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Clean living [identity (United Arab Emirates)](identity (United Arab Emirates) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) The day starts and ends in the bathroom - a space that today takes care of not just basics and beauty. As a result, this space's importance in domestic life has grown, just as the role of the kitchen has morphed beyond its once utilitarian confines. The bathroom is a space to be used and dwelled in, full of multipurpose potential. As the wash area shifts well beyond its strictly functional role, new technology and a desire for customisation have freed the space from its previous confines. Taking its cues from nearby living spaces, the bathroom is being transformed into an individualised living room-like oasis influenced by the same trends as those witnessin the rest of the home. Sensory experiences, technology and individuality pervade the design ethos of this year's freshest introductions. "If, on one hand, the presentation of the bathroom world at the Salone del Mobil draws on the proximity of furnishing, with warm, domestic environments, on the other, it is safe to generalise this trend, with the statement that bathrooms have definitively shaken off the Calvinist aesthetic that saw them as purely functional and private spaces in which ablutions were performed as rapidly as possible, eschewing any sort of narcissistic pleasure," notes a trend report from Milan's 2014 furniture fair and its biannual satellite expo Salone Internazionale del Bagno. "We now seem to have fallen for the opposite excess, attempting to transform even the briefest toilette into a spa." As one of the more private corners of the home, away from the hustle and bustle of the main living area, the bathroom has come to hold a unique role in the home and our psyches. Health care, relaxation and wellness coalesce here and amid a backdrop of busy schedules, multiple uses and changing technology, this space has grown in importance. "The bathroom of today needs to be one's sanctuary from the daily machinations of everyday life, as well as a place of inspiration and contemplation, all the while enabling a number of different functional requirements," says Hamish Kofoed, design manager with New Zealand's Mico Design. Furthermore, adds the Salone trend brief, the "bathroom space is becoming more and more a space for relaxation and health care... integrating wellness space into the bathroom is becoming the standard, not as a characteristic of luxury but [as a necessity] of longer life-spans." LIVING ROOM STYLEThe bohemian, mix-and-match look prevalent throughout the home in the past few years is giving way again to more streamlined looks. Wash-place designs are shifting toward the minimalistic for an uncluttered home and mind. Yet this is not like the sterility witnessed a decade ago. It is drawing on a design vocabulary similar to that found in the living room. On one hand people crave comfort and cosiness, yet they won't give up a refined look. They seek style and luxury. Top European bath players are presenting their new introductions in settings that are living-room-esque. Elements of these fresh looks might include plush area rugs, art work, occasional seating, end tables and floor lamps, with bathroom fittings and systems blurring the lines. For instance, a major direction in living room design for 2014 was the use of floating wall shelves, as opposed to larger floor-to-ceiling wall systems. Floating shelves are an airier alternative and help break up a wall, while still allowing space to showcase art or perform a more functional role. In the wash chamber as well, manufacturers have begun replacing floor cabinets with lighter, floating elements. For instance, Agape's Flat XL, designed by Benedini Associati, features a range of wall-hung modular shelving options, with countertops available in thicknesses of 3, 6 and 12cm. The Italian brand presented the collection in one case simply by selecting an extra-long yet slender teak wood-finished countertop with two clear glass sinks. Duravit presented its new Vero ceramic washbasin, set in a wall-hung, slim vanity. In many instances, washbasin consoles are paired with another unit, sometimes in a different finish, hung at another height to add dimensionality to the bath landscape. Which is also how German bath manufacturer Alape showcased its new modular A-system init line of furniture and countertops. In washrooms where storage requirements are high, designers are using several different shapes of cabinetry, all floating at different heights, such as tall cabinets, slender counter tops for sinks and a slightly thicker vanity with drawers. This is how Idea Group and Archeda presented their bathroom designs, which are as sleek as they are functional, at the 2014 fairs. "A bathroom can be very contemporary, but also feature plenty of visual interest," says London architect and interior designer Shalini Misra. "After years of plain surfaces and clinical styling, pattern and texture are back and there is a heightened focus on luxurious traditional materials such as enamelled cast