designerati magazine - Aug/Sept 2023 Issue

Best of British

Flying the flag through home-grown K&B design

David Fisher

Heralding the dawn of a new range cooker era

KITCHENS BATHROOMS INTERIORS

EMBRACING THE M A LAIRET XIM

How form and texture are shaping bathroom evolution

Jorge Hernandez

The iconic Sub-Zero look, reimagined

The completely redesigned Classic series, with its fresh suite of innovative features, reaches new levels of refinement both inside and out.

to the new look designerati

As usual, it has been an extremely busy summer at designerati Towers. That’s because it is the time of year when we nd ourselves in a judging frenzy, working closely with our panel of experts to assess the many kitchen and bathroom projects and products that have been submi ed for the designerati awards.

This year’s task has been made particularly tough – for the very best of reasons. Entries across all categories have been impressive, not just in terms of quality but also the diversity of designs. It’s hugely exciting to see that any suggestion of a ‘standard’ approach to a kitchen or bathroom project is being roundly rejected by client and designer alike and, as a result, there is an ever-expanding wealth of styles, materials, layouts, and nishes open to all.

It represents great news for our awards of course, which can only ever be as good as the submissions

allow. It has been tough for the judges though, having to make quite agonising decisions in choosing between projects that are almost impossible to compare on a like-withlike basis. However, that’s why we invite highly experienced designers, architects, and business minds to help us with this task, to ensure that whatever the result, the process has been highly detailed, thorough and fair. Thanks to them for their professional and comprehensive deliberations, and also to V-ZUG who hosted us so brilliantly at their London Studio on Wigmore Street.

Our nalists will be announced in early September – keep a very close eye on designerati.co.uk to be among the rst to see who has made the cut this year. And crucially, don’t miss our on your chance to a end the big day itself – the designerati awards 2023 take place on board the spectacular new OceanDiva in London on 22 November and WILL sell out. Head to designeratiawards. co.uk to book your tickets for what is set to be our very best awards yet.

Martin Allen-Smith Editor, designerati

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“THIS YEAR’S AWARDS JUDGING TASK HAS BEEN MADE PARTICULARLY TOUGH – FOR THE VERY BEST OF REASONS...”

Contents

August - September 2023 - Issue 272

6 SOURCE

Our round-up of the people, products, and places that matter from across K&B design, including some colourful bathroom concept thinking, a classically modern new bath from BC Designs, and the Design Museum’s new display focusing on core materials that deserve a new and sustainable role in future projects

14 SEA CHANGE

Howard and Hugh Miller explain the process behind designing and creating a kitchen space that makes the very most of its coastal vista

20 MATERIAL GAINS

With the choice of textures and finishes steadily expanding, there is plenty of innovation in the materials being used in the bathroom. We survey some of the latest techniques and new products that are helping to define the future of function and aesthetics

30 BRANDING BY DESIGN

As Buster + Punch celebrates its 10-year anniversary, we catch up with its charismatic founder Massimo Buster Minale for some insight into the secrets behind the company’s rapid and attention-grabbing success

36 WOVEN INTO THE LANDSCAPE

Eco design practice Giles Miller Studio has unveiled its striking conceptual woodland home project

42 FLYING THE FLAG

Despite facing some of the strongest of business crosswinds, British brands are continuing to find success through a commitment to creativity

52 THE BEGINNING OF A NEW ERA

Making headlines with its new glassfronted ERA model, AGA has grand plans to fuse modern ideas with traditional values. David Fisher, AGA’s Chief Design Consultant, discusses taking the long-term view of product development

56 SHOWROOM: GRISAILLE STUDIO LONDON

Despite suffering a flood soon after opening, the showroom for kitchen and furniture studio Grisaille is now a striking showcase for finely-crafted and highly bespoke creations

62 EVOLUTIONARY PROCESS

We speak to Jorge Hernandez, Group Product & Design Manager at Bathroom Brands, about the latest additions to the Crosswater offering

66 EXIT

The longlist for this year’s RIBA House of the Year is revealed, and once again it is made up of a diverse selection of residential gems

SPACE IS NOT CREATED, IT’S FREED.

NIKOLATESLA FIT, YOUR ENTIRE KITCHEN IN JUST 60 CM.

Take back your space with NikolaTesla Fit by Elica, the compact extractor hob designed for small kitchens. It captures fumes and odours faster than they can rise, guaranteeing high efficiency as silently as possible. Equipped with high-performance ceramic filters that ensure 80% filtration efficiency, which can be regenerated for up to 5 years - for those who care about the air they breathe every day at home and the world outside. Discover all the benefits at elica.co.uk

NikolaTesla Fit | Design Fabrizio Crisà elica.co.uk

Source

Why Colour is the Key

Mixing vibrant colours with unexpected details, Valencia-based design studio Masquespacio has partnered with bathroom brand AXOR to create some thought-provoking interior concepts. As part of the brand’s ‘Make It yours!’ campaign, AXOR invited the studio’s founders – Ana Milena Hernández Palacios and Christophe Penasse – to design a bathroom concept for a unique hotel suite that embodies their vision of personal luxury. The resulting project, titled Utopian Dream, is a high ceiling, 20sqm space that balances neoclassical and futuristic influences.

Conceived as the bathroom of a luxury hotel in a developing metropolis, the design reflects the designers’ love of travel, aiming to transcend the ordinary to create a space of harmony, reflection, and wonder. Palacios and Penasse included a wide range of AXOR products in polished black chrome, including washbasin taps and a floor-standing bath tap from the AXOR Starck collection, the new AXOR Suite basins and bathtub, the AXOR ShowerComposition shower panel, and the AXOR Universal Rectangular Accessories, designed by Philippe Starck.

Our latest digest of people , places , and ideas

Masquespacio conceived a layout for the bathroom that places the AXOR Suite bathtub as the central element. Palacios said: “The bathtub is a protagonist. Every area has a different approach. For example, where the tap and the basins are, you have a plain surface. Where you have the shower itself, you have that form that’s like an arch. And then there is the centre, where we have the bathtub.”

Utopian Dream aims to offer an immersive space in which its user can detach from the outer world. Palacios said: “In our work, we always take something from the past, something from the present and something from the future. But the space always needs to have something that stands out, that is creative and personalised.”

“It’s also about wellbeing at the end. And quality is important for that. And I think that’s where products like AXOR come in.”

With AXOR’s Signature Series able to offer a range of bespoke specifications, including colour options, the manufacturer has published a whitepaper on the topic of colour and its impact on interior spaces. Called The Power of Colours, it can be downloaded from the ‘Inspiration’ section of AXOR’s international website.

AXOR / axor-design.com

Masquespacio / masquespacio.com

Ana Milena Hernández Palacios and Christophe Penasse of design studio Masquespacio

Introducing the Lisser Stone Downdraft. The option to customise the upper panel in material to match the worktop means the Lisser Stone is the ultimate in discreet extraction.

Minimal Heating

Newly updated is the I Ching heated towel rail module, designed by Elisa Ossino for Italian manufacturer Tubes. Its flexibility comes in its ability to be hung horizontally to hold towels or vertically for bath robes. Besides a variety of sizes, it also comes in a wide selection of finishes and is available in the UK from The Radiator Centre.

The Radiator Centre / theradiatorcentre.com Tubes / tubesradiatori.com

EDITORIAL

EDITOR MARTIN ALLEN-SMITH martin@designerati.co.uk

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT GEORGE DEAN george@designerati.co.uk

BRAND AMBASSADOR MELISSA PORTER

PUBLISHING

PUBLISHING DIRECTOR CLARA PERRY clara@thedsgroup.co.uk

MANAGING DIRECTOR ALLISTAIR HUNTER

OPERATIONS DIRECTOR TRACY MEAD

ADVERTISING

SENIOR SALES EXECUTIVE CHANTELL KESTON chantell@designerati.co.uk

MARKETING

CREATIVE MARKETING MANAGER DOM LITTLER dom@thedsgroup.co.uk

SENIOR MARKETING EXECUTIVE TYLER CHASE tyler@thedsgroup.co.uk

PRODUCTION

ART DIRECTOR LEE THOMAS

GRAPHIC DESIGNER BEN EMMERSON

ACCOUNTS

FINANCE DIRECTOR CHRIS CORKE accounts@thedsgroup.co.uk

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Classical Inspiration

BC Designs’ newest bath, the Aston, has been inspired by classical design and brought to life by Design Director, Barrie Cutchie. Featuring linear patterns and a curved silhouette, the Aston is made from the company’s Cian material and is stain and scratch resistant. The naturally occurring minerals used in Cian means the Aston remains warm to touch and retains heat.

