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Features by Diane Larner founder and editor of Bathroom Review & Kitchens Review.
Diane Larner launched both titles over 12 years ago and has been writing about the bathroom and kitchen interior design industry ever since, publishing regular features across the two sectors.


According to new research released this week by Readly, one in ten Brits report using smart home technology every hour of their day. The latest stats indicate a wholesale shift towards a connected home lifestyle, with a third (37 per cent) of UK households owning at least one smart home device to manage tasks such as security, lighting and heating, and kitchen appliances.

Unsurprisingly, the home technology industry is moving apace when it comes to new, innovative smart design. Consumers are keen to save water and energy whilst personalising interior spaces by integrating music and lighting into every room. This opens up opportunities for bathroom manufacturers.

Lee Robinson, product manager for residential fittings at Ideal Standard agrees, “Bathroom trends are continuously evolving and when it comes to today’s ‘smart bathrooms’, that’s no different. End-users are increasingly looking to technology to help make their bathroom space work harder for them.”

Statement lighting

Bathroom Review Liprotec Schluter Systems Lighting

Lighting is no longer simply a practicality, and the trend for customisable mood lighting is emerging as a key consideration when designing a bathroom. In 2024, we expect to see an increase in innovative lighting displays that interact with the bathroom design to deliver on-trend accent lighting.

Encompassing the latest LED technology, Schlüter’s LIPROTEC-LED creates restful lighting for relaxing spaces or bright, colourful lighting for busy family bathrooms. Enabled with Bluetooth/wireless receivers, light colours are selected via remote control or Bluetooth-compatible smartphones and tablets. Specifically designed for the bathroom, Schlüter-LIPROTEC-EASY is the company’s simple plug-and-play version, which comes with matching power supply units up to 100W.

Comfort & cleanliness

SensoWash D Neo

Shower toilets are increasing in popularity in the UK. A recent report by the European Bidet Seats & Shower Toilets Market study predicts sales of shower toilets will grow by 8% and indicates a cultural change in hygiene habits.

Martin Carroll, managing director for Duravit, agrees and comments, “Shower-toilets in combination with rimless technology are the next big idea for bathrooms. The open design of the WC rim enables an innovative and effective flush even at low water volumes (4.5 litres) and makes for transparent, easy cleaning. Despite not being a traditional market for bidets, shower toilets are growing in popularity in the UK for reasons of age, culture and general enhanced comfort.”

Duravit’s SensoWash® D-Neo lets users configure options via remote control for three shower flow types through a user ID in the seat. Timings for seat heating can also be individually configured. Its attractive price point means it is ideally suited to the requirements of the project sector and price-conscious developers.

Spa-light, spa-bright

Bringing light and colour into the bathroom, Ideal Standard’s Solos shower range features an integrated colour-changing ambient light in the overhead shower, which creates a relaxing atmosphere for the ultimate spa-like shower experience. Users can customise the colour and brightness of the LED to match their mood, thanks to built-in smart technology that integrates with any smart home app, such as Philips Hue or Amazon Echo. 

Lee Robinson, product manager for residential fittings at Ideal Standard comments, “Smart technology is key to home evolution, giving people the ability to personalise their environment – from showerheads with integrated ambient LED lighting like our Solos range to wireless speakers and shower settings that can be controlled with the touch of a smartphone button.”

Bathroom brand Laufen is also embracing smart technology and has launched a new version of the Val bath (pictured left) that harnesses the power of light and colour to promote well-being and bring chromotherapy – traditionally offered by hotel spas – into the guest bathroom to enhance the user’s experience.

The redesigned model was recently on display at HIX and has a translucent structure through which an LED panel projects different light settings according to mood.

LAUFEN also presented its new shower system prototype. Designed in collaboration with Andreas Dimitriadis of Platinum Design, the shower system offers the ultimate spa experience to hotel guests thanks to a 12-inch touchscreen display integrated into the shower for the first time.

Taking remote control

Dialling in your requirements is one of the most celebrated aspects of the smart home and brings luxury and convenience to daily life. Aqualisa’s Quartz Smart Showers combines personalised showering with a range of advantages that enhance the user’s experience. For example, users can start their shower remotely using Alexa or Google Assistant or the remote control via Wi-Fi. A clear LED display indicates when the shower is ready – there’s no need to lean in and test the water. A bath fill option allows remote selection of the water temperature and level.

