So for those of you who missed it last weekend, the Dwell on Design show was amazing. It’s the West Coast’s biggest design event, was at the LA Convention Center and is put on by Dwell magazine (check out their twitter here). The top names in interior decoration, kitchen fixtures, bathroom tile, modern furniture and advanced appliances were present to help turn the houses of today into the homes of the future.
Hansgrohe had a packed showroom with tons of faucet designs on one wall, with a full featured bathroom taking up the rest of the space. All of the designs showing were exclusively from Patricia Urquiola, a renowned Spanish designer. One key element of her design philosophy was the raw, unplanned aesthetic of her childhood bathing experiences. Her sinks are offset from their faucets, and equipped with handle like towel racks on each side, making every basin reminiscent of the bucket her mother used to bathe her in. Her ingenious on/off functions combine thermostat and flow into one control that can also remember which temperature mix you prefer without having to rediscover it every time you turn on the faucet.
Porcelanosa‘s showroom was just as breathtaking, but this time by tricking the senses. Their wall tile innovations include a 12″x12″ set that conceals the tile grout, giving the appearance of a mosaic tile pattern without the time consuming placing of each little tile. They also included a macro tile set. While it didn’t hide its seams like Porcenalosa’s other offerings, it was held tightly to minimize the visibility, and was also groutless. Here’s a far away and super close shot.
Laufen was ready to show off their stuff by having a children’s bathroom outfitted at their booth. Showing it in a classic black and white palette, it’s also available in pink/black and white/pink combinations. These are sized perfectly for smaller users and also have larger analogues that allow them to be outfitted in a young person’s apartment who prefer modernist style as opposed to more traditional lines.
Having showed this line at the KBIS show, Duravit was hawking their PuraVida brand of bathroom elegance. Designed as a complete suite of items, the PuraVida line provides sinks, faucets, towel holders, tubs, toilets, mirrors and other bathroom accessories to tie every element together in a fashionable cohesion. The PuraVida also takes a cue from modern industrial design with white gloss and chrome finishes combined in a single fixture. This soft, feminine aesthetic is incredibly visually pleasing and can easily integrate into any bathroom even if you don’t intend to utilize the full set.
As always, you can find all of these products and more at PlumbTile.com. Check back next week for more intimate details about what we saw at the Dwell on Design Show.