Livinghouse

Another great Italian design

Italy has a long history with design. Some of the most important and well known names in fashion are Italian – Armani, Versace, Prada, Dolce and Gabbana, Valentino and more. It’s long history with great artists and amazing architecture is also testament to its artistic heritage.

Annually there is a renowned Design Week held in Milan (8 – 14 April 2014) showing off great and often radical furniture designs and concepts. These of course also feature kitchens and bathrooms and often new materials.

Italian bathroom fixtures and fittings

As in fashion, the Italian’s often lead the world in superb contemporary designed bath fixtures and there will be plenty at this year’s show to bring ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’.

One designer who has showcased products and designs at Milan Design Week/Salone del Mobile in the past is the Egyptian-born Karim Rashid. This year his Axo light – a fluid, trumpet shaped light – will be on show.

Karim is well known for his use of bright colours but can tone it down when necessary. Currently he has 3000 designs in production ranging from furniture to accessories to shops and hotels and he has won more than 300 design awards. His early obsession with drawing has well and truly paid off as he has carried it through this far.

He has a number of bathroom designs to his credit from a two person bath or the ‘slipper-style’ bath with a built in TV. Several of his designs highlight his love of bright colours including his Kawa bathroom design which is all about shapes and colour.

High regard

With a CV of this calibre he comes with high regard from around the world. His designs are functional but are always aesthetically pleasing and often a little avant garde.

He has paired with the Italian company Axia to design his new bathroom collection. The shapes are very organic and based on the shape of a pebble. Smooth but with indentations, the shapes of the collection capture light which makes them seem deeper than they are and at the same time they are easy to clean.

The collection is available in high gloss resin and beautiful wood making it soft to the touch and really inviting for that long, warm soak and the perfect place to relax. With the design of this collection Rashid has answered the brief for elegance and exclusivity.

Not alone

However Rashid is not the only one to create beautiful modern bathroom collections which offer these attributes. Livinghouse stock a range of Italian designed bathroom fixtures in a wide range of shapes to please the eye. Perfect enough for your pampering ritual and that will be the envy of friends and family.

Salone del Mobile

If you’re heading over to Milan there will be many Karim Rashid designs to feast your eyes on from ‘Sparkle Krib’ a recreation of a complete living space using a new generation of acrylic stone to accessories – glass vases – and furniture, particularly chairs.