Designer Magazine is published monthly by The DS Group, The Nexus, Systematic Business Park, Old Ipswich Rd, Ardleigh, Colchester CO7 7QL Tel: 01206 585280

Suitable for use with floor standing or wall mounted taps, it can be located anywhere in a bathroom. BC Designs / bcdesigns.co.uk

On the cover: The kitchen space within a full re-work of a terraced house in Edinburgh, Scotland, by AGORA Architecture + Design

co uk www bathroom-engineering co.uk

MARTIN ALLEN-SMITH CLARA PERRY MELISSA PORTER

Material Building Blocks

A new display which showcases low-carbon approaches to housing construction, is now open at the Design Museum. The free display, open until March 2024, explores construction and architecture in the age of climate breakdown. It focuses on three ancient lowcarbon materials – stone, straw and wood – and their potential in enabling the UK to address the housing crisis while also meeting climate pledges.

The display will show how these three resources are being championed through the work of a new generation of architects, who have been pioneering their use in ambitious and innovative construction projects across the UK.

The project was initiated by the Design Museum’s Future Observatory, a national design research programme for the green transition. This particular research project, led by architect Dr Ruth Lang, includes a broad programme of activities to engage the UK construction industry in more sustainable approaches.

The display explores the urgent need to rethink the way we build our towns and cities, to respond to both the housing and climate crises. Materials commonly used in construction, such as steel and concrete, contribute to nearly 10% of the UK’s carbon emissions. The display imagines a future in which low-carbon construction is no longer a prize-winning exception but a mainstream reality.

Each section is dedicated to one of the three resources, tracing its journey from raw material to building material to architecture. Rather than radical novelties, visitors will see how seemingly traditional wood, stone and straw are being revolutionised for contemporary homes.

How to Build a Low-Carbon Home will introduce visitors to the work of three contemporary architects who are pioneering the use of these materials: Waugh Thistleton Architects, Material Cultures and Groupwork. Visitors will be able to observe how these materials have been used in buildings across the UK through photographs, drawings, renders, and lms of recent seminal architectural projects.

Dr Ruth Lang, Low-Carbon Housing Research Lead, said: “This is part of a greater research project that Future Observatory is undertaking, exploring the barriers to adopting low-carbon materials in housing construction. One key contributing factor is the misperception of how alternative building materials might be sourced and used, which builds uncertainty in the sector.

“The display demonstrates how designers and their collaborators are already rethinking resources, design processes, supply chains and architectural aesthetics. The three materials on display propose a more positive future that is already open to us. We hope to demystify these new methods of construction and the types of homes we will need to become more familiar with – and that visitors become advocates for this future.”

How to Build a Low-Carbon Home runs until March 2024 at the Design Museum. Entry to the display is free. Design Museum / designmuseum.org

MASQUERADE BALL

Murder on the Thames

HOWARD AND HUGH

MILLER DESIGNED AND CREATED A KITCHEN SPACE THAT MAKES THE VERY MOST OF ITS COASTAL VISTA. HOWARD TALKS US THOUGH THE KEY COMPONENTS OF THE SCHEME

SEA CHANGE

THE STARTING POINT

“At the start of every kitchen design process, our approach sets out to find what is unique about a project and the clients that will use the space so that we can create something genuinely original. On this occasion, our client, who lived in a large Victorian semi-detached home in New Brighton, Wirral, told us they dreamed of having a larger, functional yet playful kitchen with an island unit, so they could enjoy family life with their three small children.

Their existing kitchen was a cramped, long narrow galley kitchen which needed to be replaced and could only be entered through the dining room. The clients described family life in the previous kitchen as always being chaotic as

they lacked space, storage and worktop space. We advised moving the kitchen to a new room, which was created by combining the existing dining room and playroom to make one large room with an archway resulting in a large family kitchen space that would be the heart of the home.

We expanded the client’s brief to incorporate intangible things that they knew would make a big improvement to the client’s lives – striking a balance between removing clutter and allowing space for the joyful paraphernalia that comes with a young family. For example, we noticed that they used their fridge as a kind of notice board to put up pictures by the kids, reminders, lists, cards etc, with magnets onto the metal face of the old fridge. In their new kitchen, they wanted integrated appliances and for things to be neat. We also found out the clients were music lovers, so designed the cabinetry knobs to be enlarged versions of the volume knob from their beloved 1970s record player!”

MEETING THE BRIEF

“We designed the island unit as a big table in the middle of the room and allowed the bright light and views of coastal seaside through and around it.

“I KNOW IT SOUNDS CHEESY, BUT WE GENUINELY DO SET OUT TO HELP IMPROVE LIFE FOR OUR CLIENTS”

We felt the children’s drawings and cards needed a place to be celebrated, so proposed a unique cork panel integrated into the cabinet fronts. The idea developed into a full band of cork, stained black to match the black front of the oven, to bind the design together. It acts as a bit of a sound absorber (important when you have three-year-old twins!) and sits over the splashback so that there is a lot of space to curate an evolving backdrop of things you might pin to it.

The client had also shared a picture of some antique oak drawers she loved, so we spent some time developing a wood stain mix and surface treatment we could use to replicate the antique drawer image, albeit in a more contemporary style of cabinet.

The sink run is a set of floating drawers that project from the wall and the flooring continues under them to make the room feel more spacious. We also lined the bottom of all the drawers in coloured vinyl, matching the floor to give the family a splash of colour when they open a drawer.

The design also includes a giant larder cupboard with a cold shelf worktop, in-door storage, wine rack and glass store, hanging rail and one of our signature solid oak bread boxes. Getting more natural light into the space and creating a route from the kitchen to the garden doors was also considered by breaking out the brickwork below existing windows and replacing it with new doors.”

THE FULL SPEC

“The full height cabinets were hand painted a calm, matt Farrow & Ball School House White which contrasted with the China Blue coloured floor from the Coloured Flooring Company to give the design a playful tone.

The island is in fact fairly small – only three units long – and we wanted to design it as a big table in the middle of the room. The idea of thinking of the island like a piece of furniture in this way is that it allows light and views through and around; it all helps an island feel more delicate and elegant, and the room less taken up by the island.

The frame is made from solid oak and H Miller Bros stained it black to balance the composition with the stained cork. The cabinetry within the island, sits on and is cradled by the table frame and is in the antique oak finish; this helps differentiate the table structure and make it feel more like a table.

All of the white goods are integrated into the full-height run – including the oven, microwave, fridge, freezer, dishwasher and the gigantic pantry cupboard.

We matched the cabinetry with Caesarstone’s Clamshell worktops as the tone was a beautiful fusion of light grey with white features that really complimented the cabinetry. The corner cabinet was turned into an ‘appliance garage’ –

somewhere to put things that generally clutter up the worktop like toasters and coffee grinders.”

OVERCOMING THE OBSTACLES

“We moved the kitchen to a new room which was created by combining the existing dining room and playroom to make one large room with an archway.

The internal work did not require planning permission but changing the windows to doors and creating a set of external steps to the rear garden did require planning permission. All of the notifiable work (including the structural design for breaking out an internal wall, electrics, plumbing, and ventilation) required building control approval and a structural engineer.

When we first surveyed the house, we gained access to the basement and we found that the existing floor structure was a bit flimsy; this made sense as the floor above was a bit bouncy and

we were concerned about adding more weight to it. Our structural engineer designed some additional propping and stiffeners to make it capable of taking the load of the island – not an inconsiderable weight as it is made of solid oak.”

THE END RESULT

“Just after the kitchen was finished, we received a lovely note from the client which says: ‘Our kitchen is an absolute joy, it’s been especially lovely over Christmas. We have done some baking involving the kids that would have been impossible to enjoy in the old kitchen. The counter stools arrived before Christmas, so the kids now usually have their meals perched on those at the island, it’s very cute.’

