Bathing Elegance: Samuel Heath Fairfield Faucet

One of the many design infused stops along the BlogTour 2011 London journey was a visit to the world-class Design Centre Chelsea Harbour.  Our first showroom visit of the day started with a delightful champagne welcome at Samuel Heath. There I found quite a few exquisite design gems that would add luxury, glamour and elegance to any bath. The first I’d like to share is the Fairfield sink faucet fixture. Its classic design, subtle curves, and striking black crystal handles captured my attention and heart almost two years ago at the New York International Contemporary Fair. And when I saw it again, gracefully poised as an elegant centerpiece on a table dotted with sparkling crystal flutes filled with effervescently shimmering champagne, I fell in love all over again.

Samuel Heath: Old World Craftsmanship meets Modern Technology

Fairfield Exposed Shower.

Samuel Heath’s name, in the interior design world, is synonymous with quality, elegance, and a stunning combination of intricate craftsmanship and advanced technology in all of the bath and architectural hardware products they design and produce.

I first learned about Samuel Heath at the 2010 International Contemporary Furniture Fair, and was immediately smitten with the beauty of their plumbing fixtures. Surprisingly, given my affinity for contemporary design, I was drawn to the Fairfield sink fixture shown below:

Though traditional in design, there was something that captured my heart about this bathroom faucet. Normally, I wouldn’t give a more traditional design a second thought, but the design was so well crafted – it was like a beautifully sculptured work of art. I thought to myself, this is a bathroom fixture that my style icon Coco Chanel would certainly have had gracing her bathroom sink. It wasn’t hard at all to imagine Mademoiselle standing at her lavatory spritzing herself with Chanel No. 5, with her strands of pearls,and gold and silver chain necklaces elegantly draped near the Fairfield’s classic black levers.

I was delighted to learn that Samuel Heath is a sponsor of BlogTour 2011 London, and that I would be getting to see their bath and hardware collections, again, during the London Design Festival next week.  I’m looking forward to sharing their beautiful bathroom fixtures with you over the next week or so. I will be publishing design updates live from the London Design Festival and Decorex via Twitter and Facebook.

Disclosure:  I am one of several design, lifestyle and travel bloggers and writers that have been invited to participate in BlogTour 2011 London.

Brizo Faucets: Inspired Distinctive Design

For being a relatively young brand, Brizo, has already left an indelible mark in the highly competitive world of luxury kitchen and bath design. Their kitchen and bath faucets are distinctive, innovative and stylish. Equally striking are Brizo’s advertising campaigns (image above: Brizo ad campaign launched April 2010; image below: Brizo ad campaign 2009). The advertising campaigns were born of the collaboration between fashion designer Jason Wu and Brizo – based on the simple premise set forth by Brizo for their faucet designs, “Fashion for the Home”.

Jason, renowned for designing First Lady Michelle Obama’s iconic inaugural gown, designs haute couture confections for Brizo’s ad campaigns, and, in turn, Brizo sponsor’s the young designer’s fashion shows at New York Fashion Week.

The relationship with Wu and fashion was a natural one for Brizo. As is the case for all design, whether it be fashion, architectural, industrial or furniture – no matter how different their final creation all designers start with that one moment, that one idea, that one inspiration that spurs them to create.

Jason’s fall 2010 collection was inspired by the artistic works of the legendary photographer Irving Penn. Brizo’s design team also finds inspiration from the world around them and the experiences that mold their lives. A multitude of inspirational variables from the latest trends in color, texture, pattern and form to fashion to architecture to life experiences to art to travel to culture all come into play resulting in a design equation that yields truly unique, innovative, soul-moving creations.

During the Brizo morning training session I attended, (Editor’s Note: I was one of Brizo’s guest for the NY Fashion Week events including Jason Wu’s fashion show. ) I listened as Judd Lord, Brizo’s Director of Industrial Design, discussed his inspiration for the Venuto faucet. Judd related to the group of kitchen and bath designers and design editors that it was an inspirational idea for a faucet handle which gave birth to the Venuto bathroom faucet.  The Venuto handle design was inspired by Japanese hair sticks that Judd had spotted several women wearing at a Japanese restaurant in Milan. He said that the “incredible hair sticks…had really simple forms” and “that the ends of the hair sticks had a very cool slice to them and he was very intrigued by them.”  The inspirational concept for a faucet handle that he sketched on a napkin, later took a more defined shape on his return flight home, and that simple inspiration resulted in the Brizo Venuto.

