Straight from the exhibition halls of Cersaie, Acquabella, a leading Spanish brand, is launching its nature-inspired Halo and Icon Slate collection.
The Halo Slate has a microtextured cornice which runs across the frame, becoming more defined as it joins the design-led efficient drainage system which runs discreetly around the perimeter of the tray allowing water to flow into the slightly raised plate trap.
Icon Slate is a wall-mounted sculptural totem, where practicality is beautifully fused with design to create a stunning structure. The Icon Slate totem narrows at the base, with a clever design device; incorporating a contrasting texture to highlight the shape. At the top, the totem opens to a wider basin, framed on three sides with a delicate profile.
Both the Halo Slate tray and the Icon Slate totem are made from Acquabella’s patented material Akron®
Akron® exclusively combines the properties of polyurethane with mineral fillers for an excellent, high-quality, durable anti-bacterial and anti-slip surface.
The Icon Slate totem is 85x52x40 cm and featured here in a gorgeous Forest Green but is available in over 2000 RAL colours.
The Halo Slate tray comes in standard sizes from 70 cm x 100 cm to 100 x 200 cm, pictured top in Blanco but available in over 2000 RAL colours.
Sustano is Duravit’s first recyclable DuraSolid® Nature shower tray. The shower trays feature a flat, rimless design for installation flush with the floor in conjunction with the integrated, flush outlet cover, they also come in a wide range of dimensions.
Additionally, the range has an attractive entry-level price and is offered in six colours making it especially suited to renovation projects.
DuraSolid® Nature
Created from recyclable mineral material, DuraSolid® Nature is low weight, adaptable and easy to cut on the construction site. The UV-resistant tray also has anti-slip properties built in to the matt surface versions.
As it is easy to install it is ideal for renovation projects where every millimeter matters in the installation of shower trays. With their extremely low installation height of just 30 mm, the self-supporting Sustano shower trays enable flush-mounted installation even in renovation projects with a low floor height.
Alternatively, they can be installed in floor-mounted or semi-recessed applications. Sustano boasts flexibility since 100 mm can be removed from each side of each shower tray, even on the construction site, making it simple to modify when necessary. Their low weight makes the Sustano trays easy to handle on the construction site, allowing them to be installed by one person.
Sustano shower trays are made from DuraSolid® Nature and have high surface hardness and density, making them durable and comparatively impervious to damage or soiling. A soft cloth with warm water or standard cleaning agent is all that is needed for cleaning.
The porefree surface creates a pleasantly warm, appealing feeling on the skin. The versions in matt colours feature a velvety surface, with a somewhat smoother surface feel than the glossy colours. The flat, easy-to-clean outlet cover with a lattice structure in the same colour as the shower tray integrates into the trays unobtrusively, in both visual and tactile terms. The cover is also optionally available in stainless steel.
Maximum safety and accessibility
The material’s special surface texture means that Sustano shower trays with a matt surface attain anti-slip class C with no additional coating. This is the highest classification for wet (barefoot) areas, like shower rooms, and thus guarantees maximum safety.
The surface of the glossy White variant is comparable to Duravit’s acrylic shower trays. The 1200 x 1200 mm flush-mounted Sustano model is also suitable for accessible bathrooms, even for wheelchair uses.
Versatile design options
The Sustano can be installed flush with the floor, semi-recessed, or on the floor tiles depending on structural factors and personal preference. The flush-mounted application is particularly impressive, as it lends itself to a seamless spaciousness. The elegant, calm design language of the shower tray is perfectly attuned to the contemporary bathroom.
Featuring 21 sizes, the ideal solution can be found for almost any new-build or renovation project. With five attractive matt colours – White Matt, Matt Crème, Matt Light Gray, Matt Greige, and Matt Dark Gray as well as a glossy White, Sustano offers a range of options to match the colour scheme of any bathroom.
Sustainable, recyclable material Duravit is mindful of the responsibility it bears when it comes to the environment, its employees, and future generations. A complete bathroom solutions provider, Duravit is committed to treating resources with respect and supplying products that are especially long-lasting and sustainable. “We live and breathe sustainability along our value-creation chain, with a clear focus on the four dimensions of water, resources, climate, and social commitment.
“Our actions – in all strategic areas – are being reviewed and optimized from the perspective of sustainability,” said CEO Stephan Tahy.
Thanks to their low weight, Sustano shower trays are lighter to transport, thereby contributing to the reduction of CO2 emissions. Even more important is the material’s durability and recyclability following the usage phase.