I know it sounds cheesy, but we genuinely do set out to help improve life for our clients –we want to make furniture and spaces that are enduring and delightful; and it’s really satisfying to hear that what we set out to do is working.”

H. Miller Bros / hmillerbros.co.uk

“THE IDEA OF THINKING OF THE ISLAND LIKE A PIECE OF FURNITURE IS THAT IT ALLOWS LIGHT AND VIEWS THROUGH AND AROUND; IT ALL HELPS AN ISLAND FEEL MORE DELICATE AND ELEGANT”

Photography: Robert Holmes

Material Gains

With the choice of textures and finishes steadily expanding, there is plenty of innovation in materials being used in the bathroom. We survey some of the latest techniques and new products that are helping to define the future of function and aesthetics…

Acquabella’s Delia basin is manufactured with Akron, a resin and mineral filler material with high technical properties. The Spanish brand has patented the material and says that its properties guarantee high levels of hygiene, extreme resistance to impact and thermal shock, and a high-definition finish. acquabella.com/en

LAUFEN’s SaphirKeramik is a ceramic blended with corundum, a colourless mineral that is a component of sapphires. This gives SaphirKeramik a flexural strength equal to that of steel, and yet has the potential to be wafer-thin, giving designers much more freedom to experiment. Pieces can be made with walls of only 3-5mm and radii of just 1-2mm.

LAUFEN is also now stretching the material’s limits not only to create detailed textures and patterns but also to increase its maximum size, with basins of up to 1400mm. The slim profile of SaphirKeramik means that it saves space, is light and environmentally friendly, thanks to the fact it uses fewer raw materials and less energy in its production and, being lighter, costs less to transport.

The Ino range (pictured above) was designed by French designer Toan Nguyen using SaphirKeramik. The new Ino double basin showcases the capabilities of SaphirKeramik, moulded in one 1400mm-wide piece with a central countertop. It can be wall-hung or paired with either Ino or Base furniture. laufen.co.uk

Kaldewei has been manufacturing with Bluemint CO2-reduced steel since 2021. The material, supplied by Thyssenkrupp Steel, has an emissions reduction of 70%.

Kaldewei’s CEO, Franz Kaldewei, said: “Bluemint Steel gives us and our partners the certainty that today we are already able to use the highest quality steel with a low CO2 intensity.” He added that CO2-reduced steel is of particular importance to the brand in helping it to achieve its climate targets.

“With the reduction of CO2 in the steel production, we overcome another hurdle in order to be able to offer our customers a premium product that combines modern luxury in the form of exquisite materials and sensual design along with sustainable thinking and action. We call this ‘Luxstainability’.” kaldewei.co.uk

Following the trend for unusual materials and eclectic styling in the bathroom, the Bristol Bathtub from Bagnodesign is made from resin. Comfortable to bath in, durable and simple to care for, the material is also easy to sculpt, resulting in a striking oval shape that gives a contemporary twist on a classic freestanding design. In galaxy black, the Bristol bathtub measures 1683 x 803 x 550 mm. bagnodesign.it

The RAK-Feeling shower tray provides level access to the shower, making it suitable for the family bathroom or when space is at a premium. The shower tray features contemporary lines and is made from RAKSOLID, a mix of natural minerals and resins with an anti-slip matte finish. rakceramics.com/uk

Duravit’s Sustano is the first recyclable shower tray made from the manufacturer’s DuroCast Nature material. After the end of their useful life, shower trays made from DuroCast Nature can be returned either to Duravit or a local recycling centre. They can then be made into new shower trays, for example, or they are processed further for industrial purposes.

duravit.co.uk

Hansgrohe’s Pulsify Planet edition handshower has been designed to consider resource conservation in all areas of the product life cycle. Outside of reducing water usage, with only six litres of water flowing through the hand shower per minute, all aspects of the product life cycle were considered to close the loop in the sustainability principle ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle’.

Emma Freeman, Brand and Communications Manager for Hansgrohe UK, explained: “When designing Pulsify Planet Edition, Hansgrohe switched to a recyclate wherever water didn’t flow through the hand shower. The handle is made from recycled plastic, manufactured completely chromefree using an innovative process to extract the material used to make the handle with ABS-coated plastic. The material is derived from end-of-life products and rejects, which are then shredded and cleaned, and then converted into a high-quality granulate. This is a cleaner alternative to using petroleum and fossil-based primary plastics, illustrating how innovation can be used to significantly reduce energy consumption during production.

“The process of developing ABS-coated plastic gives the material its sandy colour with small flecks, giving the product a unique look and elegant appearance, whilst also being good for the planet.” hansgrohe.co.uk

Bette manufactures its baths, shower trays and washbasins from glazed titanium steel and began sourcing and using CO2neutral steel in 2020. Now the company is celebrating a major milestone: the production of 100,000 bathroom products made of ‘green’, CO2-neutral steel.

Thilo C. Pahl, Bette’s Managing Director, said: “We are celebrating an important milestone on our path to greater sustainability. Each of these 100,000 bathroom products represents our commitment to a greener future and sustainable interior design.”

By using green steel, the company, based in Delbrück, Germany was able to reduce its CO2 emissions by 10% in 2021, and in 2022 the reduction was almost 40%, which corresponds to around 8,000 tonnes of CO2. As part of its commitment, Bette also wants to support sustainable steel production in Germany and its steel suppliers switching from fossil to regenerative blast furnaces, even though these are around three times more expensive. Bette is doing this at no extra cost to its customers.

The milestone is only a step on the way to Bette’s broader goals however. By the end of 2024, the company wants to manufacture half of its products from green steel, and continues to work to optimise its use of resources. Processes and procedures along the entire supply chain are constantly reviewed to ensure that they are as resource-efficient as possible and for many years, the company has been using combined heat and power plants and photovoltaics to generate energy in order to largely produce its own electricity and heat.

Pahl added: “We are proud of what we have achieved so far, but we know that our work does not end here. Our commitment to sustainability is a long-term process and we will continue to innovate, research and look for ways to do our part to create environmentally friendly bathrooms.” bette.co.uk

Designed by British design studio Barber Osgerby, the BetteSuno bathroom collection includes washbasins and a bath made from glazed titanium steel

Branding by Design

AS BUSTER + PUNCH CELEBRATES ITS 10-YEAR ANNIVERSARY, WE CATCH UP WITH ITS CHARISMATIC FOUNDER MASSIMO BUSTER MINALE FOR SOME INSIGHT INTO THE SECRETS BEHIND THE COMPANY’S SUCCESS

PLEASE TELL US ABOUT YOUR BACKGROUND AND THE PATH THAT LED YOU TO WHERE YOU

MBM: My family has always been involved in design. My dad had a graphic design practice and my mum is also a graphic designer, so it has always been in the family. My dad’s company was involved in designing some of the world’s biggest fashion industry logos and became steeped in branding history almost before branding was a thing.

At school, I was quite good at drawing and maths so decided to study architecture. It felt like a natural progression and I really enjoyed it over the seven years, ge ing the chance to work for some of the big players, including Norman Foster, Zaha Hadid, Richard Rogers.

Because they were some of the very biggest architectural rms, the projects all tended to be very slow, whereas my brain tends to prefer working much faster so it wasn’t quite the right environment for me. By day I would be detailing staircases for years and then by night I would spend time on my other passion which was making motorbikes, tinkering with metal in my makeshi workshop.

I guess you could say Buster + Punch was the culmination of the two things I loved – I was really passionate about the practice of architecture but just struggled with the slow pace of it. At the same time, I loved the speed of motorbikes and making stu , having no lters. I kind of blended these two worlds together.

As an architect, I used to specify xtures and ings and I would nd that it would take me months to source something like a smoked brass lightswitch to go with a component that I might have found in France; it was very complicated to nd ings and nishes that worked together in a horizontal way. So, spo ing an opportunity to make these things – combined with my passion for these two elds – was really what led to Buster + Punch.

HOW DID THE GREAT LEAP HAPPEN, FROM WORKING AS AN ARCHITECT TO SETTING UP YOUR OWN BUSINESS?