Inspirational Faucet Designs: Brizo’s Talo and Virage

The Brizo Talo kitchen faucet is a perfect example of what according to Jai Massela of Brizo are two of three hallmarks that define the Brizo brand, those being,“inventive technology and distinctive design”. The Talo is Brizo’s first traditional pull-down kitchen faucet that uses a technology called MagneDock which utilizes magnets to make retrieving and returning the spray wand to the faucet effortless and perfectly aligned use-after-use. According to the product specifications, MagneDock is “the first technology of its kind available”. The Talo’s Technological innovation doesn’t stop with MagneDock, the Brizo design team also included a future-forward option they pioneered called SmartTouch technology that allows water flow to be activated or deactivated solely based on touch – no need to move the handle (unless you want to).

Judd Lord Discusses Talo’s Design Inspirations

Talo was born out of the Baliza project which was going after the ‘new traditional’ trend at the time. Traditional styling is always a strong player especially domestically, and as such there is always a challenge to design fresh and interesting objects to fill these spaces. Every year there are new generations of designers reinterpreting familiar objects with a fresh perspective. The movement tends to be more about evolution rather than revolution. Baliza was just such a design exercise…with it’s design cues taken from a lighthouse with its beacon, the original Baliza design incorporated traditional details in an architecture not usually seen in this type of product. The mid-rise up-and-out architecture captures a comfortable feeling in a fresh perspective.

While the mid-rise up-and-out design was received quite well, there was still a desire for a taller, more standard pull-down option, as well. This was discovered during the Baliza design process when we were interviewing many designers, showroom folks and customers about various aspects of the current kitchen faucet offering and something heard over and over again was a desire to have the choice between a mid-rise and a taller hi-arc model. Hence Talo was born.

The kitchen island had now become a focal point of the house: where homework was worked on as mom prepared dinner; as the general main gathering spot for friends and family alike; and often time the place families ended up eating many of their meals. Tall spouts in this location were viewed by this group as a distraction by obscuring the view and interaction with others at the island. We also heard many not wanting tall hi-arc spouts at the main sink because it obscured their picturesque view out of the window. There is also the large contingent who still want the taller hi-arc spout at the main sink along the wall and a shorter version, a mini-me, if you will, of the exact same design at the island. Well with the introduction of Talo we provide the designer and homeowner the choice to mix and match between the mid-rise and hi-arc models. They both share the same design cues, even sharing the same bud vase and soap dispenser. So while Talo is not marketed as a Baliza model, its origins are inextricably intertwined with that of Baliza. Talo fits right at home in the ‘new traditional’ movement of today’s casual living.

Virage is a bathroom faucet that brings a sculptural art form to the home, and does so in an eco-friendly fashion (WaterSense Certified) – using about 20% less water while still performing as well as its more water hungry peers.  Brizo’s Mandy Ellington noted on the style versatility of the Virage “putting a different finish on it really brings out a different style. Chrome and polished nickel is very modern, contemporary…Venetian Bronze brings out that rustic wrought iron look which is what [Virage] was inspired by.”

Judd Lord Discusses Virage’s Design Inspirations

Virage was designed at the peak of the Glam trend in the mid 2000s’. Both Art Deco and Art Nouveau design cues were strong and exerting influence in every style category, from the ultra-traditional to modern. At this same time we made a couple of trend spotting trips to Europe…one to London and one to Paris.

What we came away with were a lot of images capturing many of the architectural elements of these cities. A common theme identified was all the detailed and decorative iron work, especially in Paris. Whether it took the form of fences, gates, window guards, entrance accents, balcony railings, etc…this highly decorative ironwork became most intriguing to us.

As a matter of fact, much of the iron work detailing, while often stylized, was quite Gothic in nature as were many of the architectural elements and the original Virage concept followed suite. It was a J-spout profile with the quarter turn twist as it is today, but the spout tip and spout and handle base details were much more gothic in nature…visually heavier and with the look of having exposed nail heads.

After reviewing the initial prototype it was obvious we wanted to drive it more Deco to capitalize on the ever growing Glam trend wave. So to that end we visually lightened the bases and spout tip, simplified them by removing the faux exposed nail heads and punched up some of the faceting and chamfers to pull in more Deco flair. We also added some Deco styling details to the tops of the handles during this iteration, but after reviewing, decided it was visually unnecessary. The geometry itself could more than stand on its own without the extra details so they were removed. The result is the beautiful suite you see today.

One of the pleasant surprises in this design is how people are able to interpret it as belonging to several differing style categories. Many call it ‘fancy or eclectic’, many call it traditional or decorative and quite a few view it as contemporary and fresh. All of which is a very good outcome for us as it means the suite is quite transitional in nature, being able to play in any number of styles of interior spaces.

Looking to the Future of  Brizo

After attending the Brizo training session; listening to their design team discuss their inspiration driven design processes; learning more about Brizo’s continuous journey for technological breakthroughs; and getting sneak peeks at new faucet designs, I was left with the striking impression that Brizo’s inspirationally designed smart faucets will, without a doubt, redefine what homeowners will expect from their faucets.

