First things first: I goofed in my last post when I said the last day of the ICFF show was Monday. It was actually yesterday, when it opened to the public. Sorry about that. (It’s been a little nuts here.)

As I mentioned previously, several European—and non-European—plumbing companies that did not show at KBIS were on hand with their latest, which made the show that much more rewarding for me. In terms of ICFF’s audience and strong focus on design, I can understand their decision to appear here. It’s a very different crowd that attends each year and the show has a very different feel.

One of my first stops was Dornbracht’s booth, which offered up a range of kitchen and bath products, among them electronic systems for the shower and the kitchen, as well as Deque, a new collection of sleek, funky bath faucets designed by Sieger Design “from the inside out,” as Esther Perman, of Veeder Perman, noted. I like the line’s clean, squat look and think it well complemented by the PearlStream water flow, which features a cascade of strands of beaded drops.

Dornbracht also showed Gentle, a softer-looking line of bath faucets in chrome by Matteo Thun.

First-time exhibitor Villeroy & Boch had a modest booth that featured its Subway 2.0 line of bath products, which includes vanities and sinks in rectangular and round shapes,

as well as the +Sound mirror, which—if I remember correctly—is equipped with Bluetooth capability and six speakers, enabling you to play music from your iPod without having to plug it in. Also on display was a My Nature washbasin in this slightly off-center shape

but with a design similar to the one shown here:

Another first-timer, Blanco was serving a mocha (it was mocha, wasn’t it?) drink when I stopped by. The beverage was similar in color to its Truffle finish, which is being offered on the Silgranit II sink and as an accent on the Silgranit II faucets.

The color is attractive enough, but I suspect that the prototype display featuring the Crystalline sink and Linus faucet received much attention, as the glass cutting board can also fit over the sink when the latter is not in use—a space-saving solution that’s ideal for small New York kitchens.

Seeing a product “in the flesh” is always much better than seeing it in photos, which was certainly the case with Altmans’ Spira collection. I first came across the lav faucet when it was entered in last year’s K+BB Product Innovator Awards, where it was passed over. The real thing is pretty cool, but unfortunately, my camera doesn’t do it justice. (Hopefully, I’ll get some professional photography soon.)

It’s interesting how shower drains of late have become such eyesores demanding serious makeovers. Thankfully, several companies have come up with various solutions. One such company, Infinity Drain, showed a handful of options, including TileDrain, which features a 3/4-in.-deep grate frame that enables tile to be incorporated for a more discreet appearance.

Here’s a press image, which is pretty dramatic:

At the AFNY booth, which incidentally won an ICFF Editors Award in the kitchen and bath category, Desai/Chia followed up its award-winning Recess Lav from last year with the Surface Series, which consists of a lavatory, vertical and horizontal cabinets, a mirror, shelf and a tub. Of note, the lav has an integral shelf on top for keeping toiletries and soap (yes, there’s even a drain!). Similarly, the ends of the tub also double as a storage area.

This last image is of a resin sink from AFNY’s Bath/Walz line, which was designed by Kevin Walz and also includes a vanity and a tub. There’s something faintly archetypal about the sink and that 5 1/8-in. ledge on top, which is why I took a photo of it.

—Alice Liao

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 18th, 2011 at 5:00 PM and is filed under ICFF, Products. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.