Audio Visual Solutions

Crestron Opens Doors to NYC Design Showroom

by Lindsey Adler

During my private tour of Crestron’s brand-new NYC showroom, I witnessed a perfect example of how this particular space will greatly benefit the company when former New York Giants offensive lineman Shaun O’Hara wandered in. He was in the building with his wife checking out some furniture at the Ralph Lauren showroom on the same floor. Apparently an avid fan of the Crestron system in his home, he was pretty pumped when he saw the Crestron sign on the floor. With the fast-paced trend of technology developments, O’Hara easily found some new features his home doesn’t have yet.

Crestron’s NYC Showroom is in NYC’s D&D Building, the perfect location to court any upscale design professional or high-end homeowners.

Crestron’s showroom is up on the fourth floor of the exclusive Decoration and Design (D&D) Building, an interior design mecca facing Bloomingdales on the Upper East Side—the perfect location to court any upscale design professionals or high-end homeowners.

A major reason Crestron chose this location is to attract more interior design professionals. Bryan Celli, the showroom manager, said the space will host both AIA (American Institute of Architects) and ASID (American Society of Interior Designers) presentations. Crestron is also developing a designer partner program that will include educational sessions, an incentive program, and a network of dealers that are experienced with interior designers specifically. “We’ve been trying to teach and educate the interior designers,” Celli said.

This designer marketing push is “an initiative to communicate to the end user,” Celli said.

It’s also an area that Crestron thought could use some attention; a West coast version is set to open in West Hollywood’s Pacific Design Center (PDC) soon. “It’s been something that we’ve realized we need to do,” Celli added.

Nothing, it appeared to me, was held back from this installation. There were even a few newer products on display, including Crestron’s in-wall and tabletop iPad mounts, and the 24-inch V24 touchscreen, the latter of which was particularly well placed in a kitchen setting. Users can browse the web for recipes and display them on the wall while cooking, or order groceries while taking inventory of what they need. While there are iPads and Samsung Galaxy, Android operating tablets alike integrated with the rooms, Crestron is a big proponent of dedicated touchpanels as well, and this big-screen version articulated that philosophy.

Crestron’s showroom also features a dedicated window shade display studio, which is devoted to Crestron’s soon-to-be-announced shading offerings. These will feature Syrento silent motors, wire and wireless options, and more than 500 material options, including solar, privacy, and woven wood offerings.

Bryan Celli, Crestron’s NYC showroom manager, with the 24-inch V24 touchpanel.

On adding shades to the product lineup, Celli said “We’re streamlining it, and we’re putting it on one platform. We’ll be able to control shades differently than we’ve ever been able to because it’s our own language.”

The shade studio’s walls feature square sections with light boxes for previewing shade material samples and examining their opacity. There’s also a decorative, sectioned window design—effectively a second interior window, set to slide on tracks—equipped to hang the shade swatches in front of natural light. That particular display caught the attention of one visiting decorator that, without realizing its functionality, thought it was a great way to conceal the unsightly windows many Manhattan apartments have.

The tour concluded in a space less common in showrooms: a technology design studio showcasing Crestron’s full suite of products. With this standalone display, people can see how the technology works together in an aesthetic way, then walk into the technology design studio and see all the available options lined up next to each other.

The showroom is currently in a soft-opening phase, and interested dealers are encouraged to make an appointment at showroom.crestron.com. A grand-opening event is expected to take place sometime after New Year’s. Check out a slide-show of the tour here.