New Product: Q wall hung pan

 

We are excited to announce the Q range by Studio Bagno is now complete with the latest release of their wall hung pan.

 

5 years after the release of the Q back to wall suite, Studio Bagno have again teamed up with industrial designer Mark Armstrong (designer of the Sydney Olympic torch) to add the finishing piece to this range of toilets.

 

Designed in Australia and manufactured in Europe exclusively for Studio Bagno, the Q pan's have a distinct design that is both sleek and minimal characterised by a discrete absence of detail and the rakish ocean liner prow, the styling is calculated to stand the test of time.

 

We love to support local design and high quality, this is an Australian design icon with superior hydraulic characteristics in the pan design to ensure optimum four star performance.

 

 

The just released Q wall hung pan

 

The first piece of the series, Q back to wall suite

Q wall faced pan

 

 

Year In Review

Here are some of our favourite posts of 2014. 

Thanks for reading and we hope to share many more ideas with you next year!

Mini Trend: Round Mirrors

Hotel Drift, San Jose

New Product: Teuco  

Game Of Thrones

New York Fashion Week Inspiration

AXOR LampShower

Germany series

Pantone Colour of 2015: Marsala

Germany 2014: Part 3

 Our Duravit bus

 The Duravit building, designed by Philippe Starck

 Our Duravit welcome

 Duravit showroom

 Joanna leading us through the Duravit showroom

Sydney cameo in the Duravit showroom

Inipi sauna by Duravit

 Vero on display in the Duravit showroom

 Blue Moon Pool 

Our group checking out the Duravit displays


The last few days of our trip were upon us and we were off to the design centre/factory I was most looking forward to, Duravit.

Because our Duravit portion started on a Sunday, Duravit organised for us to have a leisure day which included an enjoyable lunch in Gutach followed by tobogganing down a mountain!

The day was warm and lovely, and the toboggans provided a little bit of adventure and physical exercise- which was much needed after a week of non-stop eating.

If you are not already aware, the Duravit Design Centre was designed by none other than Phillipe Starck. Driving up to the centre was spectacular, amongst the tranquil backdrop of the Black Forest emerges a sparkling silver box encasing a giant toilet. Brilliant.

Training was conducted by our lovely host, Joanna who is extremely knowledgeable and passionate about Duravit. She talked us through the history of the company including the explanation behind the Duravit logo, the wood grouse. It is a very rare bird found in the Black Forest and has been a symbol for Duravit's attachment to their roots and the respect they have for their natural environment.

The ceramic factory tour was a completely eye-opening experience. I was so surprised to see how much human contact is involved in the production. Clay pieces were being hand finished by an employee who had worked with Duravit over 20 years, the glazing was hand done, the quality controls were overseen many times by many different people. The whole production was outstanding and I have now seen with my own eyes why it is such a highly valued, quality product.

Duravit only use locally sourced ingredients for their ceramic, and recycle everything they can. They even break up and send damaged product (it was very hard to spot the damages!) to companies who can recycle the material to make roads etc.

We also visited the Duravit design centre showroom and were shown a great presentation on the Sensowash seat. Sensowash was installed in a few of the working bathrooms, so we all had a turn at testing them out. Once you've used it, you can't go back to a normal toilet!

Our last day at Duravit and Germany included a short trip to the Schenkensell furniture factory.

We've always loved Duravit furniture at Candana but to see the artisan manufacture of these pieces in person further cements our belief in them. Again, each piece is given a personal touch; hand-finishing, hand-polishing. All of the furniture is made to order in this factory, nothing is kept in stock. So when you order a piece of Duravit furniture, you will be getting something made especially for you by a German Duravit-trained skilled professional.

After this tour we headed straight to Frankfurt for our flights home.

We all returned to our respective states feeling confident about the brands, full of delicious German food and with a new group of inter-state friends.

I hope you've enjoyed reading about this trip as much I enjoyed being on it. A huge thank you to Bathe Australia and Candana for making the trip possible, and of course to Kaldewei, Hansgrohe and Duravit for your time, knowledge and hospitality.

Duravit basins on display

 Sundeck pool

New Vero furniture

 New Vero furniture

Our group waving from the toilet balcony

 Our group waving from the toilet balcony

Walking tour of Freiburg

Photos © kaety/Candana

5 mins with... David Moses of Horizon Habitats

For this edition of '5 mins with...' we've interviewed well-known Sydney builder David Moses of Horizon Habitats. Horizon Habitats have been building and maintaining homes across Sydney’s Eastern suburbs and North Shore for the last 25 years.

They've built some of the most luxurious homes in Sydney (if not, Australia) and we've been lucky enough to supply the bathroom products for most of these homes. 

Their work is impeccable and the highly professional staff are always a pleasure to deal with.

Describe your building work in 5 words…

Professional. High Quality. Service. Trust.

Which bathroom brand are you most likely to recommend to your clients?

