At this year’s Salone del Bagno in Milan, the bathroom design exhibition concurrent with the Salone del Mobile, manufacturers introduced new products and concepts that reach the heights of creativity not normally seen in the sector—and that have to compete with the glamour typically resolved for furniture just a few halls away. Across the board, products appeared lighter and more minimal with copious amounts of rounded edges, attempting to communicate a lot with as little material as possible.
For Spanish brand Inbani, French designer Arik Levy created the Bowl collection that attempts to use the current red-hot trend of brass into the kitchen while keeping things lithe and fashionable with freestanding towel racks, mirrors, and storage in both brass and all-white colors.
Laufen worked with two rock-star designers this year—Konstantin Grcic and Toan Nguyen—to experiment with a new proprietary material dubbed SaphirKeramik, which the brand boasts as having the ability to reach new levels of thinness and strength in ceramics. Grcic’s basins use various geometric patterns on their countertops to be decorative, functional, and industrially chic.
The aluminum Rift radiators by Ludovica + Roberto Palomba with Matteo Fiorini for Tubes are designed to be a modular, component-based solution that can double as a shelf. It can also be customized with optional towel hooks and wooden shelving.
The open-air Wazebo outdoor show by Ludovica + Roberto Palomba for Kos has a simple metal structure and slatted wooden floor and ceiling. While the design appears monumental, it can be installed on any outdoor surface, including a lawn.
Italian tile brand Mutina previewed the Tierras collection by Patricia Urquiola. Inspired by the sedimentation process, it uses eight different styles that designers can mix and match in materials such as lava, terracotta, and clay.
