It seems so hard to believe that it’s already been three years since our long-lasting relationship with the Delta brand first took flight, following a heightened intention to be more design-forward and innovation-driven. Reinventing the everyday isn’t easy, but the design team at Delta is doing just that, transforming those hard-working, household essentials (faucets, showers, and yes, even toilets) into functional and stunning pieces of art; pieces that would fit right into a contemporary museum. In fact, that’s exactly what Delta has done.

Recently, I had the opportunity to travel to New York and see for myself just how Delta is shaking up their product design and innovation. Most recently, with the announcement of the Delta brand’s partnership with the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum and acclaimed interior designer Bobby Berk. Yes, Queer Eye fans that Bobby Berk!! I had a chance to chat with the Interior Design guru himself during my recent trip to check out the new Delta Avvalo during National Design Week last month. (Editor’s Note: and yes, he truly is that amazing in person)

The highlight from the trip, aside from meeting Bobby Berk, was realizing how different my life would be without design. Functionality aside, when is the last time you really thought about your faucet? Or showerhead? Or toilet? If it works, it works, right? But if you stop and think about it, you begin to notice the little subtleties and nuances that make one design different from another. Form follows function. Anyone who has taken a design class or studied art is familiar with this phrase: the beauty of the design can’t overshadow the functionality or purpose of the product or message.

Delta products are functional (both the house and Studio 125, could be Delta showrooms!) and beautiful, adhering to the “form follows function” rule. What was great about this trip, was that they pushed the design even further than I could imagine. “The Delta design team and I share a belief that home design must awaken one’s senses. We strive for an environment that leverages technology without losing sight of the physical experience – a design that is both functional and emotional,” said interior designer Bobby Berk.

On behalf of the Delta Design Trust, I was invited to visit “The Senses: Design Beyond Vision” exhibition at Cooper Hewitt. During the exhibition, the brand revealed the Delta Avvalo (an Italian word meaning “to wrap” or “to drape”), a conceptual installation design that invigorates the senses through sight, touch and sound. What does this mean?! Delta is taking into consideration how the user interacts with water. The Delta Avvalo concept replaces the traditional vanity, sink, faucet structure, with one single unit, similar in design to draped cloth. The concept piece allows the user to turn the water on and off by touch, and change the water temperature with a hand gesture.

The Delta Avvalo will not be manufactured or sold, but it is a testament to the power of design and the continued innovation efforts of the Delta design team to turn the everyday into the extraordinary.
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Ed. Note: This post was sponsored by Delta. The compensation received in exchange for placement on Wit & Delight is used to purchase props, hire a photographer, write/edit the blog post and support the larger team behind Wit & Delight.

While compensation was received in exchange for coverage, all thoughts and opinions are always my own. Sponsored posts like these allow for the development of additional dynamic content to be produced, unsponsored. Thank you for supporting our partners!