After the end of their useful life, Sustano shower trays made from DuraSolid® Nature can be returned either to Duravit or to a local recycling center to keep within the life-cycle principle. The recycled materials can be reused to manufacture new shower trays or can be applied to industrial use, e.g. the manufacture of pivot bearings.
The popular selling Kstone slip resistant tray range, manufactured by Kudos, is now available in a slate grey colour. This new range, with matt black waste available to order, comes in 40 model options, which includes rectangular, square, quadrant and offset quadrant shapes in multiple sizes.
Kudos Kstone trays are a slim design at only 45mm high and have a structured resin bonded stone filler for increased stability. The Slip Resistant (SR) models feature the latest development in surface material which exceeds all EU standards for barefoot bathing. The SR properties are embedded in the material, rather than a coating on the surface, meaning it can not be removed and is comfortable to stand on. These options are now available in both white and slate grey models.
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.
Please call on 01539 564040, email to marketing@kudosshowers.co.uk or visit their website at kudosshowers.co.uk.
Showcased at Salone last month, Acquabella is presenting its extended drying zone.
This area is conveniently attached to the Base Slate shower tray. Like the shower trays, the drying area is made of a durable, slip-resistant, easy-to-clean resin Akron, in Slate texture, which can be customised to any colour.
The area offers a safe, comfortable and roomy spot to leisurely sit or stand to dry before leaving the showering space.
Image details: Slate panel 100×220 cm (£ 682,89), Base Slate shower tray 220×100 cm in white colour (£ 1398,74) and drying areas 100x100cm (£ 741,60).
Kudos has introduced a slate effect finish into its Connect2 shower tray collection. The eye-catching dark grey tray features an exclusive surface pattern, taken directly from a piece of locally sourced slate, to ensure an authentic finish.
There’s a growing trend for adding colour and textures into the bathroom space and this natural slate effect is particularly relevant as the tray is made in the Kudos factory just outside Kendal in the Lake District, an area known for its use of slate in construction.
Whilst the finish may be slate grey, the new Connect2 tray is manufactured in the same acrylic capped ABS filled with a structural resin bonded stone, so maintains all the strength and durable benefits of its material. It is both slip and stain resistant and contains an anti-microbial additive to inhibit the growth of microbes including bacteria and mould.
As with other Connect2 trays, it retains a super low profile when installed, standing at just 35mm in height and is guaranteed to avoid standard joist spans thanks to the positioning of an offset dual waste outlet, allowing the installer to choose the waste free from obstruction to connect. The tray may have to be rotated 90 or 180 degrees (dependent on shape) to accommodate the fixed joists, but once set, the installer simply uses the blanking plug provided to seal the unused waste and plumb in the hi-flow waste and trap, avoiding any need to lift the tray off the floor. If both waste holes are free then both wastes can be connected for even faster water removal. A reinforced, magnetically secured waste cover, that’s easily removed for cleaning, then sits neatly over the waste blanking plug to complete the installation.
The collection of Connect2 trays, which come in a choice of slate effect, high gloss white or slip resistant SR finish in white, are now available in a broad range of 28 different sizes from 800mm square to 1700x900mm rectangle including seven new sizes launching in April to expand the quadrant and mid-size rectangular options.
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. Please call on 01539 564040, email to marketing@kudosshowers.co.uk or visit their website at kudosshowers.co.uk.
We expect a great deal of the once humble shower room. It goes without saying shower spaces should offer multi-generational accessibility, and in the wake of COVID-`19, hygienic features and easy-clean surfaces. However, we are also looking for a sense of spa-like luxury, a space to relax and rejuvenate.
Shower hardware combines all these elements, offering a practical solution that is included throughout the shower area to match bathroom accessories for a cohesive design-led feel.
Simon Boocock, CRL Managing Director agrees: “The shower enclosure has evolved into more of a wet-room, easy access and almost open-plan area, low-level trays coupled with frameless enclosures create a minimalist appeal. With very little on show, the shower hardware, including hinges and U-channels, as well as the brassware, has a chance to shine. Creating a cohesive look is important here, with hardware very often now chosen in keeping with shower brassware and available in a range of finishes to suit.”
Frameless style
CRL Cambridge Frameless Shower Enclosure
CRL’s Frameless designs such as the Cambridge maximise accessibility and deliver a clean, streamlined look. This range is designed to match CRL shower hardware with colours and styles to suit all décor schemes.
Access all areas
HEWI’s System 900 is also a response to the complex requirements of accessible bathrooms. The products boast long-lasting quality, clever installation solutions and a hygienic design. Matching accessories open up versatile design options in the bathroom and HEWI also offers practical toilet roll holders and new towel rails or toilet brush sets in stainless steel, chrome or with a powder-coated finish in white, shades of grey and black.