I will be attending the Kitchen and Bath Industry Show (KBIS) later this week, and I’m looking forward to seeing and sharing with you the new creative and technologically advanced faucet designs Brizo will be debuting at the show.

RELATED: Brizo Talo Faucet with SmartTechnology Giveaway

Resources: Brizo

Linkasink Bathroom Sink Drain Covers

Quad with Turquoise in Pewter Sink Drain Cover(left) and Quad with Pearl in Pewter Sink Drain Cover (right)

Beaded Round with Crackle Shell in Dark Bronze Sink Drain Cover (left),Beaded with Daffodil Cloisonne in Dark Bronze Sink Drain Cover (right)

Beaded with White Clouds Cloisonne in Pewter Sink Drain Cover (left), Three Flowers in Pewter Sink Drain Cover (right)

Sink drains are usually, well, to put it kindly, functionally ugly and so are their boring,blah, covers. So when we saw these decorative sink drain covers  from sink maker Linkasink our design hearts raced. They are GORGEOUS.  The decorative drain covers are designed by Linkasink founder and designer, Kirk Guthrie and are heavily inspired by his world travels.

We’ve picked six of our favorites (shown above) from Linkasink’s incredible sink drain cover collection of over 64 unique decorative sink drain cover designs.  There’s a decorative drain cover design for every decorating diva to love from stone sculptured drain covers to metal carved drain covers to drain covers made from semi-precious stones (we’re loving the “Linkasink Quad with Turquoise in Pewter Sink Drain Cover”), glass, pearls and cloisonné.

The Linkasink drain system includes a fully functional drain and decorative drain cover that can be installed on any sink.

Retail price ranges from $150 to $195. Yeah, we couldn’t believe the amazing price on these beauties. Even in a “down” economy this is an affordable home improvement that will provide lots of bang for the buck, not to mention having something beautiful to look at.

If you have a few more home improvement bucks to spend you may want to couple a gorgeous sink drain cover with an  equally beautiful crystal embedded vessel sink

Images copyright of respective companies.

Home Decor Buyer Resource: Linkasink.

Arzo Bathroom Faucet from Delta Faucet

Delta Faucet’s angular-shaped Arzo Collection is inspired by the geometric designs found in modern furniture and lighting. The sophisticated Arzo bathroom faucet will complement a modern, minimalist bathroom design.

The Arzo bathroom faucet collection includes shower models (raincan showerheads and hand showers)  that offer dual function pressure balance and thermostatic showering options among other desirable showering features.

Images copyright of respective companies.

Home Decor Buyer Resource: Delta Faucet

Sade Bathroom Faucet by Graff

German plumbing fixture manufacturer, Graff,  has brought high art and design to the bathroom with their attention getting Sade Collection of bathroom fixtures.  This beautiful and elegant sculptural faucet redefines expectations with regards to bathroom hardware and decor.

The Graff Sade faucet Collection is also available as a floor mounted faucet for bath tubs (photo below).

Images copyright of respective companies.

Home Decor Buyer Resource: Graff Faucets

Modern Bathroom Glam: Glass Wall DIY Install

Want to add a modern, luxurious glam design to your bathroom? Then replace the boring and traditional dry wall with the look of  contemporary glass. Sounds hard? I used to think so until I came across a simple, yet thorough, DIY how-to from refurber.com regular, denouement. Before I jump into the details let me show you denouement’s bathroom improvement project. The photo on the bottom right illustrates the starting point with the bathroom wall framed out. The finished bathroom “glass” wall install photo on the top right illustrates the beautifully designed and newly installed “glass” wall.

I know you’re probably wondering, “Why does she have the quotes around the word glass?”. The answer is that actual glass is not used in this project for two reasons. The first is that glass near a bathtub/shower area needs to be shatterproof which leads me to the second reason real glass is not used, it’s expensive to buy the required safety glass. denouement used a plexi-glass (ecoresin from 3Form) which has “self-extinguishing flammability for code compliance”.

Don’t think that you’re limited to colors and textures. 3Form has a breath-taking variety of styles and designs to choose from. Some of my favorites are shown below:

This look won’t work in all homes but if your home is contemporary in design and style then it’s definitely a natural fit.Learn how you can get this look at home -read denouement’s 5 Tips for Creating an Architectural Glass Wall.

Design resource: 3Form

HealthCraft The Invisia Collection Safety Enhanced Bathroom Accessories

Who likes to be reminded that they’re aging and aren’t as strong, agile, flexible or physically balanced as they once were? We venture to guess none of us! That’s why we don’t want institution-like assistive devices in our bathrooms’ that scream “Hey you’re getting old”.  Unfortunately, as we age or are faced with impaired mobility due to illness there will be a need to integrate safety, assistive devices in our bathrooms-whether we like it or not.

