At the best house parties, most of the action ends up in the kitchen, and that was true at the latest International Home and Housewares Show -- the biggest party in the housewares industry.

Kitchen tools were huge at this year's event, especially in silicone or colored pink, as analysts said consumers continue to turn their focus to home cooking and entertaining.

"We're spending a lot more time eating at home, eating together as a family," said Lisa Casey Weiss, lifestyle consultant for the International Housewares Association. "We're trying to find products and ways to have a meal at home."

The 2007 trade show, held March 11-13 at Chicago's McCormick Place convention center, had more than 2,000 exhibitors, one-third of them from outside the U.S., with 60,000 buyers and sellers attending.

The show isn't for consumers. It's where buyers for retail outlets from Target to specialty stores meet with manufacturers.

Several of the top trends spotted at this year's show centered on the kitchen; others had to do with home health and sprucing up the outdoors.

Silicone only looks silly

Silicone products might look more like rubber toys than bakeware, but they continue to be serious business for cookware manufacturers.

"Silicone's been very hot for us," said Karen Sullivan, senior category manager for silicone and ceramic bakeware for Lifetime Brands.

Consumers can bake, freeze and microwave silicone pans and molds, then throw them in the dishwasher. Another reason silicone has taken off: eye-popping colors and shapes. One of this year's most buzz-worthy items was a set of pull-apart silicone cupcake molds, in kid-friendly shapes like butterflies and race cars.

With eye-catching pastels and bright primary palettes replacing the metal gray of traditional baking pans and cookware, one color still stands out from the crowd: pink.

Specifically, the pale pink that's now synonymous with breast-cancer awareness. Brands such as KitchenAid and Cuisinart carry their own distinct shade, but each hue clearly links them with the movement. And each company pledges to donate a portion of its sales or proceeds to breast cancer charities.

Pink products ranged from measuring spoons to fondue pots.

"The cause-related marketing plus the pink as a trendy color, the combination has really worked," Steve Spitz, chief marketing officer for the Roshco division of Lifetime Brands, said.

Casey Weiss said she saw more bamboo at the show than ever -- and that was to the chagrin of Joanne and Tom Sullivan, owners of Totally Bamboo. They said their bamboo cutting boards used to be cutting edge.

"We (first) brought bamboo to housewares in '01, and since then it has totally exploded," Joanne Sullivan said.

The Sullivans' expanded line includes crafted countertops, work stations and carts. Nearby, TruBamboo's stall offered cutting boards and accessories.

"It's just a great material to work with," Tom Sullivan said, noting that bamboo is 16 percent harder than maple.

And bamboo is a darling of the eco-friendly design movement for its ability to quickly regenerate itself, too.

From toothbrush sanitizers to a touchless paper-towel dispenser, home products increasingly cater to people clamoring for ways to keep their spaces free of germs and bacteria.

Among air purifiers available was one small enough to fit in a standard cubicle; water-purification pitchers came in varying sizes and faucet attachments.

"We've definitely seen an uptick in the whole health and wellness trend," Amy Elliott, director of sales and planning for Brita, said.

One product along those lines: The Lotus Sanitizing System made by Tersano Inc., which uses ozonated water to sterilize vegetables, baby bottles and even home surfaces.

A portable microwave sounds like something Homer Simpson would bring camping, but industry watchers say the new WaveBox by The Frank Group is just one example of consumers looking to expand home-entertaining options outside the home.

The WaveBox, billed as the smallest microwave in the world, is powered by plug, or direct hookup to a battery or to a vehicle power socket.

Other products to turn the garden into your living space: The Cobb Portable Grill and Cooking System can smoke, roast, bake a pizza and fry foods. Harvest Enterprise carries solar-powered lights, fountains and outdoor figurines in shapes ranging from frogs and lily pads to whimsical gnomes.

The outdoors is almost like an extension of the home, the housewares association's Casey Weiss said. It's "casual, it's fun, it's a different experience, so people are investing in the outdoors."