The 2008 Best in Class Kitchen & Bath Survey rated the highest brand awareness, use and preference of the top building industry manufacturers and their products. The respondents were randomly selected from the magazine's readership and completed our survey via e-mail between December 2007 and January 2008.

Our survey spans the gamut from cabinets to bathroom faucets. Merillat and Kraftmaid, for example, continue to be top companies custom builders look for to deck out their kitchens and bathrooms. In the past year, both companies have released upgrades such as roll-out trays, self-closing hinges and durable protective finishes. Despite a smaller share in awareness, American

Shown is Kohler's HiRise deck-mounted pot filler kitchen faucet. Kohler ranked especially high in the survey.

Synthetic marble maker Corian and laminate producer Formica each share the same numbers in awareness and nearly the same in use within the past months. However, it seems installers prefer to work with Corian in the field. Engineered stone producer Silestone, though neck-and-neck with use, outranks acrylic solid surface makers Wilsonart in preference in the field.

In appliances, it better be stainless steel and rapier-sharp. GE carries the widest awareness. Whirlpool and KitchenAid are within hairs of each other in use and preference. SubZero, while ranking high in awareness, doesn't see as much love in the preference category, undoubtedly due to its higher price points.

Attachments, especially ones that are integrated into the faucet itself, are in. Moen, with its ChoiceFlow system, and Kohler, with its integrated pull-down options, hold the top spot. Delta's new Diamond water delivery system may help it move up a notch for next year's survey.

On the bathroom side of the faucet debate, Kohler carries awareness and use over its competitors, but not by much. Though Kohler ranks higher in use over the past 18 months, Moen ranks a few percentage points over the Kohler, Wis., faucet makers in product preference.

Though there is no overall winner in our survey, it is clear the big names like Kohler, Moen and GE are at a particular advantage over their competition.