Leading bathroom manufacturer, Ideal Standard, has announced the latest addition to its i.life B range – a Glossy Grey finish is available on a selection of i.life B’s vanities, toilets, and bidets.
Designed in collaboration with the Italian studio Palomba Serafini Associati (PS+A). The entire collection is built to be flexible, offering various models for both large family bathrooms and smaller ensuites.
Ideal Standard’s Singular™ approach ensures compatibility since any of Ideal Standard’s portfolios can be brought together to create tailored solutions without compromising.
The manufacturer offers matching furniture options and shower trays in grey, with various models to suit any space. Partnering perfectly with the glossy grey finish, Ideal Standard’s range of Silk Black fittings, accessories, and shower enclosures enable customers to create a fully coordinated look. Equally, the new grey ceramics can be combined with Ideal Standard’s wide range of brassware collections in chrome or durable PVD colours for fully tailored solutions and truly cohesive space.
i.life B also boasts powerful flushing technology, while the lack of an overhanging rim means these WCs are easier to clean for a more hygienic space.
Making the installation process more accessible, the innovative EasyFix+ installation system means wall-hung toilets can be installed faster and by just one person – saving time and resources.
Ideal Standard’s UK marketing director, Leanne Martin said: “The i.life bathroom collection provides a smart, adaptable collection where design, comfort, and hygiene all come together. No matter the size or shape of your bathroom, i.life can bring style to any space, and the addition of Glossy Grey to this range offers a contemporary and sophisticated look.”
‘Quiet Luxury’ is a trend into a movement that brings understated elegance into a space. This trend has been gaining recognition within the interior design sphere of late.
Influenced heavily by trending interiors that favour understated craftsmanship and quality design over mass trend-led styling and overbranded buys, ‘Quiet Luxury’ requires each design decision to be conscious, considered and refined.
In a recent YouGov study, it was found that 23% of UK adults view the environment as one of the top three most important issues currently facing the country1. Since their research began in 2011, YouGov noted that those acknowledging environmental issues as important matters have steadily risen over the past decade, from having hovered between 5%-9% until 2014 to consistently staying above 20% ten years on. The societal demand and continued awareness around sustainability is a key driving trend for manufacturers to provide premium performance showers that cater to an eco-friendly and environmentally conscious lifestyle.
GROHE lifestyle & portfolio
With quality, sustainability, and human-centric design at the core of the GROHE product portfolio, GROHE says it naturally embodies the ‘Quiet Luxury’ approach to design and specification. Alongside premium quality products created with expert craftsmanship in timeless designs, the portfolio is subtly equipped with GROHE’s innovative technologies to deliver the very best in experience as well as offering sustainable benefits.
GROHE & Caesarstone Collaboration
GROHE’s latest collaboration with premium quartz surfaces brand Caesarstone, for their brand-new Private Collections, is an extension of GROHE’s beloved premium models, Atrio and Allure Brillant. The collection provides a customisable design experience with a choice of colour, finish, material, and handle options.
Integrated within a number of the fitting’s body is GROHE’s water-saving technology, EcoJoy, which reduces the water flow by up to 50%, without compromising on performance.
Sustainable design
GROHE recently announced Spring 2024 as the market launch of its first-ever water-recycling shower GROHE Everstream. The shower system is currently being field tested and a training programme for installers is expected to start in the second half of 2023. In addition, GROHE is also aiming to have all GROHE concealed showers water-recycling-ready by 2030. GROHE Everstream has been designed to create the showering experience users expect but consuming as little fresh water as possible – and using far less energy. The Everstream system uses as little as a quarter of the water and a third of the energy typically required by traditional showers.
As one of the most versatile and widely specified products from Schlüter-Systems, Schluter-KERDI-BOARD finds applications for both retrofit and new-build installations, with different thicknesses of the extruded polystyrene (XPS) panel providing a stable and waterproof substrate for natural stone and ceramic tiling.
