging in Place Specialist and shares her design inspiration on her blog, Everyone Deserves Great Design. 

• Kim Lewis is best known as the Lead Designer behind ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” and founder of Kim Lewis Designs in Los Angeles and Austin. In six years with the television show, Lewis designed more than 120 homes in 43 states. She is also a motivational public speaker and has worked in Ghana, West Africa, to build a therapeutic art center for children.

• Mark Williams of Mark Williams Design Associates specializes in both architectural and interior design. With a degree in Architecture from Georgia Tech and extended study in Paris, Willams approaches design from an artistic and a technical viewpoint. Since 1998, he has developed a reputation for creating balanced, beautiful spaces by considering the architectural and interior design as a single process. With luxury single-family, residential design and large multi-family projects nationwide, his firm has a diverse work portfolio and was honored by the Georgia Chapter of ASID.

Following the kickoff event at the Kips Bay Decorator Showhouse, the Trendspotters will join Cosentino’s head of product development, Valentin Tijeras Garcia, for a creative design session in New York City. This summer, the Trendspotters will travel to Cosentino’s global headquarters in Almeria, Spain, to test their initial colors. The final hues will be tested in the marketplace and sent into production in time for the unveiling at KBIS. The entire program will be documented on Silestonetrends.com and through each participants social media platforms, all using the hashtag #silestonetrends. 

The inaugural Silestone Trendspotters program was launched in 2012 at the Kitchen and Bath Industry show in Chicago, with four leading designers, who were sent to scour the show and report back in their local market. The program continued in 2013 with three designers who attended Dwell on Design to spot their favorite finds and also reported their insights locally.