MBM: It wasn’t just the pace of things in architecture that was tough for me, it was also the constant lters within the process that always seemed to ensure that any amazing, pure idea would, over a period of time, become quite watered down. So I really liked the idea of creating products that involved designing exactly what you wanted to design, put it out in the world, and if people liked it then they would buy it.

But I do still love architecture and feel that one day I will get back into it. It is a labour of love and I guess at that particular time I was just a li le too impatient.

I was working at Richard Rogers at the time and we were actually making our own hardware

because we couldn’t buy what we really wanted –it wasn’t available anywhere. It was either chrome from Italy, or wooden or plastic components, so we were making our own high quality solid metal xtures, hardware and lighting products. I guess that gap in the market then became the germ of the idea for how we could inject a bit of the motorbike metal into the boring household ings – we made the ‘Rockstar Bar’ for some of our motorbike customers and they really loved the handles and ings on it, so this led to thinking that these may well have broader appeal.

SWITCHES, LIGHTS AND OTHER FITTINGS CAN SOMETIMES BE THE ‘FORGOTTEN COMPONENT’ OR AFTERTHOUGHT IN AN INTERIOR SCHEME, SO WAS THE IDEA TO CHANGE THAT?

MBM: Most people from an architectural background love small metal things, anything that is well-made and solid. It’s something that for many consumers might go unnoticed. But door handles and, in fact, any other small metal components have always interested me, so it was trying to understand how we can take someone who loves fashion, kitchens, or bathrooms, and get them excited about a light switch or a door handle. What’s that missing link? Well, for us it turned out to be the motorbike sub-culture life that I was living –that was the missing piece of the puzzle.

That was where Buster + Punch came in, enabling people to get excited about a light switch or door ing through something akin to a fashion house sensibility, ge ing them excited about the lifestyle as much as the product itself. When we rst launched lighting, we had a queue around the block waiting to buy, and in that queue were young people who didn’t even own homes yet. That’s when we thought there’s something in this – no-one seemed to have fully grasped the importance of these ings that typically only go into your house only once. There’s one shot at ge ing these elements right, and I think architects have always understood that be er than most. Our challenge was to get people to want something like this in the same way that they want a denim jacket or a bag, emphasising that this stu is not just for architects or people that own homes but also for anyone who loves fashion, music, and motorbikes. It was quite a new perspective I think.

“WE ARE PRIMARILY MAKERS... TEN YEARS ON, WE STILL JUST LOVE WHAT WE’RE DOING”

IT SEEMS AS IF YOU ALMOST PRE-EMPTED THE INCREASING FOCUS ON TEXTURES AND MATERIALS THAT WE HAVE SEEN IN RECENT YEARS. HOW IMPORTANT A ROLE HAS THAT SHIFT PLAYED IN THE BRAND’S GROWTH?

MBM: This year is our tenth year, and when I think back a decade, the only options were Scandinavian, lightweight, neutral colours, or you had the American-made products that were just crazy expensive to buy here. I think we just timed it really, really well. There was definitely a thirst to move away from minimalist, lightweight ‘floaty’ products, and towards metallics, heavyweight and good quality items.

So it really was great timing as the world wanted what we were offering, especially in Europe and the UK, because prior to that you were forced to import from America or track something down on eBay.

Today, the landscape is so different. A lot of companies have taken a cue from us. We were the first company to bring the crossnail pattern into interiors (as a hangover from motorbike handlebars and foot pegs where it is utilised for

both form and function) and pretty much every brand doing door handles has copied us in a roundabout way. We’re proud of that in a way because it shows how we have pushed this small part of the industry forward.

I think all of these details have become really important to people. Part of my job now, ten years on, is to highlight that you really do only have one shot at these fittings and it should be an easy, fun task for people; making it simple for them to match their door handles with their light switches, and their cabinet handle to their pendant light. It doesn’t need to involve all the pain that I had ten years ago as an architect!

This product type is traditionally very dull and boring, and that’s where we’ve done so well. We haven’t invented the light switch, but we have made it a more exciting thing to choose and to buy. Fashion houses have been doing this with everyday items for years – we’ve essentially taken their train of thought and applied it to a different industry.

THIS MATERIAL APPRECIATION IS NOTHING NEW TO THE K&B SECTOR NOW OF COURSE?

MBM: It’s vitally important for kitchens and bathrooms. The metals really have to match and you’ve got to nail it. We’ve been late coming into bathrooms but the range we’ve launched is doing

“FASHION HOUSES HAVE BEEN DOING THIS WITH EVERYDAY ITEMS FOR YEARS – WE’VE ESSENTIALLY TAKEN THEIR TRAIN OF THOUGHT AND APPLIED IT TO A DIFFERENT INDUSTRY”

Kitchen in mid tone styling

Toggle light switches with white plate and brass detailing

extremely well, while kitchens have always been something of a sacred place for us – there are so many touchpoints where you have to close, hold, hang things. If you’re spending upwards of £100k on your kitchen, it needs to feel really good when you open a draw or a cupboard.

We launched our kitchen offering a year ago and it is a modular system. It’s all freestanding and can be put up in a day. We’ve always loved the idea of this half-custom space in which we give the customer choices but at the same time is also quite curated, so that all the fronts work with the metals so that you can’t get it wrong basically. We do that with a lot of our products which enable the consumer to select it all themselves but from within a curated system. We really like that space between ‘uber-custom’ and mass market.

We got into kitchens after eight or so years of people posting pictures of our handles on their kitchens – there have been some lovely ones, some awful ones, some pink, purple and green ones! We wanted to approach the kitchen idea from the small details outwards rather than the more typical other way around. By doing it this way, it’s the metal fittings that mould the overall kitchen.

End users really appreciate the curated aspect of it. It enables them to have something that they feel is their own, but they can’t fuck it up. We know that these fronts go with every single one of our metal finishes and it all works perfectly, no matter which options you go with. We occasionally have requests for additional worktops or other options but we try to be quite strict with it to ensure that the end product looks great.

We will bring out more and more fronts as time goes on, but by giving it a curated feel, it keeps prices down as well as maintaining the aesthetic.

ARE THERE ANY MORE PRODUCT CATEGORIES FOR THE BRAND TO MOVE INTO? WHAT ARE THE LIMITS?

MBM: Our USP has always been to take those ‘forgotten fittings’ that you have high multiples of in your home – door handle, light switch, socket – that often haven’t really be done properly before, and try to nail it. We are probably the first horizontal brand across these product categories, which means we do lights, handles, and switches that all match, while most of our competition is vertical, so they are making their products in relative isolation.

There’s so much in the home that we haven’t done yet but which is in our wheelhouse, although the list is getting smaller and smaller as we move into new areas – we just brought out kitchen taps which was an area we were looking to get into. Our

The Buster + Punch bathroom collection includes mirrors, shelves, toilet roll holders and towel rails

next big drive is looking towards ‘smart’, from light switches to ings.

There are not really any limits though. We did an electric motorbike a few years back, and we do interesting li le projects like creating the trophies for the Q Awards. I guess we try not to only do our ‘business as usual’ ordinary ings but also add some exciting things that perhaps draw eyeballs from di erent parts of the world and di erent industries that maybe otherwise wouldn’t see us. We try to do stu that is unexpected, but that’s a relatively small part of it all. In terms of big spaces, the bathroom was the last one that we had to tackle, and even in that case, there are still bathroom taps which we haven’t launched yet but are looking at.

The world has changed a lot over the past couple of years. Price point is important, so whereas we might once have had grander ideas, now we try to deviate and make sure people can a ord and have access to the things we are developing. Ten years on, we just love what we’re doing. We are primarily makers – we make a lot of stu , with 2,000 unique SKUs – and everything is designed from scratch. We don’t OEM anything or buy anything in, and we do all this because we love it.

Buster + Punch / busterandpunch.com

“THERE’S ONE SHOT AT GETTING THESE ELEMENTS RIGHT, AND I THINK ARCHITECTS HAVE ALWAYS UNDERSTOOD THAT BETTER THAN MOST”

Shelf in gun metal from the new Buster + Punch bathroom range

Kitchen pull bar in smoked bronze

Frame detailing on dark tone kitchen unit

Woven into the Landscape

Eco design practice Giles Miller Studio has unveiled its striking conceptual woodland home project

Renowned for creating artistically focussed surfaces, architecture, and sculpture, Giles Miller Studio aims to bring new meaning to spaces by celebrating the relationship between materials, light and nature.

