Residential bathrooms, spas, and pool areas afford clients an opportunity to create an at-home oasis while also accommodating the accessibility needs of young children and older adults. These products offer features such as integrated sensors, zero-clearance transitions, storage, and lustrous finishes that aim to meet the range of aesthetic desires and mobility needs, indoors and outdoors.
Rettanglo Tub, Gessi
Gessi’s latest addition to its Rettanglo line of bath furniture and fittings keeps books, bubbles, music, and other bath accoutrements close at hand. Designed by Italian sculptor Prospero Rasulo, the rectangular tub offers open shelving and an access compartment. Proprietary white Cristalplant surfacing makes for a hygienic, fire-resistant, and non-porous construction.
Plover, Oborain
Named for the endangered bird species that nests on the New England coast, Oborain’s Plover is a simple, standalone outdoor shower whose untreated cedar-plank shell will patina in the elements to take on the gray hues of driftwood. Its welded, Type 304 stainless-steel frame stands up to corrosive salt spray, while a Sunbrella curtain adds a colorful accent to outdoor pools and spas.
Amedeo Tondo, Karim Rashid
This monolithic washbasin’s sculptural form suites the unit for display. Designed by Karim Rashid for Italian bath products maker Cielo, Amedeo is offered in white and colored ceramic as well as stone and anthracite. Its freestanding form and slender profile allow the piece to stand independent of other bath furniture and fixtures while matching them in style. Rashid also designed a bidet, toilet, and wall-hung washbasin for the manufacturer.
Glacier, Wetstyle
In the past, ADA-compliant products have come up short in the design department. Now, designers are turning out innovative products that integrate features such as handrails and low-clearance transitions. Such is the case for Wetstyle’s Glacier shower, which was awarded a 2013 Good Design Award from the Chicago Athenaeum for its zero-threshold design and hidden linear drain within a modern, glass-walled frame.
Cyprum, Dornbracht
Designers are breaking from the industrial aluminum and steel look to take on copper as a warmer alternative to interior metal finishes. Dornbracht further refines the hue with a rose-gold Cyprum finish made of 18-carat gold and copper. The finish will be initially offered on the company’s MEM series of bath fittings.
Touchless Toilet Technology, Kohler
Kohler swaps the germ-ridden flush lever signature to most residential toilets for a hands-free sensor. Integrated with the company’s Cimarron toilet, the Touchless toilet’s sensing technology activates when users hold their hand above a sensor integrated with the tank lid. The system, which runs on four AA alkaline batteries, is also available as a retrofit kit that can be used with most single-flush toilets.
