🏆Best of IBS – #3 in our 2026 Haute @ Home Video Series Drops 🍿
Our team was on-site at the Kitchen and Bath Industry Show (KBIS) and the International Builders’ Show (IBS), searching for the latest in design and home construction. Walk the floor with us to see our top picks from Orlando.
IBS 2026 confirmed what the building industry has been moving toward for years: the line between performance and design has effectively disappeared. The products earning attention in Orlando weren’t just durable, they were distinctive. Across the show floor, the strongest brands arrived with a clear point of view about what high-performance living actually looks like from the outside in. Materials that once competed on specs alone are now being asked to carry aesthetic weight too, with exteriors, entry doors, and interior surfaces all expected to deliver warmth, character, and long-term resilience in the same product. At the same time, technology quietly asserted itself not through spectacle, but through seamless integration: in fireplaces that feel architectural, lighting that responds to the moment, and surfaces that earn a second look because of what they do, not just how they look. The clearest throughline: builders and designers no longer want to choose between beauty and performance. The best products at IBS proved you don’t have to.
The Haute @ Home video series captures the most compelling new products debuting at KBIS and IBS 2026, delivering editorial-style content that lives on YouTube, social channels, and in front of national trade and consumer media across the shelter and design space. With a streamlined, 20-minute booth shoot focused on a single trend-worthy product—no on-camera interviews required—brands gain polished, ready-to-share video assets that extend their tradeshow investment well beyond Orlando. Featured brands in this video include:
The Exterior That Works as Hard as It Looks
The Exterior That Works as Hard as It LooksTruExterior from Westlake Royal Building Products delivers the warmth and character of wood with proprietary poly-ash technology engineered to outperform the elements — durable, adaptable, and easy to work with, giving designers and builders real creative freedom without compromise. Classic look, next-level performance: it’s a smarter evolution in exterior design.
Light That Adjusts to the Moment — and the Room
Light That Adjusts to the Moment — and the RoomVisual Comfort & Co. arrives at IBS with two Best of IBS finalists: the Mera illuminated mirrors, featuring on-mirror touch controls to instantly dial in brightness and color temperature, and rechargeable portable lamps delivering up to 260 lumens of cordless, wire-free versatility for patios, dining tables, and everywhere in between. Together, they represent lighting designed to elevate every space it touches.
A First Impression Worth Making
A First Impression Worth MakingMasterGrain’s Thomas Contemporary Cherry Engraved entry door, finished in a rich Sweet Honey stain, captures the warmth and detail of finely crafted wood — but it’s actually the industry’s first large-format fiberglass door, engineered to resist warping, cracking, and rot with strong insulation and minimal upkeep. Classic craftsmanship on the surface, modern performance underneath.
The Fireplace, Reimagined
The Fireplace, ReimaginedThe SimpliFire Allusion Edge electric fireplace by Hearth & Home Technologies brings a sleek, frameless architectural presence to any room, with vivid LED flames over crystal media, four flame effects, 15 ember color options, built-in Wi-Fi, voice control, and up to 5,000 BTUs of supplemental heat — no venting or gas lines required. It’s a sophisticated, customizable blend of design and technology that proves the fireplace is still the room’s most powerful gathering point.
The Surface That Makes the Wall Come Alive
The Surface That Makes the Wall Come AliveThe Martel collection from E by Emser Tile uses a unique glazing technique to create the look and feel of handcrafted tile, with subtle variation, soft tactile texture, and a finish that shifts with the light in all the right ways. A Best of IBS winner, it’s proof that sometimes it’s not color that defines a space, but texture.