The Studio’s first completed residential property sits 100m from the cliffs and sandy beaches of Broadstairs, Kent. The house breaks down barriers between the building’s internal spaces and the glade of natural planting and trees that surround it, through a unique sculptural facade which invites nature to grow up the outside of the house whilst also being visible from within it.

Describing their work as an ongoing experiment into the relationship between materials and light in the constant pursuit of creative and technical originality, Giles and Sarah-Jane Miller first conceived the concept of Woven when looking into applying their distinct design concept to a

residential space. “We’d always been interested in how the studio’s approach might manifest itself in a building you could live in,” said architect Giles, who primarily works on pavilions and social spaces.

Woven has been designed to fully immerse its resident in nature and is done through both form and function with a unique, sculptural ‘woven’ surround that encourages nature to grow on and throughout it.

The practice specified key kitchen and bathroom fittings for the project to conserve water and complement the design-led eco interiors. Throughout the project GROHE’s Essence brassware and Euro Ceramics were selected, specified in the StarLight brushed cool sunset finish.

Speaking on selecting and specifying GROHE for the project, Sarah-Jane said: “The house was built to be a retreat, a place for sanctuary and happiness, where friends and family can share lovely

moments. The kitchen acts as the heart of any home, while the bathroom is essential for a sense of wellness. Installing design-led products which were contemporary in style, sustainable in nature and effortlessly functional was of the utmost importance and we are pleased to say that through collaborating with GROHE we have achieved this.”

In the kitchen, the project also includes surfaces and countertops by Caesarstone, as well as Miele appliances.

Woven is nestled amongst a canopy of surrounding trees close

to the coastline, planted on the site of an old Kent nunnery. Giles Miller said: “The buildings we inhabit have a direct impact on our state of mind. Through their design they are curators of light and sound, and they can expose us to nature and enrich our interactions with dramatically positive effect. We believe that this aspiration, in synchrony with our latest surface and sculptural experimentation in the studio, has spawned a wholly unique architectural typology.”

Giles Miller Studio / gilesmiller.com GROHE / grohe.co.uk

“THE BUILDINGS WE INHABIT HAVE A DIRECT IMPACT ON OUR STATE OF MIND. THROUGH THEIR DESIGN THEY ARE CURATORS OF LIGHT AND SOUND, AND THEY CAN EXPOSE US TO NATURE AND ENRICH OUR INTERACTIONS WITH DRAMATICALLY POSITIVE EFFECT”

Photography: Rachel Ferriman

Flying the Flag

Despite facing some of the strongest of business crosswinds, British brands are continuing to find success through a commitment to creativity. We gathered some perspectives from home-grown makers and designers…

HERITAGE APPEAL

Simon Collyns, Marketing & Retail Director at Symphony Group, said: “Generally speaking, the ‘Made in Britain’ stamp has consumer appeal and many will select a British-made product over an imported one. Consumers like to know they are supporting the wider UK economy as well as their local economy. Other factors that might influence purchasing decisions include shorter lead times, reduced transport/delivery costs and for the eco-conscious, a reduced carbon footprint as the product hasn’t travelled as far as items made abroad.

Founded in 1971 by Doug Gregory in Leeds, Symphony Group has British heritage and manufacturing right at its very core. We are one of the largest privately-owned manufacturers of fitted kitchen, bedroom and bathroom furniture in the UK and have continued to expand with four manufacturing and distribution centres covering a million square feet in Barnsley, Rotherham, Mansfield and Wakefield. To add, we also employ over 2,000 people across the UK thus creating jobs in the local area and building on over 70 years of British trading history.” symphony-group.co.uk

Symphony’s Laura Ashley Aberford kitchen shown in claret from the Laura Ashley Paint to Order palette

COMING BACK STRONGER

James Rayner, Brand Manager at Westin, said: “Over the last 2-3 years everyone involved in the industry has had to learn to adapt to both a market that has been tough to predict, and the well documented supply chain issues which have affected everyone either directly or indirectly. There is no sugar coating the fact that this period has been difficult for companies. But the vast majority of us are coming out of this period, stronger and more resilient than before with new processes, and due to COVID and the subsequent supply issues, a new, much more open and honest way of doing business and communicating. As it always has and always will do, adversity brings out the best in us as a collective.

British design and the talent that populates the community, is in our eyes the best in the world in terms of creativity, craftsmanship and design innovation.

The best British design for us, especially within the kitchen industry, takes inspiration from many other markets – German, Italian, US, Scandi to name but a few – and blends them seamlessly with the understated elegance of the traditional British style. Britain is brilliantly unique as a modern-day melting pot of influences and that shines through in design in particular, and it has always given us a huge amount of pride to be associated with such a talented community.” westin.co.uk

British furniture manufacturer Crown Imperial has introduced its latest kitchen collection, Shenaya. Shenaya epitomises a slim smooth shaker design, presented in a handle-less design with copper handle-less profiles and mirror plinths to elevate it to a contemporary shaker feel. Suited to open plan designs, dual islands create dedicated zones for users to work and flow around the kitchen while providing substantial storage. There is a choice of 23 painted shades, pictured here in Sage. crown-imperial.co.uk

Bespoke hood by Westin

BUILT ON CRAFTSMANSHIP

Nigel Palmer, Marketing Communications at House of Rohl, said: “British design, especially in luxury interiors, is associated with cra smanship and the quality of its materials. What makes it stand out in many cases is a quirkiness that is distinctively British. Shaws of Darwen and Perrin & Rowe are quintessentially British brands, grounded in practicality, but now recognised for their quality, heritage and unique style. Both successfully export their products, especially to North America where British design is still regarded as the benchmark for luxury.

Many British companies have built a reputation for ongoing

service and support. Perrin & Rowe, for example, still produce spare parts for almost every tap they have ever made, ensuring a long product life and low environmental impact.

Although there are headwinds in the short-term, there are many reasons for optimism. Both Shaws and Perrin & Rowe will increase their UK production capacity considerably early in 2024 as a purpose-built new design and manufacturing centre is constructed in Sta ordshire. This multi-million pound investment is a huge endorsement of British skills and talent.” houseofrohl.uk

Designed and manufactured by British manufacturer, Daval Furniture, the new Dressing Room Collection is a range of ed wardrobes and ed bedroom furniture. Pictured is a dressing room con guration in New England Oak. The range includes a wide range of clothes and shoe storage options plus internal lighting and accessories. daval-furniture.co.uk

DISTINCTIVE DESIGN

British design and manufacturing are currently riding a wave of innovation and creativity, despite the myriad of challenges the industry faces. A key insight from a recent Callerton Q&A session (part of the ‘Callerton at 40’ event), further underlines this resilience. Callerton, as a British manufacturer, highlighted the importance of designer-led quality, development, and niche products, recognising the value they add to the competitive marketplace.

The primary distinction that sets British design apart is its ability to listen, adapt, and innovate. As Angela Bower from Bower Willis Designs highlighted, being able to tailor a design specifically to a client’s brief while also introducing unique elements like the Berlin panels from Callerton, can make all the difference. Such differentiation ensures that designs are not only functional but also exclusive, giving clients something they would not find elsewhere.

As Andrew Short, Callerton Operations & IT Director, also pointed out, integrity and genuine experience in the industry are invaluable. His observations underscore the need for designers to not just sell products but also sell their expertise, values, and narratives. For many consumers, knowing the story and passion behind a design or product can be as compelling as the product itself. callerton.co.uk

Pictured right: Extending a 1930s property, the clients envisioned a space with a soft industrial vibe that served as an entertaining haven. They emphasised symmetry and expressed a wish against a kitchen merely filled with furniture. Their dream dining table set the project’s tone, and a brick accent was a must-have.

Andrew Brettell from Kensington Kitchen Design undertook the challenge. A hint about their penchant for entertaining was key: while they never self-proclaimed to be ‘party animals’, the new extension was explicitly for hosting and parties.

