30 Apr Deborah Main Mesmerized by Luxury Brand DXV

I still can’t believe I’m only on the first full day of #BlogTourNYC but it was the trip of a lifetime so there are a lot of details to share with you. #BlogTourNYC was chock full of inspiration. I want to share not just the highlights, but how the new “learning component”  made this tour so unique, and how using some of these luxury products in your home might open up a whole new world of inspiration for you too.  If you’re just joining us now, please catch up by enjoying a wide range of earlier blog posts HERE.

(Note: My trip to New York City for #BlogTourNYC, presented by Modenus, was paid for by our generous sponsors. Many thanks to DXV, Miele, BLANCO, Rutt Cabinetry, West Edge Design Fair and Prizer Hoods. Some photos identified are mine while the others are from DXV press kit. All opinions expressed are my own, unless quoted.)

I left y’all off with the gorgeous floral arranging by Tess Casey, jumped ahead to celebrate Earth Day with one of our sponsors, BLANCO, who videoed us HERE at The Architectural Digest Home Design Show, but I now bring you back to the epitome of luxury, one of our AMAZING sponsors, DXV.

But first a relaxing lunch at Eatily, sponsored by DXV. My son, who lives in Brooklyn, was very jealous that I got to go to Eatily and I now see why. Think Faneuil Hall in Boston and fill it with nothing but Italian food, and you can only imagine the endless possibilities. We didn’t really shop the market but instead were escorted up to a table at their sunny rooftop restaurant, Birreria.

#1Bonus: The first incredible #1 bonus of being on a #BlogTourNYC was being wined and dined with fabulous food.

What a treat to just walk into a dining room with a table all set waiting just for you to have a delightfully effervescent glass of Prosecco and enjoy delectable treats and conversation. Thank you DXV!

I was lucky enough to sit next to the delightful Debbie Drury, the Director of Brand Communications for American Standard,  who gave us the tour of the DXV showroom.

What I loved about the meals on this trip was that we didn’t have to order a thing, the food was all brought out to us in stages, family style.  Prosciutto, bologna (the real stuff), steak and more.  And the piece de resistance: Tiramisu like I’ve never tasted before (and I’ve tasted plenty!). Now I must confess that I’m known to on occasion be so enthralled with a dessert I will order a second one. With Den Mother, Veronika Miller’s approval (aka Founder and CEO of #BlogTourNYC and Modenus) I DID just THAT and I never regretted it for a minute!

After all of us, including some of my wonderful blog team members above, Jill Abelman, Jeffrey Johnson, and Marcy Michaud, were fortified and relaxed, we then strolled over to the sparkling new showroom of luxury brand DXV.

#2 Bonus: the 2nd highlight of attending #BlogTourNYC was that Veronika and her team had it so well paced that we never felt rushed.  They left enough time between activities so we were able to enjoy the sensory overload and take everything in.

Now what is DXV you ask? Actually the “D” stands for decades, and “XV” stands for 15 decades.  American Standard, a longtime leader in the kitchen and bath industries, is celebrating 150 years of tradition by launching the exquisite luxury brand DXV collection in their new NYC showroom.

A little background on this luxury brand:

Launched by American Standard Brands, DXV marks the celebration of the much achieved 150-years of business.  American Standards Brands is a company committed to making life healthier, safer and more beautiful whether at home, work or outside. DXV, the newly launched luxury brand, of the distinguished American Standard Brands, provides a portfolio of luxury bath and kitchen products that reinterpret the designs throughout the company’s history.

The DXV fixtures and fittings are made to today’s environmental and efficiency performance demands but with a wide range of design sensibilities, from the period charm and timeless beauty of the past to the smoothly exquisite elegance of the present. In the portfolio, one can find bath-fixtures, faucets, kitchen sinks and fittings, as well as a state-of-the-art smart toilet and bidet seats. All DXV products are sold exclusively at luxury showrooms.

DXV is the epitome of luxury, an extension or American Standards 150 year tradition, but with emphasis on pure elegance. I had already been smitten with the brand because:

• their logo is black and white, as is mine, and I love the elegant sharp look of it, and
• I had already seen the fabulous interior design videos launching the brand.