Hewi System 900 Powder Coated Finishes
Staying grounded
Some of the most serious accidents happen in the bathroom and we expect a high proportion are caused by slips and falls whilst getting in and out of the shower. For hoteliers, keeping bathrooms safe is a priority and the health and safety checklist requires handrails and slip-proof surfaces. For the home, an efficient anti-slip surface keeps all the family safe without having to include rails for open plan designs.
BetteAir Tile
The Bette-Anti Slip Sense surface is a new type of surface treatment for maximum slip resistance (in accordance with evaluation group C of DIN 51097) and claims to provide the highest level of slip protection. This surface is available on Bette’s new BetteAirshower tile for perfect level-access integration.
Smooth operator
Another key aspect when it comes to safe design is not having to fight with your amenities. Lakes Antigua Slider features an easy-glide door that closes effortlessly at the touch of a finger to a near-silent stop. Concealed wheels ensure easy cleaning and a cooler look plus a low threshold for easy and safe access, and a solid cast handle with smooth, rounded edges for a touch of elegance.
Let’s get personal
Lockdown gave us time to get creative and in the UK it fuelled a trend in home improvement, as life imitates art, art imitates life and so, the hospitality sector is creating bathroom spaces that feel like home. In our homes, we still want to emulate that luxury hotel feel. Personalisation delivers the best of both worlds.
Richard Eaton, Product Manager, RefleXion Enclosures by PJH comments: “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.”
“More patterns, colours and unusual finishes are now appearing, such as our botanical themed RefleXion Iconix ‘Black Leaf’ 8mm Panel 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.”
Just relax
Keely Greenhalgh, National Sales Manager at Mermaid Panels tells us: “We want our bathrooms to replicate the spa experience. Bathrooms are increasingly being treated as a treasured area of the home to truly relax and refresh so bathrooms that can capture that spa-like serenity at home will continue to be a standout style for 2022.”
Pursuing tones that give a sense of tranquillity and reflect the natural environment certainly feels like a trend that’s here to stay and using contrasting materials is a simple way to achieve this. However, we can expect a switch back to lighter shades for 2022, for example, greens and blues will still be popular but sage green and sky blue may lead in popularity.
Keely agrees: “Whether it’s a Swedish wood effect or a more traditional yet decadent marble, there is an increasing number of surface options on the market to create a hidden retreat in the home. Calming tones and colours are a perfect way to create serenity within the bathroom. Designers can look at muted tones combined with one stand out wall to create a relaxing, soothing area.”
Mermaid Panels – Elite Range – Himalayan Marble
Mermaid Panels has introduced 28 new décors to its premium Elite collection of bathroom panels. Offering an alternative to tiling, Elite has a 100% waterproof core and helps create a completely seamless, premium look and finish. The artistic post-formed edges add unique design detail that removes the need for trims or grouting.
German glazed titanium-steel bathroom products manufacturer, Bette, launched a number of products at HIX, including a new type of almost invisible anti-slip surface, which can be used on its shower trays and baths.
BetteAnti-Slip Sense is a new glossy, smooth and easy to clean anti-slip surface and provides the highest level of slip protection on shower trays and baths. A new type of surface treatment for maximum slip resistance (in accordance with evaluation group C of DIN 51097) it is almost invisible, and the anti-slip effect occurs when the pressure of the body weight and water come together.
To achieve the slip-resistance, Bette treats the surface with a suspension containing the finest micrometre-sized ceramic particles, which form a permanent bond with the BetteGlaze surface. They are almost invisible to the eye, and the surface does not become rough as a result. The shower trays and baths retain their glossy looks, smoothness and continue to be easy to clean, as dirt and germs find it hard to adhere to the surface, which has a 30 year warranty.
While the primary role of the new Anti-Slip Sense surface is to increase the slip protection on shower trays and baths, it can also help to make a bath more comfortable. Applied to the entire interior of the bath, it can help the bather to maintain a comfortable position and avoid accidentally slipping down in larger baths.
The new BetteAnti-Slip Sense can be used to provide the highest level of slip protection on Bette’s gloss white glazed titanium-steel shower trays and baths. For shower trays in matt colours, Bette offers its almost invisible BetteAnti-Slip Pro.
Anti-slip Sense from Bette
For further information on Bette: www.my-bette.com/en or telephone 0844 800 0547.