Architecturally, the design incorporated three sets of Crittall doors, bathing the space in light and setting the stage for the desired soft industrial feel. This allowed bold choices like Inky Green cabinetry from Callerton and pairing traditional Shaker doors with brass handleless profiles, matched with pendant lights and switch plates, while a dark oak floating shelf tied the room together, accentuating the brick wall’s texture.

TAKING THE LOCAL VIEW

Nick Graville, Sales & Marketing Director at Kudos, said: “Since conception in 1999, Kudos has been all about designing products for the British bathroom and we have tailored everything about the product, the features, the service, the route to market and after care around the UK designer, installer and consumer. UK manufacturers better understand the UK bathroom specification requirements and consumer bathing habits resulting in simply better aligned product design. For a growing number of consumers, it is important to buy British-made products where

there is better availability of supply, and they feel confident with a local back up service of engineers to assist with installation or aftersales issues.

Just as important in today’s economy, buying local is supporting local businesses and their employees. It usually results in a lower carbon emission purchase too as the product doesn’t have to travel too far and there is rightly a growing demand for these sustainable considerations.” kudosshowers.co.uk

The Kudos Ultimate10 shower enclosure range incorporates 10mm glass panels and a range of versatile configuration options thanks to its modular design in three profile finishes of chrome, matt black and brushed gold.

Home-Grown Thinking

PAUL ILLINGWORTH, DESIGN MANAGER AT ABODE, ON THE LATEST BRITISH-DESIGNED SINKS AND TAPS HELPING TO INFLUENCE THE UK WASH ZONE…

Designers continue to seek the latest innovations for the contemporary home and lifestyle, as demand for convenient luxury kitchens which are safe and climate-friendly rises. By thinking more about sustainability, architects and designers are now specifying evergreen solutions to further satisfy clients and save them time, money and energy.

The British creative industries are renowned for innovation, so we take great pride in stating that our brassware and sinks are ‘Designed in Britain’ in our purpose-built design studio. Established in 2002, we specialise in the design and distribution of kitchen taps, sinks, bathroom taps and showering solutions. What’s more, all products are designed in the UK by our in-house product

design & development team with our technical design and product management team working closely from trend identification to concept, to design and feedback.

With headquarters in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, Abode is part of Norcros plc and has earned a formidable reputation as one of the most innovative kitchen and bathroom brands in the KBB and interior design industry. Thanks to our domestic style of design and manufacture, we believe our products are grounded in real world experience of UK lifestyle changes such as the rise of multigenerational household and the evolution of industrial style, and extensive field studies on product ergonomics and water management.

In terms of performance trends,

Paul Illingworth, Design Manager at Abode

Pronteau HotKey 4-in-1 tap shown in antique brass

the standout trend in the premium kitchen is the latest instant hot water taps delivering hot, cold, boiling, and also filtered water from one source. Our Pronteau range offers a high-specification range of 3-in-1 and 4-in-1 hot taps with exclusive safety features and quality assured. Designed to be future proof, Pronteau caters to environmentally aware design briefs that require a superior style, heightened level of safety and sustainable benefits.

Pronteau HotKey is our premium collection of 4-in-1 steaming hot water taps and is a great example of promising trouble-free delivery of steaming hot filtered water on tap, which is stylish and safe thanks to our patented HotKey sensor technology. Possibly the safest way to dispense steaming hot water, a hidden proximity sensor detects when the HotKey is near the tap, which activates the boiler to pump steaming hot water through a separate central channel to the spout. Without it, the tap becomes an ordinary 3-way mixer.

There’s no doubt that sustainability by design is the beating heart of the 2023 kitchen as premium products go to the next level to play a key role in the face of inflation, higher utility bills

and the global climate crisis. Hero products will include flow limited taps, taps with a cold start valve and filtered water taps. Our Naturalé Aquifier has all of these benefits. Iit is designed to not only enhance a family’s health and wellness, but also reduce the consumption of bottled water helping more households to go plastic-free. Manufacturers are upping their game by creating and promoting initiatives for disposable products such as recyclable water filters to make it as convenient as possible for us all to reuse and recycle single use items.

Convenience at home therefore remains a hot topic, especially as many premium sinks and taps are designed with efficiency in mind –be that performance, construction, or both. Managing workflow at the sink to optimise efficient food prep is also a big part of the kitchen space this year, so look out for integrated accessories such as chopping boards, colanders, and flex racks which are designed to fit the sink perfectly for a much better user experience.

Our System Sync range of stainless steel kitchen sinks offers a choice of sink format with three available bowl sizes crafted from 0.8mm 304 grade brushed stainless

steel, along with complementary accessories and inset or undermount installation.

When looking at the latest style trends then the kitchen space continues to be guided by the calm of nature and this year’s colour palette is embracing a confident use of colour across the fixtures and fittings, and it is these variations which are breathing new life into kitchen taps. Abode’s Althia Colours single lever tap range is available in four modern colours – Mediterranean-style terracotta, neutral nude, Nordic-style Scandi grey and matt white.

By definition, the 2023 contemporary kitchen is founded on top-tier originality with this year’s hero products including taps with real wood handles, industrial style and sleek designs in fine painted finishes. With core values centred on passion, design innovation and assurance, we are dedicated to bringing the best-in-class tap and sink designs with distinctly unique features, special finishes and the latest technology to ensure your clients experience water the way they want it.

Abode / abodedesigns.co.uk / pronteau.co.uk

Abode’s Althia range of taps shown in matt white System Sync is available in three bowl sizes and offers a wide range of accessories

The Beginning of a New Era

Making headlines with

future development of the brand. In essence, it was less of a design project, and more of a bigger challenge to work out the next steps.

The first part of that is to consolidate, to take stock of the offering at the time, to address product overlap or conflicts. We made it more coherent by creating a framework to better understand the products and where they all fitted in. In that process, it emerged that there was clearly a consumer gap for something ‘modern’.

PLEASE TELL US THE STARTING POINT FOR THE ERA RANGE COOKER – HOW DID THE INITIAL IDEA BEGIN AND HOW DID IT DEVELOP OVER TIME TO BECOME WHAT WE SEE TODAY?

DF: The start of the conversation with AGA actually goes back years. I first started working with Mercury (part of the Lincat group) back in 1999 on what eventually became the Thermastone range cooker, and Lincat were really looking at widening the commercial opportunities for that product category. Over time, the interest in adapting some commercial cooking elements – particularly stainless steel – for the home really gained ground during the 2000s.

Conversations around ideas for range cookers continued, and after the AGA brand was acquired by Middleby in 2015, I was invited in to discuss the next steps in the

Had I approached this simply with a mindset that ‘we need to do something modern or ‘architectural’’, I wouldn’t have got the same attention than was the case with a more pragmatic business perspective. It really helped to collectively uncover and understand what we have and what we do. From there, it’s about building trust with the board of directors, and really just starting a conversation to explore how it could develop.

Understanding the rapidly changing consumer environment was an important part too. We looked very closely at this, and identified that many consumers have progressively modern attitudes with traditional values. That realisation was the turning point. We all have our iPhones and other technology but there is also a real attachment for tradition, whether that be family or the way we live our lives. AGA supports all of that day-in, day-out. So we considered how we might be able to use that traditional value to create something new.

The addition of glass came much later on in the process, while we considered just how to combine this traditional/new perspective.

its new glass-fronted ERA model, AGA has grand plans to fuse modern ideas with traditional values. Martin Allen-Smith asked David Fisher, AGA’s Chief Design Consultant, about taking the long-term view of product development

We considered what material is as intrinsically timeless as cast iron, and glass emerged from those discussions.

CREATING SOMETHING GENUINELY ‘NEW’ FOR AN ICONIC BRAND SUCH AS AGA REPRESENTS SOMETHING OF A CHALLENGE OR EVEN A RISK DOESN’T IT?

DF: Yes, and it’s always retrospective. If you want to create something new, you first have to solidify the brand values. That’s what we really focused on. I spend my time as a designer flitting between product design and brand design. They are inextricably linked and so once you’re clear on those brand values, the story often writes itself in terms of developing the product.

Experienced designers can do this – identifying these core brand components and then playing that back to the brand. In this sense, designers are storytellers, setting the narrative and helping to achieve clarity on what we as a brand

Design sketches showing the themes and details during the development of the AGA ERA

stands for, what we’ve done in the past, and how we can build on those values to move forward.