The panels are available in thicknesses of 5, 9, 12.5, 19, 28, 38 and 50mm and are easily installed across existing masonry, concrete, timber stud frames or lightweight metal framing, with panels featuring parallel grooves also available for creating rounded surfaces, such as for seating or curved walls. With all thicknesses available in 1.25 m or 2.6 m lengths, both by 62.5 cm wide, KERDI-BOARD is frequently used to create work-surfaces, breakfast bars, islands and vanities.
A handy guide can be downloaded from the Schlüter-Systems website which can assist both specifiers and tradespeople in picking the right panel for an application. For instance, 12.5 mm is the minimum thickness recommended for use where a stud frame is constructed to 400 mm centres. The largest three thicknesses should be considered for construction purposes, while there are also special L-shaped and U-shaped panels for use as pipe boxing, and prefabricated niches in different sizes – with or without lighting – to create storage within walls.
Both sides of the KERDI-BOARD panels have a waterproof, cement-free reinforcement layer, which offers an ideal surface for standard tile adhesive, either fully embedded or using the dot and dab method. Printed lines aid accurate cutting using a utility knife or power tools.
Award-winning bathroom supplier HiB has released two new ranges to enhance its illuminated mirror offering.
Both designed in their own distinct style, with a range of practical features, the Arcane and Cassini mirrors are perfect for use above a bathroom vanity unit and across other areas of the home.
Cassini’s clean and modern design concept makes it a versatile mirror suitable for a variety of spaces. With no straight edges, a deep band of illumination around the mirror and a chamfered diffuser to create a gentle glow, the Cassini Curve and Round both offer soft styling that focuses on maximising illumination.
The Cassini mirrors are operated using a touchless sensor and feature integrated colour temperature-changing technology and a heated pad to reduce condensation on the mirror’s surface, greatly enhancing the user experience after a bath or shower.
The Arcane range also includes a heated pad and touchless operation to operate the mirror’s color temperature changing-enabled illumination. Available in two finishes, black and brushed brass, with Curve, Round and Pill shapes in a variety of sizes, there is plenty of choice to suit every style of bathroom and requirements.
Ash Chilver, HiB sales director, said: “Round and curved mirrors have a strong popularity among bathroom designers and these new ranges offer a plethora of options that maximise style, while also offering the features we know our customers love.
“Each mirror has been designed to be hung portrait or landscape, opening up wider options for installation within a bathroom design. It’s fantastic to see Arcane and Cassini launched as our latest products to the market and I am looking forward to watching them flourish.”
Also new for 2023 is the 100cm Bellus mirror, an expansion to the existing Bellus range in a larger dimension, perfect for offering extra drama and opulence to the space.
HiB is a major supplier to UK and Irish Bathroom Retailers and is a market leader in innovative bathroom products such as mirrors, cabinets, lighting and furniture. With more than 30 years of experience in the industry, the company is renowned for providing innovative, creative solutions which make bathrooms beautiful and substantially improves the lives of retailers, partners and the wider community.
Since HiB was established in the 1990s, the company has grown significantly. From humble roots as a fledgling business founded by Chairman Warren Ginsberg, to a 100 plus-strong operation with centres both in New Southgate, North London and a 85,000 Sq.ft national distribution site near Tamworth in the Midlands, the company has been responsible for many bathroom industry ‘firsts’.
While tiles have been a popular choice for bathroom walls for many years, Google searches for ‘bathroom tile alternatives’ have increased by 48 per cent over the last three months. So why exactly are a growing number of homeowners exploring tiles alternatives for their bathroom, and what does this mean for retailers and installers?
The manufacturing process of tiles is particularly energy intensive. Considering that the cost of energy traditionally represents around 50 per cent of a tile’s overall cost, the recent surge in energy prices has forced manufacturers to increase product price points. Likewise, the same energy price surge has caused homeowners to abandon tiles for cost-effective methods of bathroom refurbishment.