iron and vitreous china." What's more, as with living room and kitchen furnishings, top washroom participants are beginning to equip more of the washroom elements with integral lighting to add another layer of depth to their products. For example, Duravit's Vero can include optional LED ambient lighting below the console to create a relaxed atmosphere, and Agape's backlight rectangular Narciso mirror glows softly. going grainMisra's observations above hit on two major directions being taken in the bath. One follows many contemporary designs that in the tradition of Japanese minimalism look to natural materials to provide pattern, via veining or grain, an texture for a quiet and simple yet reassuring approach. Hence, natural materials abound, whether marble or wood. What's more, adding natural woods or woodlik man-made materials to the bathroom lends warmth that keeps it from looking too sterile or clinical. A number of bathroom furniture-makers have introduced wood into their mix of finishing materials. Some examples include Alape's A-system init, available in real wood or wood-like finish, Agape's Flat XL in teak finish, Duravit's new streamlined Vero series, available in light oak finish, and Arlex Italia's Takai collection of vanities and cabinets, available in a durable, rich wood-finished veneer. The Italian bathroom outfitter showcased the Takai range in a bathroom setting featuring two extra-long vanities, suspended at differing heights and hung a large square-shaped storage cabinet in the same 'wood essence' finish on an adjacent wall for a downto- arth Zen-friendly styling. "Natural materials are dominant - marble and wood, and metal and glass," states Croatian architect Izabela Nini, of the major directions of 2014. "Whether it is a rustic, industrial or refined atmosphere, smooth or embossed surface ... wood is the most prominent material this season. Among the most popular metals are copper and matte painted metals. The glass is tinted in brown, orange or bluish hues, but rarely completely transparent. There are also many composite materials that are most commonly used in kitchens and bathrooms" In terms of natural materials, Salone Bagno was awash with timber - wood for walls, for vanities for counter tops, as well as basins and baths. It's a finish that reflects the continued desire to connect with nature - it is welcoming, nurturing and organic. We have seen a glimmer of its growing popularity in the washroom in the past few years, vis a vis introductions of wooden bath tubs (such as Agape's rectangular freestanding Woodline tub), sinks (such as Rapsel's One wood slat version) and wood-emulating ceramic tiles (such as Woodside by Italian porcelain tile maker Ramacieri Soligo). Yet wood's use as a large-scale design element of the bathroom is taking off with fresh architectural applications. Slatted wood on floors, walls and/or ceilings gives a washroom a warm, honest vibe; as does oversized decorative wood-tile wall panels. "Timber and timber-veneer surface treatments are a dominant leading edge trend for 2015," notes Mico Design's Kofoed. "Taking cues from stone palettes with interesting new 'cool greige' tones provides textural interest in both bathrooms and kitchens." METAL MATTERSWood isn't the only material featured so heavily in the top furnishings fairs earlier this year. New products are working with metals; not the sleek, glossy cold steels and chromes but their homelier counterparts. These metals are being shown off in sophisticated concepts but some designers are taking a more industrial approach (think exposed plumbing) to bring something fresh to the washroom. "It's true that copper is currently trending and will continue to be very relevant within the interiors sector, but in our current trend presentations we have been discussing brass. It's back, big time!" says Victoria Redshaw, lead futurist of UK trend agency Scarlet Opus. "It's been quite a while since warm metal fixtures and fittings have been considered 'on trend' - the lavish gold taps of the 1980s represent consumers' last romance with a yellow metal. Since then we've had years and years of cold white metals - stainless steel, chrome, nickel. But the warmer metals, including copper and now also brass and bronze, are making a very welcome return. Brass is glamorous without being ostentatious. It has a pleasing soft patina and therefore antiqued and brushed finishes are favoured rather than high-shine polished bling. It also gives a sense of heritage, warmth and comfort which is currently very desirable." Dornbracht commissioned German design firm Sieger to make-over its elegant MEM fittings to offer the MEM Refinement range in an au courant finish it calls Cyprum, an exclusive pairing of 18-carat pink gold and copper. Maker Rapsel asked Marco Merendi to create its new Amarcord tub. Merendi, inspired by Victorian era slipper tubs, where one end is raised, has updated an historic shape, wrapping it in a luxurious sheet of copper for a perfect combination of old and new. Arik Levy also gives us his contemporary version of copper in the bath for Spanish bathroom brand Ibani. His delicate