ISH Fair 2009 – The Future for Bathrooms
The ISH Fair is the world's leading
design fair for the sanitation, bathroom and heating industry. Held in spring in Frankfurt, Germany every second year, more than 200,000 visitors attended this year, and the ideas were flowing!
Cass Brothers Assistant Manager Chantelle Khalil travelled the long distance to ISH 2009 and these are the current bathroom trends that we will see start filtering through over the next couple of years.
Just as in the fashion industry right now, black is on a comeback in the bathroom! Emerging in basins, baths and shower tray designs, it is a trend we have already caught glimpses of in the Australian bathroom scene.
White also made a cameo appearance in bathroom products besides sanitaryware, showing up in tapware and hand showers by Grohe (Germany), Hansgrohe (Germany), Hansa (Germany) and KWC (USA).
A flicker of gold here and there made for a luxurious feel for bathroom interiors, and a splash of leafy green was also seen with some of Grohe's hand-shower pieces, adding a refreshing and somewhat earthy touch of colour to the bathroom.
Stunning bathroom accessories in black and gold were also making a regular appearance, offering a little bit of classic chic to bathroom interiors. For this same reason we noticed embellishments such as and back-lit mirrors with subtle decorative motifs by Villeroy & Boch, and fine metallic and ceramic motifs on basins.
The use of digital and electronic
integrated systems in bathrooms was very big this year. Grohe and Hansgrohe achieved this by incorporating the use of cutting-edge touch pads into bathroom shower set ups and tapware themselves. This controls the on/off mechanism, water flow,
temperature and the new and ingenious ‘water pause' feature.
Practical and visually eye-catching light features in the bathroom were presented on toilet push plates by Grohe and tapware by Hansa and KWC, which incorporates a light indicating hot, warm and cold. This looks particularly amazing during the night time.
Timely eco bathroom trends were in abundance at this year's ISH Fair with a range of water-saving hand-shower pieces being showcased by Grohe, also featuring an ‘Eco' button for reduced water consumption. These were also designed as being ‘green' as their profiles are quite thin and therefore requiring less packaging.
A bathroom trend towards concealed units for sanitary items such as toilet roll holders and toilet brush sets were popular at this year's ISH Fair, and there was an introduction of more personal pieces in the bathroom making it more of a luxurious retreat. For example the champagne bucket was a piece within the Grohe bathroom accessory range.
Gone it seems are the days of hard geometric lines, making way for new organic bathroom shapes and softer classic lines that offer a subtle feel in your bathroom interior.
One of the most outstanding new bathroom designers that was showcasing at the ISH Fair was - Paul Flowers. His tapware designs are very unique and will definitely be taking mixers in a new and exciting direction.
For more information on bathroom trends, design and product visit Cass Brothers Fine Bathroomware.
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