Homeowners are also looking to save money on the installation process, as well as product. It’s said to take three to four days to tile the average bathroom, at a cost of £700-£800. In comparison, fitting out an entire bathroom with wall panels can take as little as four to six hours, offering homeowners a significant saving on their total project cost.
Sources of bathroom styling inspiration are everywhere and as a result, there is a stronger desire for a more personalised interior. Rather than opting for a cold tile, homeowners can turn to bathroom wall panels to replicate natural materials such as wood or stone to create a unique bathroom space with added texture and depth. Time-poor homeowners can also eliminate the arduous cleaning process that comes with tiles and grout, as bathroom wall panels can be cleaned with the simple wipe of a cloth.
Quick to fit, easy on the eye and simple to maintain, bathroom wall panels have never been more appealing, creating a competitive tile alternative that may not have always been viable. Retailers and installers who are familiar with panelling and able to offer a broad variety of finishes stand to benefit hugely from what looks to be a market set for significant growth.
Bathrooms to Love by PJH has welcomed a bold new matt graphite grey option to its premium fitted bathroom furniture range, Texture, that features a beautiful soft fluted finish to its drawer and door fronts.
Offering high specification storage incorporating luxurious soft-close hinges and drawer boxes, contrasting oak-effect interiors, durable 18mm doors and panels, and plenty of interior drawers and shelves to help organise space, the new Matt Graphite Grey Texture fitted furniture range sits at the top end of the Bathrooms to Love furniture portfolio.
An elegant soft fluted, tactile design creates an aesthetically pleasing play with the light and the range is a perfect choice for adding individuality to bathroom schemes. What’s more, with three handle choices in Matt Black, Brushed Brass or Chrome, designers can coordinate with other products in the scheme, like, as pictured, with Matt Black brassware, shower, enclosure, mirror and lighting.
Responding to the growing trend for adding new textures and finishes to the bathroom, this super-matt Graphite Grey fluted furniture style is a good choice for showroom displays with its beautiful bold looks, flawless fitted design and inviting tactile finish. It is available in a number of unit options, including Basin, WC, Tall, Drawer, Base, Wall and Mirrored cabinets.
It also teams up perfectly with the choice of complementary basins, WC’s, worktops, and colour matching plinths and panels, all available from Bathrooms to Love.
Available from stock on a Next Day Delivery service from PJH’s Partners Portal™ platform, the Graphite Grey Texture range comes fully assembled with a five-year guarantee. Contact PJH to find out more about display deals, point-of-sale material and all marketing collateral.
VitrA Bathrooms, a global bathroom brand, has launched a striking range that provides plenty of options for designers and specifiers, particularly those working with small spaces. Designed by Design Studio VitrA, the new ArchiPlan collection is also perfect for bathrooms in the hospitality and commercial sectors.
ArchiPlan is modern and minimalist and offers a variety of sizes, including narrow cabinet widths and reduced projections (from just 28cm). Storage options include shelves in two sizes (45 and 60cm) and open shelving in the mirrors and mid-units. The contemporary design also has black metal framing detailing. Elegant cut-out holes instead of door handles keep the design simple and add to the feeling of space.
The furniture is made from plywood, an eco-friendly material option. As well as requiring little energy to produce and being highly recyclable, plywood is incredibly hard-wearing and durable. The finish is water and moisture-resistant, offering a solid solution without compromising aesthetics or functionality.
With contemporary, clean lines, the furniture is available in a choice of neutral and timeless matt colours – white, black, and taupe. Wall-hung furniture units with washbasins are available in 45cm, 60cm and 90cm. A 52cm wide mid-unit provides valuable storage and open shelving.
ArchiPlan basins can be wall-mounted (with the option of chrome legs on 38cm x 90cm basins) or mounted in cabinetry. Each is available in 45cm, 60cm, 90cm and 120cm formats and is ideal for tight spaces in both 28 and 38cm projections.
The interior of this Edwardian house in Cambridge was completely rebuilt, allowing for a dramatic transformation and leaving only the facade untouched.