Bowl collection, conceived of as a piece of jewellery, mixes white ceramic with copper and marble. Wall-mounted or freestanding mirrors in copper frames, and cage-like storage compartments available in copper or powder-coated metal, are incorporated into a series of freestanding and wall-mounted washbasins and tables. Luxury bath brand Bisazza, best known for its mosaic tiles, recently issued its first anitary collection. The chic Hayon collection, named after the Spanish designer who created the range, Jamie Hayon, recalls a 1930s feminine glamour. The series of curvaceous basins are set upon delicate legs that can be finished with copper plating. "The collection recalls the glamour of the 1930s with a Scandinavian touch and feminine shapes," states the young designer of his new programme. "Elegance is the main trait of this innovative collection. The bathroom is the most important room in the home and it should not be hidden. With this collection, it becomes an area you want to show, a place you can keep open. The bathroom becomes a stylish room, full of charm and style, with a strong identity." According to the Salone trend report, this revivalist vogue is a major direction among many new introductions, with some manufacturers digging through their archives for 'classics' to rediscover and re-purpose; while others are looking to historic forms for inspiration. Like the Hayon pieces for Bisazza, come several introductions of a similar vein. Italian firm Antonio Lupi has released a console with legs called Armonia, which is carved from American walnut. The Hayon collection and Antonio Lupi's IlBagno and Armonia were all inspired by earlier company models - likewise the updated classic style of the elegant Agorà collection by Zucchetti Kos. "Agorà is a rediscovered project," recalls its designer. "[It was] designed in the thirties and then forgotten in the rush of modernity that took place in Italy after the war. Discovering the old drawings in the archives and reworking them, keeping their original skin as a wrapping for today's technologies, was like learning through study. We looked backwards in order to look ahead with even more awareness." The recent debuts from Antonio Lupi, which include Armonia, Accordo and the IlBagno tub, designed by Roberto Lazzeroni, turned to the company's past, reinventing it for modern tastes. "The IlBagno collection is highly emotional, with the texture of the wood species and the clever use of colour lacquer, and creates an intimate and refined look," says Lazzeroni. "IlBagno is a sophisticated reinterpretation of classic forms and designs with elegant lines." The recent past is also being explored by revisiting a rough/luxe industrial styling - think brassy surfaces, raw materials, and exposed copper piping and plumbing fixtures. This direction is a quirky utilitarian counterpoint to the luxurious home spa trend being pursued by many. From US maker Watermark Design comes a new range, Elan Vital, that exposes the plumbing of its bathroom faucets and fittings. And Alape's enamelled AG bucket sink in white with a grey PVC lip is reminiscent of Industrial Age utility sinks. TECH SUPPORTA desire for bespoke looks, even if items are machine-made and available to all, has become possible thanks to technological advances. Production breakthroughs, new materials and design innovations have led to bathrooms that can be tailored to individual needs. It has allowed product designs to be taken to the next level, not only in terms of functionality but also of aesthetics. "The bathroom has evolved from a practical space to a significant living area and can today be fitted-out to suit the owner's individual tastes," notes Daniel Dorgau, a manager at Alape. "New modular systems are designed with the user in mind and are intended to open up a range of possibilities for creating unique wash places with a truly personal touch." Adds New York architect Hayes Slade: "Technology allows us to more readily customise spaces," he says, pointing out that the desire for an individual, tailored space has become increasingly demanded. "People no longer simply want a standard bathroom; they want something that is unique to their needs and eccentricities," he adds. Looking beyond aesthetics, technology has allowed many to bring a spa-like environment home and transform the space into a lounge-like setting. Mirrors that convert to TVs, hidden speakers in the medicine cabinet or mirror that stream smart phone music, and hidden lighting that can change colour to create a range of moods, are all 21st-Century advances that have transformed the bathroom into a space where you want to hang out. But technology has also made it possible to bring the spa experience home via chroma, aroma or hydrotherapy. At Parisian furniture fair Maison & Objet, held this month and in January, trend spotter François Bernard created an exhibit of his interpretation of the show' predicted mega-trend dubbed Experiential. His exploration was subtitled Sharin Experiences. "Digital words now allow us to design new systems for sharing sense experiences. Interconnectedness is creating innovative