Whatever they choose is PERFECT!!! My wife loves her Boyd Alternatives bath…

Who are some local or international designers/architects/builders that you admire?

We work with a multitude of talented designers and architects in Sydney!!! SAOTA in South Africa are doing some great work over there.

If you could build anyone’s bathroom (past or present), whose would it be? And what would you do with it?

The original Moses! We’d need drains on both sides of the bathroom as he parted the waters!!!

What’s the most important thing you’ve learnt about building bathrooms?

-Locate the taps outside the shower, so you can turn the water on and get it nice and warm before you get wet!

-Have a small step down in to the shower to stop the water splash out

-A niche is always a good idea to put some shelves for shampoo and soap

-Another niche for washing feet/shaving legs is also useful

What is your favourite Candana bathroom product and why?

The “Urban Rain” – designed by Candana, of course!!!

We would like to thank David Moses and the HH team for their continued support and for sharing a small insight into their building.
Check out their website and blog for more info.


all photos via Horizon Habitats

Game Of Thrones

Considered by many people to be the taboo subject of bathrooms, choosing the right toilet will probably be the most important choice you may have to make when renovating or building a bathroom.

Not only does this essential object need to be aesthetically pleasing, it is important to have a toilet which is easy to clean, designed well internally for optimum flushing and quite importantly must be comfortable.

We may use the bathroom every day but we use the toilet multiple times each day, the average person spends three whole years of their life sitting on the toilet so you'd want to make sure you've got a good one.

There are many things to consider when choosing the right pan for you, the market is flooded with toilets. So using our expert opinion, we thought we'd put together our top 5 and explain exactly why it is worth choosing one of these.

1. Starck 3 by Duravit

Originally designed in 2002 by world renowned designer Philippe Starck, this is still one of, if not the most, popular toilets we supply. 'Frequently copied but never matched' the Starck 3 range is and remains the measure of all things when it comes to design, variety and price.

Geberit internals, clean lines and a contemporary feel will ensure these toilets will be around for a long time.

2. Subway by Villeroy & Boch
The primary competition to the Starck 3, the Subway suite is our most popular range by ceramic mega house Villeroy & Boch. Most people have heard of V&B from their range of tableware and most are surprised to hear this company have been making ceramics for more than three centuries. So it's pretty safe to say V&B know a thing or two about sanitaryware.
 The Subway is the brands most sleek and minimal designed toilet suite and is available with 'CeramicPlus', a special process that gives the surface a permanent high quality finish and offers optimum hygiene and less cleaning time.

3. Q by Studio Bagno

It's quite difficult to find a bathroom product that is Australian designed, in fact you could probably count Australian-designed sanitary-ware on one hand it is so rare.

Q back to wall suite is a design commissioned by Studio Bagno from Mark Armstrong, one of Australia's foremost industrial designers. This is an Australian design icon with superior hydraulic characteristics in the pan design to ensure optimum four star performance.

4. Darling New by Duravit

Designed by Sieger Design (and as its name suggests) Darling New is the newest range by Duravit and set to be a Duravit classic – top end design without a top end price tag. The new range offers harmonious circular forms and an exquisite shape. Darling New is the modern version of a bathroom classic – versatile, stylish and affordable.

5. PuraVida by Duravit

The brainchild of Phoenix Design, the design of this extraordinary complete range makes minimalism approachable by giving it a new feminine touch. All lines are exceptionally soft and give the range a sense of effortless motion. PuraVida’s graceful appearance, inviting surfaces and subtle luxury make the collection ideal for people who are not interested in prestige but in contemporary forms, enjoyment and joie de vivre.

Happy Holidays

Frost Camouflage hook, black

Vola Hv1 basin mixer, brass

Menu Norm toothbrush holder

Villeroy & Boch Loop vanity basin

Duravit Darling New wall hung pan

Grohe Power & Soul handshower

KOS freestanding bath

Norm Architects

'NORM.ARCHITECTS was founded in 2008 and represents the vision of Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen and Kasper Rønn. Situated in the heart of Copenhagen, NORM works with residential architecture, commercial interiors, industrial design, photography, graphics and art direction. 

Both Jonas and Kasper are trained architects, but even though they share the same taste in aesthetics, their different approach to design and architecture is what makes NORM stand out. 

In spirit with the tradition for Scandinavian simplicity NORM strives to cut to the bone in their designs. To find the simplest shape for a given task without forgetting the beauty of the shape and the details, in order to reach a point where there is nothing to add and nothing to take away that can make the product better. Like true Scandinavians they pride themselves in their culture and history, and hope and aspire to create new norms for Nordic design.'

NORM's aesthetic translates beautifully in their bathroom design. The rooms are chic and sophisticated, a perfect example of how to do minimal bathrooms well.

NORM have also designed a myriad of products for well known brands including stools, tables, kitchenware and lighting. We are very excited to announce that we will be stocking their bathroom accessories very soon, so watch this space!

via norm.architects