One of the key elements of the renovation was the family bathroom. To reflect the period of the property and to create a distinctly Edwardian aesthetic, the owners wanted the space to have a classic, English feel, opting for traditional wooden floorboards, retro Acanthus tiles and solid pieces from Drummonds.
The striking freestanding bath was an absolute must for this family bathroom; the Ashburn in a painted finish sits directly in front of the large sash window. Based on an 18th century ‘bateau’ design, it is one of Drummonds’ more compact designs, offering all the comfort of a classic double ended bath, without overwhelming the space.
Two Syre basins sit opposite; cast in English china clay, and finished and glazed by hand, they bring a refined elegance to the scheme. An Antique Brushed Brass finish on the vanity legs, Mull taps and Oval Tilt mirrors add contrast to the look.
A large glass shower enclosure featuring an Antique Brass frame and backed by floor-to-ceiling green tiles, demarks the ‘wet zone’ within the room, and creates a stylish ‘walk in’ shower area. A half border of sleek Edwardian-style tiles surrounds the room, acting as a perfect balance and counterpart to the dark wooden floor.
Drummonds products:
o Ashburn Bath | from £4290 o Mull Bath & Shower Mixer | from £2730 o Syre Basins with Stands | from £1890 o Mull 3-hole Basin Mixers | from £1290 o Oval Tilt Mirrors | from £1062 o Single Derwent Lights | from £618 o Single Dalby Light | from £492 o Dalby Surface Mounted Shower with 200mm Shower Rose & Hand Shower | from £4110 All in an Antique Brushed Brass finish
Tiles: Edwardian Tile range from Fired Earth firedearth.com
There is no doubt that bathroom style has had a major glow-up in recent years with many interior enthusiasts opting to combine functionality with design to create a space that offers a sanctuary for relaxation.
When it comes to planning a new bathroom, whether that’s a full remodel or a small upgrade, there are plenty of inspiring trends to create a real statement, from bold tiling and colourful palettes to natural materials and minimalist style. But what are the must-have looks we’ll all be clamouring for in 2023?
Ruth Foster, interior designer at online bathroom retailer Victoria Plum, shares her top four trend predictions for the year ahead.
Totally terrific tilework
“Rather than updating the entire bathroom suite, people are infusing a statement feature into their bathroom tiling.
“For 2023, we predict terrazzo, geometric and monochrome checkerboard designs will be the most popular for styles coming to bathroom tiles.
“Online searches for ‘terrazzo bathroom tiles’ have grown by a whopping 13,900 since the end of 2021, and we can see why. With its signature speckled stone look it adds a depth of sophistication to bathrooms.
In 2023, pair with a neutral colour palette and bathroom greenery to create a washroom with a natural and timeless theme.
“Geometric tilework allows you to be bold and put your creativity to the test and many are feeling daring in their bathroom design with online searches relating to geometric bathroom tiles jumping by 34,900 per cent since last year.
“Popular geometric patterns include hexagons, bricks, chevrons and parquet-like designs, and for a more masculine, yet artsy feel, opt for this in a monochromatic colour scheme. Combine with simple bathroom furniture to compliment your statement geometric tilework.
“While chequerboard tiling has always been a favourable choice in the bathroom this beloved retro style design has evolved and is back with a bang.
With year-on-year online searches of ‘chequerboard tiles’ up by 800 per cent, the mosaic style is now embracing softer and more feminine colours for a more elegant feel for 2023.”
Seamless screens
“In 2023, we will be saying farewell to framed screens and hello to even more glass shower screens.
“Installing a seamless glass shower screen can maximise the feeling of light and space, even in the smallest of bathrooms.
“In the last 12 months, online searches for ‘glass shower screens’ has risen by a massive 87,900 per cent, showing that the seamless and spacious look is on the mind of shoppers for the coming year.
“Opting for a frameless shower screen also means you have even more opportunity to reflect your personality in your tile design and bathroom fittings, whether that is with gunmetal taps or bold shower panels.”
