Two of the home industry's biggest trade shows — the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show and the International Builders' Show — were held this year in Orlando. As we scouted displays and chatted with manufacturers, we noticed many of them were offering customized options, allowing consumers to take the lead in getting exactly what they want. We also spotted five trends that stood out.

Column refrigeration

You don't typically look at a refrigerator and think: "Stunning!" But now that True Manufacturing has expanded its 30-inch column line to include several new colors and hardware finishes to mix and match, it's a fair comment. The biggest eye-catcher was a custom matte black finish with stainless steel hardware.

Other finish choices: gloss black, navy, white and antique white. You can order hardware in gold, copper, stainless steel, pewter and brass.

Lined pattern

At the Mohawk booth, we saw several intriguing new products, including the Southwick Gardens carpet by Karastan, offering a modern way to see pattern on carpeting. It's lush and soft, but with a tight weave of black, white and gray that allows colors to blend subtly and create a pattern that moves with your eye. It would work with a range of interior design plans, as a rug for a midcentury modern home or wall-to-wall in a farmhouse or family room. The organic feel of the overall herringboned ikat pattern is another versatile option.

Thin is in

Several manufacturers are creating narrower, slim profiles and linear patterns, resulting in products that are structured and sleek.

Back in black

Another big trend is a matte black finish. It's been around before, but now there's much more of it across all product categories.

The Grid faucet

The Kallista booth at the kitchen and bath show had a big attraction in the corner. This seemingly magic faucet ran water through a 3-D grid pattern that seemed more air than plumbing line. It's a marvel created with 3-D pattern making and manufactured in a cast process to create those hidden water lines. This product (note the black matte finish and sleek lines) won best of show.