Porcher and JADO Announce Winners for Best in Bathroom Design

PISCATAWAY, N.J., March 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Paris sizzles as a capital of design and style. It's also now the destination for three talented designers, who will soon be on their way to France as winners of the first- ever Porcher / JADO Design Experience, a national contest created to discover and celebrate the best in bathroom designs and trends.

Porcher and JADO, makers of luxury European bathroom fixtures, invited designers from across the nation to share their ideas and talents by entering design concepts for either a powder room or a master bathroom. Designers were asked to incorporate Porcher and JADO products and accessories into their concepts.

Alex Gil of Alex Gil Design, Brooklyn, N.Y., won in the powder room category for his high-concept, boutique design, "Light From Within." In the master bathroom category, designers John Kim and Tai Moy of KIMOY Studios, New York, N.Y., were named grand prize winners for their sensual master bath design, "Daily Retreat."

Both category winners received a grand prize package valued at $15,000 including $5,000 in cash, a four-day, three-night trip for two to Paris to visit the Porcher showroom in the summer of 2007, plus a trip to Las Vegas to attend the Kitchen/Bath Industry Show & Conference (K/BIS), May 8-10, 2007. During K/BIS, elements of their inspired designs will be featured in the Porcher and JADO booth (#C3735), where the designers will informally discuss their concepts with trade show attendees.

"By combining Porcher fixtures and JADO faucets with their own design inspirations, the winners helped turn everyday spaces into something extraordinary - they transformed blank pages into their dream bathroom concepts," says Tim Maicher, luxury brand director for Porcher. "Bathroom design continues to evolve as consumers crave luxurious spa-like retreats in the comfort of their homes. We congratulate the winners of the Porcher / JADO Design Experience for bringing new inspiration to this trend."

Maicher is among the three judges who selected 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.

Winning Powder Room Design: "Light From Within"

In the powder room category, entrants were asked to transform a 5-feet by 5-feet, windowless room into a functional, modern space. Meeting this challenge, Gil's winning "Light From Within" design provides an immersive experience, capitalizing on the sophistication of Porcher's Geometrique glass basin sinks. Instead of being lit with a traditional fixture from above, the see-through basin sink and vanity are married together to form an integral light-emitting object, emphasizing the timeless quality of light.

The white, wall-mounted vanity is illuminated from within, through various apertures and surface manipulations on the underside of the basin, filling the room with a dramatic glow. The basin's round shape is echoed in the sweeping curves of JADO's elegant Glance faucet, the illuminated "halo" of the circular makeup mirror, and the curved lines of the Porcher Veneto toilet which complements a variety of styles while offering a virtually maintenance- and clog-free- flushing system.

"This room was inspired by Porcher's Geometrique sinks. It is designed specifically to realize the full potential of the glass basin. The idea is simple but the effect is contemporary, dramatic and poetic," Gil says.

Winning Master Bath Design: "Daily Retreat"

In the master bathroom category, entrants were asked to transform a 12- feet by 15-feet room into a luxurious spa-like retreat where a couple in their 50's can escape and unwind from life's daily stresses. To meet this challenge, winners Kim and Moy created "Daily Retreat."

"Bathrooms are often merely practical spaces. With our design, we decided to expand the bathroom's potential as a space for intimacy and sensuous relaxation. We chose Porcher fixtures and JADO fittings for their pure elemental qualities, allowing the daily rituals of cleansing and bathing to become luxurious possibilities," says Kim.

In the design, three surfaces designated for cleansing and relaxing- shower, vanity and bathing-feature bending and overlapping surfaces to create a seamlessly integrated interior world. For example, the floor bends into the wall, which bends into a screen. Similarly, the teak-slatted vanity countertop, featuring twin Porcher Semplice basin sinks with Alfiere faucets, ends in a curved bench where one can relax and breathe in the steam. Adding to the spa-like atmosphere is Porcher's Tetsu bathtub, which rests elegantly on a teak tub deck and is complemented with the simple geometrics of the Borma by JADO Roman tub filler. The master bath design also features the clean, contemporary styling of Porcher's L'Expression one-piece elongated toilet.

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 www.porcher-us.com. For information on JADO products, visit www.jadousa.com or call (800) 227-2734.

FCMN Contact: hcolcord@americanstandard.com

Source: American Standard Companies, Inc.

CONTACT: Consumer Media, Crystal Schweim of Carmichael Lynch Spong,
+1-612-375-8505, crystal.schweim@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/