Luxe additions
“The evolution of the social media ring light is influencing our homes with chic backlit mirrors fast becoming a bathroom must-have. Online searches for ‘backlit bathroom mirrors’ are up 38,900 per cent in comparison to last year so this is definitely an emerging luxury trend for 2023.
“If a refresh of your bathroom accessories is all you need, then introducing a backlit mirror is a fantastic way to bring a combination of elegance, glamour and drama to your bathroom.
“Serving both a practical and aesthetic purpose, back-lit mirrors are ideal for style-switchers who fancy bringing a spot of extravagance to their bathroom.
“Introducing metalwork touches into your bathroom furniture and accessories has been gradually on the rise as a design trend since 2016 and there is no sign of slowing down.
“In 2023, we expect to see gunmetal make an appearance amongst the brass and copper metalwork features.
“Searches for gunmetal-related bathroom furniture and accessories are up year-on-year by 1,600 per cent. We predict many will use gunmetal accents to transform an ordinary bathroom into a more lavish space that can be effortlessly matched with a wide range of materials including marble, wood, stone and ceramics.”
Bathroom panelling
“A trend that has been popular throughout the entire home in 2022 is panelling (pictured top), and it’s set to take a step into the bathroom in 2023 to create the ultimate Cottagecore look.
“Online searches related to using panelling in the bathroom have grown by a massive 93,000 per cent in the past year, so it’s no surprise people are looking to kit out their bathrooms to match the new wall décor trend.
“Make a statement with panelling and install a freestanding bath with chrome claw feet for that extra luxurious feel. Opt for floating sanitaryware so the panelling can run seamlessly around the room, and if space allows include a design-led vanity unit with a pastel-coloured basin.”
Why sacrifice style for an affordable price tag? With the new Tenet collection by Roca, you can have both. Compatible with pieces from Roca’s other ranges and designed to suit bathrooms of all sizes and styles, the new collection of handleless vanity units is both simple in style and flexible in use.
Here, Natalie Bird, brand manager for Roca, reveals three more reasons why Tenet is a welcome addition to the Roca family.
Reason One: Five different finishes Tenet vanity units come in a choice of five glossy and wood finishes. “Pick a glossy finish in white or grey to catch and reflect light, making your bathroom feel roomier,” says Natalie.
Alternatively, choose between three wood-effect finishes: Nordic ash, city oak and walnut. “A wood look never fails to create an inviting contrast to all the shiny surfaces that come as standard in the bathroom,” Natalie adds.
Reason two: Versatile design
The Tenet vanity unit is 460mm deep and comes in a variety of widths to suit different storage needs. Sizes range from 600mm to 1200mm, with two, three, four or six drawers complete with built-in organisers to keep all your toiletries tidy yet close to hand. There’s also the option to have two doors instead of drawers – a convenient way to store taller bottles upright. Those wanting to boost the feeling of openness should choose a wall-hung Tenet vanity as exposing more of the floor gives the illusion of a bigger bathroom. What’s more, freeing up floorspace makes cleaning easier too.
A word of caution: “Wall-hung vanities require a little thought around concealing the waste pipe,” says Natalie. This is easy to do but needs to happen before fitting to avoid sudden changes at the end of the project.
If you prefer the look of a floor-standing unit, need extra storage space or your plumbing lends itself better to this style, the Tenet collection includes a three-drawer option that is sold with legs. “This still needs to be fixed to the wall but may offer a more practical solution for family or main bathrooms,” explains Natalie.
Reason three: Modern handleless look
“The beauty of a handleless design is that you can choose any finish for your brassware without the worry that it doesn’t match the handles on your vanity,” says Natalie. To complete the look, matching column- and wall-unit storage solutions are also available in Roca’s Extra range, giving you the option of a coordinated suite.
Main image (top): Tenet vanity unity in walnut with two soft-close drawers and integrated basin, 800mm wide, £688,with Luna mirror with ambient LED light, ⌀800mm, £336.