WHAT’S THE PROCESS FOR TAKING A PRODUCT FROM THE INITIAL IDEA TO A PRODUCTION VERSION? WHAT ARE THE BIG CHALLENGES AND HOW CLOSELY DO YOU WORK WITH THE PRODUCTION TEAM ON A PROJECT SUCH AS THIS ONE WITH AGA?

DF: I’m always involved at every moment of it. If I can’t define every screw and bolt, then I can’t have the big idea in the first place. It’s everything and anything, because things can change in a moment –there could be an issue with some material or a particular component, and decisions are at risk of being made logically but without passion, based on an accountancy perspective. If you’re not in on that conversation then you could be dealing with a car crash in terms of product design.

As a designer, you sometimes have to invite yourself to these meetings to make absolutely sure that you’re in those rooms, or, in the ideal case, simply have a bond and level of trust that means that whenever such an issue of decision arises, the brand knows to call you.

YOUR WORK IN THIS SECTOR GOES BACK OVER MANY YEARS – YOU WORKED ON MERCURY’S THERMASTONE RANGE WHEN AT SEYMOURPOWELL. HOW DOES YOUR WORK FROM THAT TIME INFORM WHAT YOU DO TODAY?

DF: It’s the polarity that helps. I have clients who are huge industrialised

mega-corps and what you are offering them as a designer is different to what you can bring to the table working with a start-up for example. I think having that polarity really helps.

I would put AGA somewhere in the middle – it is part of a very big company and that brings certain ways of working, and yet working on ERA felt almost like a start-up in terms of exploring new territory and looking at ways of developing our ideology into a new product. It’s really good to be able to adapt your brain to work at both ends of that spectrum.

WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS IN THE ERA JOURNEY?

DF: Watch this space over the next five years in terms of how technology will infuse into the product, and how it will become more of a seamless user experience. Right now, we’re building it on the R7 Series technology and that’s the ideal starting point, but the basis for ERA is that it will be a user-driven solution. When I say that, I mean that it’s not about technology, it’s about making things easy and as switchable as possible.

ERA is whatever it needs to be in the moment – just as life is.

“THIS IS JUST THE VERY BEGINNING OF THE WHOLE ERA PROJECT THOUGH… IT IS EFFECTIVELY A NEW PLATFORM WHICH PUTS US IN THE VERY BEST PLACE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH SOME OF THE IDEAS THAT WE WILL BE BRINGING THROUGH OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS”

The AGA ERA range cooker

Art of Glass

AGA’s ERA utilises glass extensively to give the appliance a whole new aesthetic. The ERA was developed by David Fisher, Chief Design Consultant to AGA, who was asked to consider how a new, disruptive and mould-breaking cooker from AGA might look and feel.

Fisher said: “The use of glass lends ERA a liquid quality as the sleek black glass cascades down from the top. The design is clean, cohesive and beautiful while also functionally brilliantly capable. It is modern and progressive while also faithful to a heritage stretching back more than 100 years.”

Controlled by touchscreen, the cooker is topped with an induction hob beside a cast-iron hotplate. Alongside a fan oven, ERA also has two cast-iron ovens which cook using radiant heat.

During the week it can be about cooking pizzas, but at the weekend it could be about a big celebration meal with the family. The ERA name is not an accident – it has a resonance as it is zoning in on a new era of how people live their lives.

This is just the very beginning of the whole ERA project though. There are going to be so many iterations. It is absolutely not a case of launching this as a new product and that’s it. This is effectively a new platform which puts us in the very best place to move forward with some of the ideas that we will be bringing through in the next few years.

WHAT’S SHAPING THE DESIGN LANDSCAPE THE MOST RIGHT NOW – TECHNOLOGY OR CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR?

DF: If you read reports, they’ll tell you that consumers are moving and adapting faster than manufacturers, but the truth is that things take time to develop and produce. While it’s true that consumers are changing their views and habits

rapidly, what we really need from a manufacturing point of view is timelessness and stability; solutions that feel like they’re going to last longer than us.

AGA’s approach, whilst innovative, has always been stable, and I believe that is going to be an important focus going forward – quiet innovation. It’s about subtly looking at the landscape, developing what’s required for the long-term, and responding to truth and need. AGA is one of the few companies that really does epitomise the merits of playing that long game and it demonstrates how successful that strategy really can be.

WE ALL NEED FRESH CHALLENGES AND INSPIRATIONS IN ORDER TO DO OUR JOBS WELL, SO WHAT DRIVES YOU PERSONALLY AS A DESIGNER?

DF: The receiver should always be live. That’s important just on a human level really though, not just for a designer. Every time I look at an object, I question how it’s been made, why is it like that etc. Read newspapers, listen to podcasts –just being broad can help with the idea flow. Next door to my studio is an artist and a conversation with him can fire all sorts of thoughts that might not otherwise have occurred to me. I don’t need to read a trend report to get an idea.

WHAT CHANGES DO YOU EXPECT TO SEE IN THE WAY THAT PEOPLE USE TECHNOLOGY IN THEIR KITCHEN? WHAT DO YOU THINK IS COMING DOWN THE TRACK?

DF: The sooner we remove the word ‘technology’ from the conversation, the sooner we stop busying ourselves with connectivity the more we can focus on what it actually means to have technology as a service. I think technology for the sake of it has plateaued and we’ve gone beyond the peak of the hype cycle. Much more important now is how to make lives more liveable.

That’s why we summarise ‘AGA for life’ – whether that involves technology along the way is one thing, but the most important aspect of it is living life.

agaliving.com

David Fisher, Chief Design Consultant to AGA and Co-Founder of design studio FISH&Co

SHOWROOM: Grisaille Studio London

Despite suffering a flood soon after opening, the showroom for kitchen and furniture studio Grisaille is a striking showcase for finely-crafted and highly bespoke creations

OWNED AND FOUNDED BY Clarisa Abrain, an Argentinian qualified architect, with the idea of using contacts in the kitchen industry to help to design and then manufacture kitchens in Italy, Grisaille Studio aims to pull together all the best bits of the very high-end retail kitchen with minimally-influenced design.

The company was founded in 2017 and its Hertford showroom gives it a base from which to continue its growing order book. The early days of the space have not been plain sailing however. After originally

opening in November 2022, a flood from the property upstairs just before Christmas saw over 5,000 litres of water flow through the space and into the basement. The resulting refurbishment has taken until July 2023 to complete.

The end result was worth the wait however, with an enticing look in a unique listed building which was built in 1719.

Although specialising in kitchens, Grisaille can undertake a wide range of other furniture too, including bars, living rooms, wardrobes, TV units and

other stone works, on the principle of “if we can draw it, we do it”. Projects so far have been completed in a wide variety of locations – everywhere from Hull to Paris to Palma, Majorca.

The showroom features products from a range of different highend brands, including lights from Catellani & Smith, fire guards from Edizioni, furniture by BBB Italia and Domkapa, and rugs by Rezar.

Taking centre stage at the showroom however, is the new Omni kitchen range conceived and designed by Grisaille, and developed

and manufactured by Imax and Ellecistone.

The worktop is 30mm thick polished `silver river` marble, although the design of the range allows for any thickness and any material, including 6mm Solid Fenix, 12mm Ceramic, or 20mm stone, all without any technical issues or labour-intensive mitring.

Further options are unlocked with the doors. Abrain said: “On most framed kitchens, the door is the structure and the frame is the jewellery. But with this design, the frame is the constant. The centre panel can be anything from stone, leather, wood, melamine, mirror, lacquer, or even diamond.”

The stone doors are vein matched continuously around the whole island while internally the kitchen features veneered carcasses.

Abrain added: “While producing the prototypes, we did question if we were pushing things too far. We did not want it to be beautiful the way a restored E-Type is – where it is undoubtedly stunning but you can still see welded joints etc. Instead, we wanted it to be as perfectly manufactured in its techniques as a new Bently would be leaving the production line. We managed it.”

