Page 31 - HW May 2021

wet areas
Design meets function – The Caroma Urbane II Tapware Collection combines function with design. Supported by five beautiful and highly durable colour finishes, including new PVD brushed brass, brushed nickel and gunmetal, as well as electroplated black and chrome, the collection can be tailored to suit a range of styles and tastes. Durable components and construction, concealed aerator with adjustable stream direction, and a WELS 6-star flow rating (4.5L/min) complete the specs.
www.caroma.co.nz
specifically “feature tapware and hardware in brushed finishes or completely handle-less with push to open hardware.”
Back in Wellington, Debra DeLorenzo says: “We’re past that urban-minimal look and integrating more texture and interest into bathrooms.”
Debra says she is wary of following trends, however: “I’m a bit of a classicist and more conscious of designs standing the test of time.”
So, while large-format, natural-looking, wood-effect tiles, and marble and travertine tiles remain very popular she’s also using “quite a bit of mosaic tiling for feature walls. In this respect, there doesn’t seem to be a middle ground.”
KEY BATHROOM ELEMENTS
Karen Candy finds vessel basins more popular than built-in, with clients opting for a concrete organic look with funky colours, especially blacks, zincs and iron sand. Tapware is all about brushed metal finishes with brass, brushed copper, and brushed gunmetal popular at the moment.
Indeed, all our designers agreed that the days of chrome tapware are long gone. “Brushed nickel, gunmetal and rose gold have all entered the market and add design flair, as do some of the new handle designs for mixers,” says Melanie Sa’u.
Back to vanities and Karen Candy, who says two bowls are better than one: “Clients like to have two vessels and a shallow tray drawer underneath each for storing personal items on their side.”
Opting for a deep, substantial-looking front face to the vanity, she says “By the time you install the vessel basins and beautiful mixers, the vanity becomes a piece of art and a feature in the bathroom.”
Karen’s customers, often an older demographic, she says, are steering away from bathtubs: “Many are travellers who say that baths are a big dust collector. A lot live in apartments and, even though they are generously sized, they don’t want a bathtub to gobble up ensuite or bathroom space.”
Debra DeLorenzo emphasises that vanities are very much a personal choice but prefers drawers to cabinets, although tall cabinets with LED mirrors offer a nice light solution, she says. “Otherwise, a feature light if there’s room, under-vanity lighting and downlights on different circuits.”
In terms of showers, Debra favours a custom-tiled shower
with channel drains. Some channel drain kits have joiners and angle joiners available for indefinite lengths and corner installations, so they can fit most spaces.
“Another option is to specify enamel on a steel base as a single unit and this situation avoids the needs for a waterproofing membrane to be laid.”
Karen Candy adds that in high-end designs, “people are really expecting that you’ll have a stainless channel drain with tile inlay in the shower rather than a traditional drain in the corner.
“The most popular shower size would be a 900 x 1200. There was a fad there for a while to have a dual shower with two shower heads, perhaps influenced by Pinterest, but I don’t think that ever really took off.
Robertson mixes it up – The Tita Progressive Shower Mixer for mains pressure applications comes with both round and square faceplates with finish options including chrome, brushed nickel, gun metal, black and brushed brass. Boasting a reduced body size with 90mm faceplate and new adhesive faceplate seal, with its cold start system Tita protects the user against injury from hot water and scalding. Temperature and flow are adjusted by one rotational motion for precise temperature control.
www.robertson.co.nz
MORE AT www.facebook.com/nzhardwarejournal
MAY 2021 | NZHJ 29