#3 Bonus:  The third highlight is the amazing learning component and luxury showrooms we were exposed to.   I was not prepared for just how gorgeous their bathroom fixtures are when seen in person!!. The minute I stepped into the new DXV showroom I was transfixed!

Really, I’ve been captivated by DXV designs ever since I happened upon the exciting “Design Panel” featuring six videos launching the brand. I heard rumor that it was the first of its kind and that Veronika Miller was the one that spearheaded this project. “Curator in chief”, Veronika invited six acclaimed interior designers (and influential bloggers) to create bathrooms and kitchens featuring the new DXV luxury products for the launch and opening of their new NYC showroom. You can see each of their work by clicking on their names below.  Each designer tells what they loved about using the DXV brand and what inspired them. The videos are exquisite! If you don’t have time now, definitely make a point to come back and view these fabulous videos and you’ll see why DXV luxury products would look fabulous in your home too!

• Corey Klassen, CKD
• Marilyn Russell
• Mary Douglas Drysdale
• Susan Serra, CKD
• Cheryl Kees Clendenon
• Meredith Heron.

This in itself was a brilliant marketing move!  By recruiting these incredibly talented designers, it put the DXV brand out in front of luxury brands and connected them to the interior design community that will be using their products. It also showed great respect for the talent of the interior design community and I truly admire DXV for their ingenuity. The projects, soon to be published in Decade XV print magazine, are also part of DXV’s efforts to establish an inspiring online and print community to discuss their experiences with DXV luxury products.

But, walking into the sparkling new showroom, what really captured my heart – the romance of this brand for me –  was how they broke their collections up into “movements”, eras if you will. And I love anything that ties a luxury brand to history!

The DXV movements:

Debbie gave us the full tour from describing in detail the movements, to explaining how the fixtures can be inter-changed and demonstrating how a toilet lights up and cleans you from, as Marc Abelman so aptly referred to, the “underpinnings.” And evidently there is a running standard joke among all BlogTour alumni that someone always lands in the tub. And that was the effervescent Typhanie Peterson.  I experimented with a tub too, but I had to enlist the strength of Marc Ableman to haul me out of the tub, whereas Typhanie got up with pure grace. Well if I was wearing her orange coat I would have too. But I think my shining glory was the toilet…..but mind you not just any toilet –   the beautiful designs of the Golden Era.

Please enjoy some of my photos interspersed with product photos courtesy of DXV as I share with you details about each movement. And by all means, please explore the DXV website to enjoy much greater detail on all their luxury products.

When you walk into the showroom one of the fist things you see on the left (as above) are the videos of the six interior designers featured to launch the DXV brand. (Please see links to their individual videos above.) Then you walk through the  DXV movements, 150 years of art and design so exquisitely displayed. I must say it was the most striking showroom I’ve ever seen.  The extraordinary thought that went into presenting the true heritage of the past 150 years through these carefully designed movements is simply breathtaking!

THE CLASSIC ERA, 1890–1920:

“A movement that saw opulence and modern technology converge. Design pushed beyond the boundaries of historicism and neoclassicism, and art and architecture lost their precise, monolithic geometries to become more fanciful and flowing, intricate and organic.” (DXV press release.)

Photography by, with permission from, DXV.

Photography by, with permission from, DXV.

THE GOLDEN ERA, 1920–1950:

Dining with DXV at Eatily and then enjoying all the divine decadence of their impeccable showroom was such a treat. I want to thank  Debbie and all her staff for such a warm welcome and for educating me on the luxury of DXV. If you are planning to remodel you’re home this spring or summer, we at Deborah Main Designs  most certainly recommend you take a peek at the bathroom and kitchen fixtures of DXV. From iconic architecture, to scaled proportions, to elegance and restrained style, you are most surely able to find a DXV product that fits your design aesthetic and life style.

Until next time, where Deborah Main Designs dives head over heels in love with Miele (and chef Cedric Vongerichten), please enjoy the videos above and bask in the “flagship portfolio” of DXV luxury products. XO PG

Note: Photography and opinions my own, except professional photography by, with permission from, DXV.