Jessica Clarke, head of channel marketing at Aqualisa, reasons, “With more than 30 million smart meters installed in the UK and nearly half of all adults under 65 owning a smart speaker (Alexa or Google Assistant), the understanding of smart technology and the benefits it brings to our lives is increasing rapidly. There is now an opportunity for bathroom manufacturers and installers to deliver the next generation of connected bathroom solutions to enhance not only showering functionality and performance, but also wellbeing and sustainability.”

END

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CRL is offering a bespoke shower solution to retailers to allow them to give customers a choice of three elements – glass, hardware and large format surfaces. All options are tailor-made to fit.

Said to be a revolution in shower and wet room design, CRL Bespoke Shower Screens combine the latest innovations in CRL shower hardware with its luxury CRL Stone surfaces, for streamlined, hotel-inspired design.

Longstanding experts in shower hardware, CRL has supplied many of the top hotel groups and prestigious developments. Now, in a first for the industry, CRL is bringing bespoke showers to the market for retailers to offer their customers.

CRL Vienna

By partnering with local UK glass suppliers and fabricators, and in combination with CRL Stone, CRL has formed a unique partnership which takes the pain out of specifying showers.

Offering a completely new way of specifying shower enclosures and providing consumers with a tailor-made option, retailers can offer a bespoke solution with confidence, rather than a pre-configured shower from a single source that requires work-arounds.

Simon Boocock, managing director of CRL Europe, comments: “Bespoke doesn’t need to be complex and time consuming. With CRL, retailers can provide luxurious quality at an off-the-shelf price, helping to improve design possibilities with better margins.  Retailers no longer need to search around to pull all the elements together or stick to a boxed solution that isn’t necessarily right for the space.”

Designed for the perfect fit whether in the family bathroom, or as part of an en-suite extension in an existing master bedroom, CRL bespoke showers are ideal when working with awkward shapes and sizes in rooms such as in corners and under eaves.

Using high quality minimalist hardware for the latest in frameless showering, CRL can accommodate any design for all projects and all spaces, with popular finishes including Chrome, Antique Brass, Brushed Nickel, Matte Black and Polished Copper featuring across the different systems.

Highly durable and simple to care for, Ceralsio ceramic and Inalco MDi from CRL Stone is the perfect wall and floor surface solution for the shower area. In a large slab format that can be perfectly cut to size at the same time as the glass, with no grout lines creating a super-stylish and ultra hardwearing floor-to-ceiling wall surface. In fact, the material is ideal for the bathroom, being water resistant, heat, scratch and stain resistant and non-porous.

Offering shower enclosures to the market in a completely new way, this made-to-measure option from a market-leader gives retailers and designers the opportunity to provide a high-end, bespoke finish at a competitive price point.

For more details visit www.crlbespokeshowerscreens.co.uk or call 01706 863600.

UK manufacturer of kitchen and bathroom surfaces, Bushboard, has extended its wall panelling system. Nuance now includes 11 easy to install options in a move it says reflects changing interior trends and helps retailers meet the demand for natural-looking bathroom wall solutions.

Nuance, Nuance Designer and Nuance Acrylic are new for 2022, as is Nuance Vanity Worksurfaces which offers a wide choice of laminate surfaces that can be mixed and matched.

Bathroom_Review_Naunce_Bushboard
Alhambra and Driftwood

Nuance offers five on-trend categories that combine the appearance of stone, marble, wood, travertine and quartz together with textured finishes. Latest introductions include the stone inspired Lumiere and Light Portland panels, plus Cirrus Marble and Doux Lime Quartz, which are also replicated as vanity worksurfaces.  

Uniquely manufactured in Britain since 1935, all Nuance panels have high performance surfaces and a synthetic homogenous core that is 100 per cent impervious to water. Showrooms can present the panels in-situ in a variety of settings such as shower areas, wet rooms and finishing walls around baths.

Easy installation

Retailers will be able to appeal to time-pressured installers with Nuance’s ease-of-installation and quick-fitting time. While traditional tiling often requires specialist tooling and can take a significant amount of time to complete, Nuance can be sized, trimmed and fitted by an installer in a matter of hours. Flexible panel sizes include postformed panels and standard tongue and groove panels, which can be linked together to create walk-in wet rooms or shower enclosures. The 160mm finishing panel allows a run of tongue and groove panels to be finished vertically, also with a neat postformed edge detail.  

Thanks to the pre-finished profile of certain panel sizes, Nuance’s patented trim-free system means no edging strips are required for finishing either. Creating a dynamic showroom display is possible with the ability to rotate panels 90 degrees in any orientation to achieve matching or contrasting looks, as well as half height features or bath panels.

