iSalone & Milan design week 2014 - Wrap up Bagno

How was Milan? Well Milan is always incredible, the entire week of events and installations coupled with iSalone is nothing short of amazing....& i just love Milan

Over 357,000 people visited iSaloni this year and with over 900 events going on with Fuorisalone and almost 400 satellite events it is nothing short of exhausting...a good exhausting mind you. It is incredible how tired you feel but you just keep on!

So what where the highlights?

Bagno (Bathrooms) @ iSalone

We do not really get to see full settings and tiles or the function of a bathroom at this event, we see more the mass produced products such as vanity units, accessories and tapware.

There was a few strong trends, one was this feeling of making the mass produced feel Bespoke and made for you, there was a real element of furniture creeping into some of the stronger brands, so the vanity did really take on the Bathroom Furniture feel. 

These Bathroom furniture elements had coloured interiors, no metal drawers sides. the basins are centre or off set allowing for more work space as such. The storage in some cases was on legs reminiscent of a credenza unit. We saw the introduction of built in make up areas for self beautification. 

Off set storage with built in make up area

The walnut legs felt crafted and hand made, as if a one off piece

Textured and coloured interiors

Basins - There was really three types at this years fair, the above counter was massive...and i mean massive the bowls are oversized and take on a real feature like status on the vanity. The main materials where Solid Surface by far still the most popular, hand made ceramic made a return which was nice to see as there was colour coming from this and then there was metal which i liked as there is a real refinement with this type of hand basin. 

The second trend in basins was the integrated bench and bowl, this is huge here in Australia as we love the ease of use and practicality.We only really saw solid surface as a material here but we did see a little bit of ceramic benchtops...yes that's right. very thin with built in bowls.

And finally on Basins the floor mounted made a grand statement, i do like this option with all storage recessed out of the way....

Baths....well the love affair with freestanding baths continues. They came in all shapes and sizes this year. We saw a lot of taking on the old claw foot look and some developed a little practicality with ledges to place items on, the over whelming trend in material is Solid Surface

We did see a few where the bath and the hand basin became integrated, this is not a new trend but one that may be gaining some momentum in the market place. Personally i like this one.....

Taps.  Well we saw a few really breaking the mould...the new Gessi Cono is/was extraordinary, how a form like this is even made let along thought about excites me. There was a large amount of Wellness shower heads that are really over size, soaker, ceiling mounted, wall mounted the fair had them all. Colour change, light therapy and so on which we feel are truly wonderful but the sad state of affairs is in Australia we may never see these due to the over regulation that happens...another discussion. 

in case you are wondering...this is a shower head

Materials, it is hard to say what was trending as far as decorative surfaces for the bathrooms but we say what was trending as far as the display and stands themselves. Nature!!! If it was natural or looked natural it was in & in in a big way. Washed timbers, wood grain, stone and lots of green. Plants everywhere

There was a touch of classic this year, i feel this was pitching towards the Russian and Emerittes market but some of it was beautiful...not my taste but well done non the less.

Outside of iSalone there is always a lot to see and this year was no different. Here are my top 3

The Corian exhibit, pushing the envelop as far as dark and light. The play on the 2 is truly incredible. The back wall of this shower is back lite engraved Corian.

The iPhone is charging! New technology allows your mobile device to charge whilst on the bench....

 2. The Gessi showroom in Milano would have to be one of the highlights of my trip, the space was a maze, one that excited and engaged at every turn. from sycronized shower heads to historic ruins the space had it all....

And finally the always impressive Boffi, i will only show you bathrooms on this post as i will create another post on kitchens as this one has become very long!!! 

Boffi has always been an incredible experience they are always pushing the boundary of material use and the engaging us to really think about function which we love. 

I hope you have enjoyed this wrap on my trip to Milano or are leas thte bathroom side of things, keep i eye out as i will post in the next week or so the kitchen side. 

A big thank you as to go out to the KBDi and their sponsors as i would not have had this experience. This trip was a prize for winning their Australian Bathroom Designer of the Year 2013 award. 

Any questions please email me

Darren Genner