Whenever, I’m planning a space, the first things I look for are the statement pieces, in a living room that may mean the sofa or fireplace.  In a bedroom, it would be the bed and headboard, so it makes sense that in the bathroom it is going to be the bathtub.

Victoria + Albert‘s tubs are perfect when you are seeking inspiration or a starting off point. Once you have the bath sorted out, you can move on to the tiles, fixtures and lighting.  Keep in mind that these lovely baths are made out Englishcast, which is a finely ground volcanic limestone mixed with resin. It allows each tub to be made from one piece and is finished by hand.  It is naturally white with a gloss finish and has excellent stain resistance, a huge plus in the bathroom.

These are just a few that I would love to incorporate in a breathtaking bathroom.

The Barcelona 

The Calbrits

or the Toulouse below.

And I was lucky enough to try out the very comfortable Calbrits while at the Architectural Digest Home Show.

So which one would you use?

Day 2 started out with a hearty breakfast at the coffee shop, Viand, around the corner from our hotel.  Speaking of the hotel, I have to share my view with you from my hotel window.

Wait, is that a house on the roof of a nearby building?  Why yes it is, a house, complete with a front screened in porch and dormer windows.  Now I’ve seen everything!

Now back to Day 2, after breakfast we all hit the cabs for the trip to the Architectural Digest Home Show.

Upon arriving we were exhausted and thirsty, so we headed right to the Marys and Mimosas Bar, to start the day off right!  The Marys and Mimosas Event was originally started by Veronika of Modenus and has become the “must be” place at the ADHS.

                         Photo from Marys and Mimosas’ at the ADHS website

While here, we met and mingled with design royalty and other media types.  I’m still trying to keep all the names and faces straight.

Then we went on a curated tour of DIFFA’s Dining by Design headed by Barry Dixon himself.  Ok, this in itself, took up a huge amount of my camera card space, so I will just show you Barry Dixon’s space for Arteriors.  This really needs to be a totally separate post, which I promise, I will do up at a later date.

The custom designed wooden screen was my favourite part of Barry Dixon’s dining area.  It was inspired by a piece he found from an old church bell tower.  The new piece even replicated the chipped and worn paint just as the original had.

One of favourite thing in the show was the La Cornue booth.  I seriously could have just moved into this kitchen.  I loved the stainless steel island and cook tops and that wood octagon back splash was absolutely gorgeous.

I mean it was swoon worthy!

And for my coffee drinking friends, the TopBrewer by Scanomat, is total luxury. All the workings are concealed under the counter, and it is controlled by your Ipad or Iphone.  So you can customize your brew and save as a favourite, so it is perfect every time!

Another favourite was the Oborain outdoor showers in bamboo, teak or mahogany.  I can so see one of these at my cottage.  They are really beautiful in person and will hold up to the Canadian elements, with a little preventative care, of course, or you can let them weather naturally, your choice.

                          Photo from Oborain’s website

And of course, we had to keep up the Blogtour tradition of getting in at least one or two of the beautiful Victoria + Albert baths. Here’s a couple of bloggers who were more than willing to oblige.

Munter and I are in the Cabrits bath and Michael is in the ios (loved the British flag painted on the side).

The Miele booth was particularly stunning with it’s green theme. The hanging garden done by Green EcoWalls was a huge hit and perfect for any space.

And I loved the colour blocked refrigerator with the wood panelled front. If only the inside of my fridge looked like this.

The Jenn-Air booth was another highlight with its lovely fresh pop of orange.

 

In the second picture above you can see the new Jenn-Air 36″ Accolade Downdraft Ventilation System that conceals itself into the counter until needed.  It is remotely controlled and I took a couple of short videos showing how it works.

It would be ideal in a sleek and minimal kitchen or one where a traditional range hood would be in the way.

These exterior showers by Jee-O were also beautiful and sculptural.  And I think that poster in the back was meant to catch all the ladies attention.

Ok, I think the rest of the gorgeousness will have to wait for yet another post, or this post will take you hours to get through.

After an entire day of gazing at beauty and inventiveness, we were all ready for an All American New York kind of dinner, so when Veronika suggested 5 Napkin Burger, we all jumped at it.  It was all that we were expecting and more.  In fact, some of the vegetarians didn’t quite believe that their burger was really vegetarian.

The three above pictures are from 5 Napkin Burger’s website

I took these photos on the walk back to the hotel, some of New York’s famous landmarks.

So that’s the end of Day 2.   Remember, there are still two more days….

All photos not credited are my own.