Bushboard also supply its own specialist ‘Complete’ adhesive and sealant which easily provides a professional and watertight finish. Available in 10 colourways which have been matched to the full range, Complete’s advanced formulation has excellent grab adhesion, gap filling properties and is straightforward to maintain and clean. Retailers can sell Complete alongside the Nuance range, with panels carrying a 15-year guarantee when used with the adhesive.

Bathroom_Review_Nuance
Nuance Panel Chalky Wood

Paul Findley, Product Sales Manager for Nuance, said: “The latest additions to our Nuance range have been carefully developed by our in-house team to offer a versatile range of wall panelling solutions that will help retailers meet the needs of installers and homeowners alike. Whether the customer is looking to tackle a complete bathroom renovation, refurbishment work or updating a shower cubicle, retailers can rely on the versatility of the Nuance collection when finding a product that will suit most customers’ personal tastes and requirements.

“As well as being visually impactful, featuring decors that have been inspired by natural materials, geometric shapes and tile effect layouts, the panels are really quick to fit too. Using Nuance, large wall areas can be covered in a fraction of the time it takes to apply individual ceramic tiles.

“When retailers are approached by installers, recommending Nuance is undoubtedly a win-win scenario that makes perfect sense, every step of the way.”

For more information about Nuance and the complete spectrum of bathroom surfaces available, or to order a sample, visit: http://www.bushboard.co.uk/nuance

PJH’s own brand of shower enclosures and trays, RefleXion, as featured in its Bathrooms to Love Collection, has evolved to become a popular choice with both the retailer and the consumer.

The collection is manufactured and designed to a high specification and includes a comprehensive choice of enclosures, wetrooms and trays to suit a wide range of bathroom projects. The RefleXion brand offers three enclosure families – Iconix, Flex and Classix – each offering a range of USP’s and price points to suit varying styles and budgets.

Richard Eaton, Product Manager, RefleXion Enclosures by PJH comments: “Over the last two years, sales for walk-in and wetroom enclosures have increased steadily as the demand for larger and more accessible showering areas continues to rise. Whether this is for easy access, perhaps in a multigenerational household, or simply for the desire to create a spa-inspired wetroom environment, there are more and more innovative designs being launched to a highly captive audience.

“Whilst the minimalist frameless plain glass screen look is still popular (see image below), it seems that less is no longer more. The desire for personalisation is causing designs to evolve, for example, the black-framed or panelled look that we’ve seen of late is great for the industrial-inspired or monochrome look.

PJH Relfexion Wetroom
One of the RefleXion 8mm Iconix Wetrooms from PJH

Richard continues “More patterns, colours and unusual finishes are now appearing, such as our botanical themed RefleXion Iconix ‘Black Leaf’ 8mm Panel (see very top) and the use of materials other than polished chrome frames and clear glass will really grow in the next few years – such as gold or brass frames, and frosted or fluted glass.”

For further information visit Bathrooms to Love

Minimalism is still king in the bathroom. Monochromatic colour schemes, thin edges and clean lines – both straight and elegantly curved – continue to dominate the shower space. These design features are proving even more popular in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, with consumers looking for bathroom products that are hygienic and easy to keep clean.

Seamless spaces

Choosing a minimalist shower doesn’t mean forgoing colour and innovative design. Bette’s revolutionary BetteAir is the world’s first shower tile made of glazed titanium steel, available in more than 30 colours and eight sizes.

Its floor-level installation means it blends seamlessly into the bathroom floor, and can be glued directly to the screed like a standard tile. Bette has ensured that the shower tile will sit flush by reducing its thickness to 10mm—the typical thickness of a large-format tile.

Designer Dominik Tesseraux says: “BetteAir has all the advantages of a tile without its disadvantages. With the shower tile, the floor of the shower is immaculately beautiful, free of joints and thus absolutely hygienic and easy to clean.”

Discreet solutions

Even with more standard shower surface design, manufacturers are ensuring products remain sleek without sacrificing style. Kaldewei’s KA 90 and KA 120 waste systems for enamelled shower surfaces – including its floor-level Cayonoplan shower surface – include the option for an enamelled waste cover in the same colour as the shower surface, making it even more discreet.

The KA 90 now features a flatter design, allowing it to be integrated almost flush, while the KA 120 waste system is available in round and square options. Both include a hair catcher as standard and a new plug-in connection for the waste cover, allowing the waste to be cleaned easily and safely.

