Design April/May 2015 December 2015/January 2016 | Page 26

The basin 26 The wash hand basin is one of the most underappreciated items in our bathroom, yet so many designers give their entire career to designing these oh so necessary ceramic basins and their joinery. We all remember the time when some bathrooms had all the fittings colour coded in the same pink, blue or green as the wall tiles. Luckily this trend has long left the building and we can all admit that white is the best when it comes to porcelain. This, however, does not mean we have to completely neglect all colour in our bathroom. Duravit and the like, give us the opportunity to express our love for subtle colour in the joinery under the basin; like in the range “L-Cube’’. Here the option of apricot-pearl on the joinery combined with copper faucets can be the most exquisite expression for the right person. The same can be said for mirror cabinets. These can be bought off the shelf in any design, style and finish, depending on what your requirement are. The toilet Gone are the days where the toilet received its own room, trends tell us that the toilet is part of the bathroom, be it behind a small wall, a glass panel or just in the open, it has become an integral part of the bathroom. For this reason the toilet has come a long way in terms of design. Designers have taken the ‘throne’ to a whole new level. The cistern has vanished into the wall and now the latest invention; the actuator does not even have to be behind the pot. It is now possible with Gerberit to place the actuator as far as 170 cm away. This opens new design possibilities for many people. Then we also have the bidet. Toilets with integrated wash-function are being installed more regularly. There are many different options available, from toilet lids that get fixed to specific pots to entirely integrated designs where one can not spot the difference between an ordinary and a shower toilet. desIgn Namibia December 2015/January 2016