Thanks to companies like HealthCraft Products Inc  the days of selecting the least ugly of the available hospital-like bathroom assistive devices are becoming a distant memory. HealthCraft Products Inc., recently launched a revolutionary new collection “The Invisia”  that brings luxury plumbing to the assistive bathroom device market.

One of the driving forces behind The Invisa Collection Safety Enhanced Bathroom Accessories™ , according to John O’Brien, V.P. and Lead Designer at HealthCraft Products Inc , was the thought that:

…before anyone else ends up on the floor of a shower holding a dislodged soap dish in their hands, why not turn that non-load rated soap dish into a grab bar that can easily support up to 350lbs

Included in the HealthCraft Invisa Collection are:

• Soap Dish With Integrated Support Rail
• Corner Shelf With Integrated Support Rail
• Toilet Roll Holder With Integrated Support Rail
• Accent Ring Support Rail

Images copyright of respective companies.

Home Decor Buyer Resource:  HealthCraft Products Inc.

Kitchen and Bath Faucets: Details by Jamie Goldberg

ABOUT JAMIE GOLDBERG

Jamie Goldberg, AKBD, CAPS is an NKBA-certified kitchen and bath designer and a freelance design journalist. Her articles have appeared in Signature Kitchens & Baths Magazine, Fine Homebuilding, BobVila.com, KitchenBathIdeas.com and many others.  She is also a regular contributor to Kitchens.com, where her Sensible Style blog appears each month.

Jamie currently lives and works in San Diego, California, where she writes her own Gold Notes blog and serves as the Design & Marketing Director for Italian Kitchen Design and Distribution, an importer of quality European cabinetry, based in the San Diego suburb of Escondido.

The Power of a Terrific Tap to Up the Style Quotient

Last month we looked at kitchen and bath lighting. This segment focuses on faucets. Never underestimate the power of a terrific tap to up the style quotient in your kitchen or bath. To see what I mean, try to imagine this bathroom with a plastic-handled, builder basic faucet.

Bathroom designed by Jamie Goldberg, AKBD, CAPS

Such a tacky, outdated fixture would totally downgrade the elegance of this traditional, remodeled bathroom. I visited the remodeled master bath of an acquaintance who had spent her whole budget on custom cabinets, stone tops and new floors, but opted not to replace her builder grade faucets. What do you think got noticed first? Yep, the out-of-place plastic knobs stuck out like a sore thumb. Here are some great faucets to consider for your kitchen and bath, even if you’re not planning a remodel.

This Traditional Triflow Faucet from Rohl features integrated water filtration. There’s also a bathroom version available so you can brush your teeth with filtered water, too.

This is Brizo‘s Talo faucet with SmartTouch Technology. One lucky reader won one of these from Gold Notes, The Decorating Diva, LLC and Brizo. Click here for details on the winning entry.

This strikingly-unique Italian-designed Wolo faucet has American (Elkay) and European (Webert) lineage.

I’ve long delighted in the breezy style of Danze‘s South Sea series, which may show up in one of my own bathrooms one day.

This graceful modern Stance Faucet by Kohler showed up at this year’s Kitchen & Bath Industry Show.

Two Key Points About Bathroom Faucets

1. If you’re considering replacing shower or tub faucets, you will most likely have to replace the valve behind the wall and below the deck, too, which means a larger project. If you stay within the same brand family, you may not have to. Check with a plumbing sales specialist for assistance.
2. Bathroom sink faucets come in various configurations. Four-inch spreads are probably the most common. Be sure you know what you need before you order if you’re not replacing your sink or countertops.

Three Key Points About Kitchen Faucets

1. If the faucet is the only kitchen component being replaced, consider how many holes you have in your sink or countertop and don’t exceed that number.
2. If you’re planning on upgrading your countertops later on, look for a faucet that can be mounted without a deck plate, and find out whether an extension will be needed to accommodate thicker tops. Buy it now while the part is available and keep it in storage for your eventual remodel.
3. If your sink is tucked behind a raised bar, consider the height difference if you don’t want your faucet to be seen from the next room.

Get more kitchen and bath faucet ideas at Jamie’s post, Details #2 Faucet coverage on Gold Notes.

And please check back next month when Details covers Fabrics and Fibers, including window coverings, towels and more.

Brizo Traditional & Vesi Sensori Custom Showers

Brizo has transformed the routine and boring act of showering into a sensory laden luxury spa experience with its Sensori Custom Showers available with the following shower fixture models: Vesi (top right), Traditional (top left), RSVP (bottom left), and Euro (bottom right).

Brizo’s Sensori Custom Showers offers a 12-gallons-per-minute flow rate, thermostatic valve for anti-scald protection, and an expansive showerhead offering for wall- or ceiling-mount installation. Multiple shower head options are available including body sprays, body jets, and hand showers. All Sensori Custom Shower fixtures come in a wide variety of finishes.

Images copyright of respective companies.

Home Decor Buyer Resource: Brizo