relationships between man and object, man and space. Animated objects have led to better living. Wonderful design is giving shape to a kind, poetic way of thinking about everyday life, in which technologies seek to materialise the invisible." Perhaps no room in the house is more aptly suited to this study of our relationship to technology than the bathroom. Armani/Roca, for instance, transforms showering into a sensual experience, with a single control that changes the shower stream from a rain shower from the ceiling to a cascade spout, swivelling jets or a hand-held. Meanwhile, Massimiliano Settimelli has designed a multifunctional shower-head for Italian bathroom fittings maker Webert; Air features several allows for a stream, a rain shower or both. The just-introduced, wall-mounted shower head Closer, designed by Diego Grandi for Zucchetti.Kos, features a horizontal/vertical swivel system reminiscent of mid-century task lamps. It allows the jet of water to be pointed in different directions and lets the water flow freely all over the body massaging gently or firmly. "Extremely flexible, adjustable and extendible, my aim with Closer is to reinvent the shower as a moment of personalised, regenerating, relaxing well-being," says Grandi. Bossini, another leader in spa products, has used technology to deliver a range f water therapies home, with its chromotherapy jets, vertical rain jets, and waterfall spouts. Its new Dream 2-3-4 shower head is available with a traditional ide rain jet, a soft nebulised jet, a powerful cascade, a rain waterfall spray or a natural kneipp jet. The system also functions with RGB LED lights for added therapeutic benefit. Also expected to gain more traction in the residential arena is the inclusion of saunas or steam rooms to the wellness area. The HSH (Home Sweet Home) sauna, created by Milan-based studio Meneghello Paolelli Associati for Italian maker Glass 1989, is a sauna cabin meant to be enjoyed. It features a sloping roof and glazed façade, and can be equipped with furniture and a number of small accessories such as a clock, wooden rugs and stove. "It's quite playful as it holds a series of concepts and components found in typical daily life," say designers Sandro Meneghello and Marco Paolelli. "Our memory dictates a sauna associated with a four-sided box, which is closed and monochromatic. HSH discards this concept and presents itself as a metaphor of the house - an iconic silhouette with sloping roof and browned glass wall resembling the façade of a penthouse. On first sight it is a small chocolate waiting to be unwrapped, that you can taste only bit by bit, discovering the various components that make it up." Glass 1989 also released a new modular, pick-and-choose approach to wellness called Pasodoble, which features five areas offering different functionality. Packaged in a clean-cut contemporary style, the modules can be used individually or combined to create a personal wellness area: from a simple shower or steam area to an integrated shower and hammam area to Finnish sauna. Steam showers, which convert shower stalls to steam rooms, are also gaining in popularity. "We are seeing the mainstreaming of the 'home spa', with an ever-increasing proportion of customers demanding a more sensory experience from their product selection," notes Kofoed. "Discerning consumers are gravitating towards luxury features such as two-person bathing or showering with overhead rain cans, side water jets, massage jet functionality, steam showers and the like, as these former luxuries become more and more affordable for the design-conscious." SPA AMENITIES"I think people today are getting much more discerning when it comes to accessories for the bathrooms, whether it is in a hotel or in their homes," says Sandra Kapp, manager of aromatherapy purveyor Luxury Visions-Dubai and founder of high-end linen boutique Bea e Martina Boutique. Kapp has sought out some of Europe's top bath linen makers, bath and beauty products and home fragrance perfumers to stock Bea e Martina. For instance, she selected both Belgian label De Witte Lietaer and Italian brand Mastro Raphaël for their high quality and sumptuousness. Home goods exposition Ambiente in Frankfurt debuted a new product segment, Luxury Scents, at its 2014 expo earlier this year. "It is not only form and colour that provide your own home with that distinctively individual touch," states the fair's trend report. "Precious fragrances also add to your personal sense of well-being and are in ever greater demand in the premium segment." From towels to reed diffusers and room sprays, little gestures can go a long way. "Bathroom accessories play a very important role today in helping to create a super spa feeling, even in the smaller home bathroom. Furthermore, these accessories foster an atmosphere that responds to the need of tranquillity with natural palettes in towels, bathrobes and a selected natural aromatherapy fragrance. They are the elevated essentials that'll make your daily bath routine a luxe experience." (c) 2014 Motivate Publishing. All rights reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info). |