Kaldewei – a flatter design & variety of waste options

Straight & narrow

The new Kinedo Brooklyn shower cubicle range by Saniflo highlights the popularity of showers with clean, straight lines. Bringing industrial style to the forefront, it is available in black with black silk screen printed lines, as well as a modern take on the traditional grey and chrome with transparent glass.

The Brooklyn cubicle comes with a pivot or sliding door, a white Biocryl shower tray with chrome waste, and metal handles. It has been designed for quick and easy assembly without silicone and predominantly without screws.

Kinedo Brooklyn shower design

Spacious curves

The new 700m curved showering panel in Kudos’s Ultimate range provides additional showering space in an elegant solution. Designed to sit neatly on a 1200mm bow-fronted shower tray, this new walk-in enclosure with 8mm curved glass has been created specifically for British bathrooms and is available in three sizes.

Also available as flat glass shower panels, Kudos’s Ultimate range comes in chrome, brushed or bright nickel, brushed or bright gold, and black. They can be installed on both shower trays and tiled wet-floors, making them a perfect option for the minimalist bathroom.

Style & substance

Inclusive design is not being left behind when it comes to the minimalist shower trend. HEWI is a key player when it comes to accessible, functional shower products that are hygienic and compliant with current British or International standards. Its range of products – including the HEWI S900 range and Doc M shower pack – allows customers to create fully compliant showering spaces without compromising on design.

The COVID-19 pandemic has also been prompting clients to consider the hygiene standards of their current bathroom spaces. HEWI’s active plus range has been developed with an antimicrobial effect using microsilver, which is effective against bacteria and fungi by inhibiting the growth of bacteria through the discharge of silver ions. This allows customers to future-proof their bathroom spaces as we emerge from the pandemic.

Shower design HEWI

Feature Contributors: Diane Larner & Ellie Clow

Kudos has launched a new 300mm glass Deflector to suit all Kudos Ultimate Showering Panels.

This new fold-away glass ‘Deflector Panel’ is a stylish and practical solution designed to suit the Ultimate collection of showering panels from Kudos.

Launching in November, it’s a hinged deflector panel that is designed to minimise over-spray and contain splashing within the showering space, making it ideal for smaller walk-in enclosures. It folds neatly behind the fixed panel when not in use and when opened stops at 135° providing the optimum protection. The 300mm deflector is available in both 8 and 10mm glass thickness and can be easily retro-fitted to any exisiting Ultimate panel, no tools or silicone required. These frameless, handed, glass deflectors come as standard with Crystal clear seals for minimalist appearance and a choice of silver chrome or matt black fixings.

Kudos Ultimate Deflector Panel

Kudos Shower Products Ltd has been designing and manufacturing shower products at their Cumbrian facility since 1999.  Their portfolio includes shower enclosures, shower trays, over-bath screens and wet-room solutions sold via KBB showrooms and merchants across the UK.

Kudos Ultimate Deflector

Visit their website kudosshowers.co.uk, call them on 01539 564040 or email info@kudosshowers.co.uk.

More news from Kudos


When creating a perfect bathroom there are so many more decisions to make than the shade of the tiles. The position and size of the showering space is one that needs careful thought and planning. Whether it is for a family bathroom or a smaller ensuite; if the shower needs one door or two, should the doors to be sliding or bi-fold and is the shower placed in a recess or is it in a corner? The Exclusive Solutions collection from AQATA has the ideal shower screen.

The Exclusive Solutions collection from AQATA includes an extensive range of options for creating a showering space in the bathroom. The wide range of screen sizes are suitable for both corner or recess showers and are then matched with the appropriate door fitting for the style and size of the room. The choice of doors includes pivot, sliding, bi-fold and hinged all with ClearShield Eco-Glass and alternative coloured finishes as an option.

The ES240 and the ES245 are ideal for smaller spaces, they can either be located in the corner of a bathroom or a recess, but to both save space and ensure a clean minimalistic look the door pivots to open. The enclosure height is 1880 mm, but non-standard sizes are available with AQATA’s made to measure option.

Sliding doors such as the ES300 shown below are ideal for wetroom style recess showers.
The ES260 is a bi-folding door option – an ideal solution for smaller bathrooms.

The Exclusive Solutions and other shower screen options are all shown in the AQATA Look Book which
can be requested by emailing sales@aqata.co.uk or visit the website and download it directly –
www.aqata.co.uk/brochure