Grand Prize Winners Receive Trip to Paris Plus $5,000

PISCATAWAY, N.J., July 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Porcher(R) and JADO, makers of luxury European bathroom fixtures, announce the Porcher / JADO Design Experience -- a national contest to discover and celebrate the best in home bathroom designs and trends.

The contest is open to professional designers to share their ideas and talents by entering design concepts for either a powder room or master bathroom that incorporate products from Porcher and luxury faucet maker JADO. Both brands are owned by American Standard Companies Inc. (NYSE:ASD) . The contest deadline is Oct. 31, 2006.

Two grand prizes, each valued at $15,000, will be awarded - one for the best powder room design and one for the best master bathroom design. Each winner receives $5,000 in cash, a four-day, three-night trip for two to Paris, France, to visit the Porcher showroom in the summer of 2007, and a trip for one to Las Vegas to attend the Kitchen/Bath Industry Show & Conference (K/BIS), May 8-10, 2007. During K/BIS, elements of the winning designs will be featured in the Porcher and JADO booth, where the winning designers will informally discuss their concepts with trade show attendees.

"Bath fixtures and faucets from Porcher and JADO help turn everyday spaces into something extraordinary," says Tim Maicher, luxury brand director for Porcher. "With the Porcher / JADO Design Experience contest, professional designers are invited to do the same thing - transform a blank page into their dream bathroom concept. We provide the design specifications for the contest, and entrants provide the design inspirations."

Maicher is among the three judges who will select the two grand prize winners based on design creativity, inspiring use of Porcher and JADO products, and adherence to the contest guidelines. The other two judges are Gray Uhl, director of design for American Standard; and designer Achim Pohl, co-founder of Artefakt, a German-based industrial design firm. Artefakt designed JADO's Glance Collection for the bath and kitchen. The collection, inspired by the look of waterfalls, is one of JADO's most popular and a winner of the coveted Red Dot design award.

Design Inspirations: Powder Room and Master Bathroom

The Porcher / JADO Design Experience provides general design specifications, allowing entrants to use their creativity to transform either a powder room or master bathroom space. Designers can enter only once in each category.

In the powder room category, entrants are asked to transform a 5-foot-by- 5-foot room with a total of 25 sq. feet, into a functional, modern space. Entrants determine the layout (e.g., placement of door and fixtures) within this space. The powder room doesn't have windows.

In the master bathroom category, the design challenge is to transform a room measuring 12-feet by 15-feet with a total of 180 sq. feet, into a luxurious spa-like retreat. Entrants are asked to create a master bathroom where a couple in their 50's can escape and unwind from their life's daily stresses. The master bathroom has one window -- measuring 4-feet wide and 3- feet high -- and one door leading into the room. Entrants can determine the layout (e.g., placement of doors, window, fixtures) within this space.

Designers are required to incorporate Porcher and JADO products and accessories into their concepts.

Each entry for either the powder room or master bathroom must include the following:

  * Three copies of the completed official entry form, which is posted
    online at http://www.porcher-us.com/ or http://www.jadousa.com/.
  * Three copies of the floor plan reflecting the given room specifications;
    fully dimensionalized in half scale.
  * Three copies of any perspective views of the powder room or master
    bathroom to illustrate the Porcher and JADO products; submitted
    unmounted on paper no larger than 11 inches by 17 inches.
  * Three copies of color renderings showing the materials, furnishings and
    other design elements.
  * Three copies of a summary no longer than 500 words explaining the design
    theme and concept, how it relates to current bathroom design trends, and
    why the Porcher and JADO products and accessories were selected.

  Professional Designers Invited to Enter by Oct. 31

Porcher / JADO Design Experience is open only to certified kitchen and bath designers, professional interior designers and members of the design community. For complete contest rules and regulations, as well as an entry form, please visit http://www.porcher-us.com/ or http://www.jadousa.com/. Entries must be submitted by Oct. 31, 2006, to:

  Porcher / JADO Design Experience
  c/o Carmichael Lynch Spong
  800 Hennepin Avenue
  Minneapolis, MN 55403

Porcher and JADO are luxury brands from American Standard, the world's largest manufacturer of bath and kitchen products. For information on Porcher products, call (866) 455-6118 or visit http://www.porcher-us.com/. For information on JADO products, visit http://www.jadousa.com/ or call (800) 227- 2734.

Source: American Standard Companies Inc.

CONTACT: Consumer Media, Kelly Epley of Carmichael Lynch Spong, +1-312-
951-8392, kepley@clynch.com; or Trade Media, Nora DePalma of Building Profits Inc., +1-770-772-4726, ndepalma@building-profits.com

Web site: http://www.americanstandard.com/
http://www.porcher-us.com/
http://www.jadousa.com/