(NC)—Is there any bathroom fixture that has changed more over recent years than the toilet? First there was the high efficiency toilet, followed by the higher efficiency dual flush toilet – and from American Standard such ground breakers as the “plunger free” Champion and the even higher efficiency H2Option. Now they are raising the bar again with the American Standard and Porcher Luxury Performance Toilet Collection – LXP to the initiated.

Some background here. The two companies (they are both part of American Standard Brands) have long specialized in the “total bathroom” concept of bathroom fixture design. If for example, you like the looks of the American Standard Tropic Collection (and who doesn’t?) you’ll have a choice of co-ordinating counter tops, washbasins, pedestal sinks, faucets and showers, storage units, mirrors, towel rails and three toilets.

Correction – four toilets – there is now also an LXP Toilet in the Tropic style. The key word is luxury. I asked Gary Uhl, design director for American Standard Brands, about the “style” element here. He surprised me.

“Our design inspiration came from furniture, which is interesting”, he said. “During the Renaissance chamber pots were often disguised as furniture.”

So, these luxury one-piece toilets have personality and presence, but

how about performance? “The less water a toilet uses, the harder the water has to work,” explains Graeme Lennox, marketing manager for American Standard in Canada. “Our engineers have developed multiple ways to boost efficiency, and they all come together to put the Performance into LXP.”

Graeme also counted off a number of ways that the LXP toilets make life easier and more comfortable – an anti-bacterial surface treatment, EverClean, over the entire fixture, a choice of elongated bowls and extra height for greater comfort, and a slow-close seat that keeps things quiet, much appreciated in the wee small hours of the morning.

American Standard offers one-piece Luxury Performance Toilets in their Antiquity, Boulevard, Savona, Town Square and Tropic Collections, while from Porcher come LXP toilets in their Archive, Chapeau, Ovale (two versions ) and Veneto Collections. Most models are available in both 6 and 4.8 lpf, and therefore qualify for rebates. You can find price, availability, and a nearby supplier online at www.americanstandard.ca.

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