Guest blog: Written by Amy Moorea Wong for ukbathrooms.com
Bathroom design is evolving, and VitrA’s expansive Voyage collection points us towards the look and feel of tomorrow.
Gone are the days when the bathroom was a practical affair, a room only to dash in and out of. In recent years the space’s functionality has melded with tactile materials, sensuous shapes and considered use of colour as it moves further and further from existing purely for cleanliness, to somewhere to enjoy, retreat to, and luxuriate in.
The design of the bathroom and the objects within it have adapted accordingly, in a trend that first saw freestanding baths take on ever more experimental shapes, and slowly trickled through into furniture, brassware and ceramics. As things get increasingly progressive, leading the way is Voyage by VitrA, a 130-piece range by renown Israeli creative Arik Levy, characterised by flowing, sculptural sanitaryware and adaptable wooden storage.
‘VitrA’s Voyage collection breaks bathroom boundaries with its unique interpretation of ceramicware, and forward-thinking approach to space saving and flexibility’ says Graeme Borchard, Managing Director at UK Bathrooms. ‘The range is a glimpse into the future, showing us that contemporary spaces will be imaginative, impactful and approached differently to today.’
Serene ceramics
The collection clearly plays into the bathroom’s new role as a room for relaxation. Sanitaryware is modern and elegant, circular or oval basins merged with round-cornered rectangular trays, which invoke a deeply calming feel, thanks to the smoothness of the shapes and the clear craft involved in combining the forms. These pieces speak of poetry, artistry and a soothing softness.
Wet or dry?
In a further challenge to the bathroom norm, Voyage basins blur the boundaries of the wet and the dry, with the tray surrounding the bowl creating a mid-point between the two and initiating a new dialogue between countertop and bowl. Will this extra area be used for product storage, to catch water, or in ways we are yet to discover?
Total flexibility
Voyage is entirely wall hung, an innovation which makes it incredibly versatile and entirely customisable to specific spaces and needs. Storage focuses on simple timber boxes – inspired by the time designer Arik Levy spent living in Japan – units and wall panels that can be placed horizontally or vertically, in five natural tones including light and dark oak as well as white, grey and forest green.
Signalling a change in bathroom design, Voyage works in rooms big and small, crucially embracing individual needs and preferences, and inviting the user on a journey to build their own personal space to unwind in.
Guest blog: Written by Amy Moorea Wong, Design and Interiors Journalist and ukBathrooms. Visit the Voyage page on ukbathrooms.com.