Pictured very top: BetteEve with rectangular surround
The BetteAir from Bette is reportedly the world’s first glazed titanium-steel shower tile and completes the evolution of the shower tray into part of the bathroom floor.
BetteAir integrates so perfectly that it is hardly noticeable and, at only 10mm high, it can be glued directly to the screed like a conventional tile. The BetteAir can be installed with a minimum installation height of only 97 millimetres. Durable and easy to clean, it has all the advantages of a tile without any of the disadvantages.
The new BetteAir shower tile is available in eight sizes from 900 x 900 to 1400 x 1000 mm and in a choice of 31 colours.
BetteAir is supplied as standard with basic sound insulation for quiet showering and can also be equipped with an anti-slip surface: BetteAnti-Slip Pro, or the new BetteAnti-Slip Sense for gloss white, which offers the highest level of slip protection.
The Bette-Anti Slip Sense surface is the only glossy, smooth and easy to clean anti-slip surface to provide the highest level of slip protection on shower trays.
It is a new type of surface treatment for maximum slip resistance (in accordance with evaluation group C of DIN 51097). Almost invisible, the anti-slip effect occurs when the pressure of the body weight and water come together.
New BetteAnti-Slip Sense can be used to provide the highest level of slip protection on Bette’s gloss white glazed titanium-steel shower trays and baths. For shower trays in matt colours, Bette offers its almost invisible BetteAnti-Slip Pro.
All Bette shower trays, baths and washbasins come with a 30 year warranty. Made from natural products, they are 100% recyclable.
For further information on Bette: www.my-bette.com/en or telephone 0844 800 0547.
The SUPERPLAN ZERO is the latest product from Kaldewei. This impressive enamelled shower surface is the perfect addition for statement bathrooms and has been created by the Berlin designer Werner Aisslinger. The style is reserved yet extremely comfortable underfoot.
Kaldewei has always paid attention to customer requirements and as such have translated these needs into Superplan Zero. The shower surface becomes part of the bathroom floor, installed at ground level, the very narrow edges make it possible to tile directly up to the shower edge with almost invisible joints.
Easy access
The waste is placed close to the wall so that standing comfortably and moving safely on the Superplan Zero is guaranteed. The new shower surface is characterized by its elegant and precise lines and is easily accessed from three sides, without having to step up or into the surface.
Sustainable design
The base is sustainable, extremely long-lasting and 100 per cent recyclable steel enamel. The exquisite glass surface is applied to the steel using a special process and this is what gives it such a luxurious finish.
According to Kaldewei it is the only steel enamel manufacturer that produces the enamel, i.e. the basic substance for the glass coating, in-house and using a secret formulation. Kaldewei tells us the quality and durability of these surfaces are legendary.
There are over 50 different dimensions from 70 to 180 centimetres, diverse surface variations and a wide range of colours, all of which make the Superplan Zero even more attractive. Whether in large or small bathrooms, building owners, planners and installers have full flexibility. The shower surface is available with the almost invisible, anti-slip surface finish Secure Plus, upon request.
The Superplan Zero is 100 percent compatible with all the sealing sets, assembly systems and waste fittings from Kaldewei.
The SUPERPLAN ZERO shower floor is the latest product from Kaldewei created by the Berlin designer Werner Aisslinger. Available in over 50 different dimensions, the sustainable enamelled shower surface is easily accessed from three sides.
Designed to be installed at floor level, the shower surface has very narrow edges so it is possible to tile directly up to the shower edge to create the impression of almost invisible joints. The waste is close to the wall to enable comfort when standing and safety when moving around the shower area.
There are over 50 different dimensions from 70 to 180 centimetres, diverse surface variations and a wide range of colours, all of which make the Superplan Zero even more attractive. Whether in large or small bathrooms, building owners, planners and installers have full flexibility. The shower surface is available with the almost invisible, anti-slip surface finish Secure Plus, upon request. The Superplan Zero is 100 percent compatible with all the sealing sets, assembly systems and waste fittings from Kaldewei.
The base is made from sustainable, long-lasting and 100 per cent recyclable steel enamel. The glass surface is applied to the steel using a special process and this is what gives it such a luxurious finish. Kaldewei claims to be the only steel enamel manufacturer that produces the enamel (or the basic substance for the glass coating) in-house with a secret formulation.
To launch Superplan Zero, the well-known musician and photographer Bryan Adams worked with leading choreographers and dancers and shot six different motifs. The aesthetic, powerful movements of ballet dancers are captured on a “stage” made of precious steel enamel, bringing the sensual serenity of the shower moment to the fore.
