Riviera Reporter
Riviera Reporter
THE FRENCH RIVIERA'S ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWS MAGAZINE
THE FRENCH RIVIERA'S ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWS MAGAZINE

Home Style: Now you can tap in to that dream bathroom

Homestore Bathroom

What’s your vision of the perfect bathroom? Elegance and efficiency come at the top of most people’s list, but here’s a new concept for the wish list: individuality.

Up until now there have been limits on how much of our own personality we could put into how a bathroom looks and feels, limits set by the ranges on display or in the catalogues of the bathroom specialists in the high street and on the trading estate.

Yes, you’ll usually end up with a smart new bathroom, but there may be half-a-dozen just like it down your rue.

Now Home Store have launched an initiative to change all that. Their aim is to make the salle-de-bain a room for self-expression.

ShowerUsing the very latest products from top manufacturers Burgbad and Hansgrohe, they are able to provide customers with truly made-to-measure bathrooms, tapping into the fantastic new colours and designs.

Normally a bathroom is planned; with the new “Conceptwall” approach it seems better to describe it as being “composed”, a domestic work of art that reflects the imagination of the creator.

This new generation of dream bathrooms enables you to mix different combinations of surfacing materials, light and colour to a stunning effect. Storage solutions abound; although the trend is towards shallower units – to maximise the impression of space – the mix and match wall units can vary in depth to suit the wall and the room.

So now a bathroom can be fitted with cupboards that blend into – rather than loom out of – the bathroom design, but also give you the shelf space you need, and are easy to clean and maintain.

One of the most eye-catching concepts involves the use of over-sink units that appear to “float” due to the lightness and cleverness of the design.

The surface options available in today’s bathroom are quite simply stunning. Brilliant acrylics made from a new generation of eco-friendly paint materials. Cool ceramics that have graduated from sinks to facings. The latest ways with wood. Bring on the latest colours and you’ll be truly spoilt for choice.

With all this emphasis on design, it’s good to know that details on the inside have not been neglected. The drawers of the low units are fitted with non-slip surfaces, and include a moveable and extendable interior division. In the upper units, electric sockets are integral, as are holders for hair-dryers and cups.

These days the shower has conclusively won against the tub in the battle of the bathroom. The size of some walk-in showers obviously means that in a normal-sized bathroom there isn’t room for the two. A great deal of design ingenuity has gone into the super-chic shower floor. Subtle engineering means that the shower floor seems to be flat, with no unsightly ridges and rims, but a gentle slope takes the water away. Even in a smaller “shower cabin”, what used used to be called a “shower tray”, where you stepped up into something like a footbath, the flat floor is making for smooth lines and banishing the danger of stubbing your toe.

Lamp ShowerLamp ShowerIn the brave new bathroom built for the individual you wouldn’t expect to find just any ordinary old taps. One of the star performers from the Axor range from Hansgrohe has been designed by Phillippe Starck – it’s the smoothest way to run water you could possibly imagine. This, like all the Axor taps, showerheads (including the remarkable “LampShower”) and accessories, is available in polished or brushed metal in six metallic shades from gold to black chrome – more delightful choices to be made.

Also available from Axor is a tap with a very select form of personal expression: your coat of arms mounted at the centre.

Can’t get a more individualised bathroom than that.

For more see www.homestore.fr

Popular: Lifestyle