Grisaille Studio London / 21 Old Cross, Hertford, Hertfordshire, SG14 1RE / grisaillestudio.co.uk

The Path to Success: MHK’s Comprehensive Guide for New Retailers

Shedding light on the intricacies of establishing a successful retail venture in the flourishing KBB sector, Paul Wheeler, Sales Director MHK UK, Europe’s leading buying group for independent kitchen, bathroom and bedroom retailers, offers insight into the best approach for new retailers.

With the demand for innovative and personalised spaces on the rise, the market for kitchens, bedrooms, and bathrooms is arguably more desirable than ever, providing endless opportunities for aspiring entrepreneurs. However, navigating this competitive landscape requires a strategic approach, a keen eye for design, and a commitment to customer satisfaction.

Based on decades of experience in the European market and five years of guiding new businesses to triumph in the UK, MHK brings indispensable tips to ensure your dream of owning a thriving interiors retail store becomes a reality.

From curating a relevant product

selection that both sets you apart from competitors and captivates your target market to mastering the art of customer engagement and building lasting brand loyalty, you’ll find invaluable guidance that will set your retail venture on the path to success.

Enlighten customers on energy and water saving options

In this eco-conscious era, customers are already seeking sustainable and energy-efficient solutions but often they don’t know what’s on the market. Leverage your expertise to educate buyers on the significance

of choosing fixtures and fittings that promote energy and water savings and tell them about the level of savings that these options could offer down the road.

Offering eco-friendly materials, LED lighting options, and watersaving features, will elevate your brand and set you apart as a retailer that genuinely cares for both customers and the planet.

Help to elevate comfort with ergonomic design

People are spending more time at home, whether that be through

Xeno Kitchens by MHK

working from home, entertaining in the garden rather than at the pub or choosing to stream movies rather than spend money at the cinema. The demand for ergonomic design throughout the home has therefore skyrocketed and prioritising ergonomics in your product selection can establish trust and make your brand a go-to destination for healthconscious consumers. Offering bespoke solutions is also a great way to carve a niche for yourself and ensure that customers won’t be able (or want to) replicate your designs elsewhere.

Empower your team with the right knowledge

An educated sales team is going to be the cornerstone of your success so whether the business will be just you and your family or a full team of experts, it is important to make sure that everyone has the knowledge to speak confidently with potential customers. Equipping your team with in-depth product knowledge and exceptional customer service skills will build trust with clients and allow you to tailor your designs more accurately for their individual needs. When your sales team can guide customers seamlessly through their

options and understand their unique needs, it fosters customer loyalty and generates positive word-of-mouth.

Customisation is key

Set yourself apart by offering customisation services that cater to individual tastes and preferences. A well-defined customer profile will empower you to tailor your products and ensure you’re providing a targeted offering. Being part of a buying group like MHK allows even smaller retailers the opportunity to work with manufacturers who offer more options, such as colour choices, materials, cabinet internals and even different options for dimensions. This bespoke approach will attract discerning customers who desire a more unique design that reflects their personality or who have a tricky space that is hard to fit with standard products.

Harness technology for the future

In this tech-savvy era, you cannot avoid implementing digital solutions to your business. Some great options to incorporate are leveraging e-commerce platforms to expand your reach and offering virtual consultations to cater to remote

customers. Embracing social media to showcase your products, share design tips, and engage with your audience, cultivating a loyal customer base and driving brand visibility is also vital as many consumers now use social media exclusively to find new brands and inspiration.

Through MHK, we offer retailers access to many unique technologies such as CARAT, the leading kitchen design software across Europe. It is also important to consider how to select the most appropriate product for your market by comparing costs, service, and specification across various kitchen brands. Technologies like MHK’s IndexKuche system allow retailers to compare these alongside door types, to ensure they are meeting their customer’s needs at the right price. This also enables retailers to understand the relative prices of their competitors’ brands.

Embrace independence but stay shrewd

Being an independent retailer grants you the freedom to curate an exclusive collection that resonates with your vision and sets you apart from the crowd. However, this often also means that you are less able to negotiate beneficial deals with suppliers leading to hefty upfront costs and even getting stuck with unsold product down the line.

Joining a buying group means gaining a support network set up to provide expert guidance and insights. At MHK we also encourage cooperation between member retailers, sharing best practices, and information on products. Support is something so many entrepreneurs feel they are missing when starting out, and we believe this is why many choose a franchise over independence. MHK offers a similar support structure but without the restrictions of committing to a single brand or franchise.

By aligning with fellow retailers through a buying group, you gain collective purchasing power, granting access to exclusive products as well as better deals with suppliers. With MHK, even new start businesses have trade credit and access to marketleading buying terms to make their businesses stronger.

MHK / mhkgroup.co.uk

The MHK UK team (pictured left to right): David Norris, Sales Manager, Antony Davis, Account Manager, and Paul Wheeler, Sales Director

Evolutionary Process

WITH A COMPREHENSIVE PRODUCT PORTFOLIO, BATHROOM BRANDS AIMS TO HAVE SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE. WE SPOKE TO JORGE HERNANDEZ, GROUP PRODUCT & DESIGN MANAGER, ABOUT THE DRIVERS BEHIND SOME OF THE LATEST ADDITIONS TO THE CROSSWATER OFFERING

PLEASE TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR CAREER BACKGROUND AND THE PATH THAT LED YOU TO YOUR CURRENT ROLE.

JH: I’ve always had a curious mind. I think because of growing up in three di erent cultures – Colombia, Spain and the UK – and having to adapt to new places physically and socially. Industrial design education provided a good path for me to lean into the curiosity of how and why things are made and how they could be be er.

Designing products was always the goal and bathrooms just happened to be the industry I landed in. Many designers come out of university aspiring to join a design consultancy for the variety of work and ability to work on projects that improve the world. I have found the bathroom industry to provide both variety –through the mix of all the materials that go into bathroom products – and exciting projects that aim to provide be er experiences in a place that is always relevant and present in architecture and interior design.

I started out working for Roper Rhodes NPI department in Bath and quickly became enthused by the opportunity to design furniture,

taps and ceramics. I developed and contributed to a number of products in each category that are still part of their portfolio. I lived in Bath at the time which was an inspiring city to live in give its historic context. This rst experience, although brief, was fantastic and the team were incredibly supportive, which was fundamental to my development and increased curiosity for the sector.

My next move was joining Saneux bathrooms, based in Croydon at the time. Not as inspiring a place as Bath but the easy connection to Central London was a big positive. Being a smaller company in comparison to Roper, it had more of a start-up feel which suited me as I wanted to keep growing in my design career at a fast pace. As Head of Product for the brand, I realised we could be very bold with our product and marketing approach. Se ing up a design team and an agile NPD process, we quickly overhauled the product o ering, developing a premium aesthetic and moving the brand away from its import & distribution origins to a design-led narrative.

I’ve now been at Bathroom Brands Group for two years as Product &

Design Manager and I am excited about the work we have done so far, particularly with our latest product launches, but also about the future of our organisation as we continue to evolve into an organisation that lives and breathes design.

THE COMPANY’S PRODUCT PORTFOLIO IS VERY COMPREHENSIVE. WHAT IS THE CREATIVE PROCESS FOR DEVELOPING AND GUIDING NEW IDEAS THROUGH FROM CONCEPTION TO PRODUCTION?

JH: Historically, it was the entrepreneurial spirit of our company’s founders that developed the breadth and strength of the portfolio by closely listening to customer needs and having a passion for design and good quality products. What we are now doing is building on this foundation by developing our design processes to continue to listen to our customers, but also be in uenced by consumer research and interior design trends. Our in-house ability to produce and iterate design concepts is strengthened by our close ties with key partners in the retail and A&D

“3ONE6 Lever is an object of timeless poise,” says Hernandez. “Minimal features draw the material’s inherent beauty and properties. Sometimes good design is as li le design as possible.”

“Limit is an exploration of harmony between shape and texture,” explains Hernandez. “The continuous grooves along the surface have no beginning or end; and the precisely engineered angles are carefully considered. Like brush strokes from a metallic paintbrush they draw a ention, resulting in a sharp, expressive aesthetic that promotes interaction and sensory feedback.”

Hernandez says: “Lazo’s form is inspired by the unavoidable playfulness of loops. Play and fun don’t have to stop with youth. Lazo’s form addresses the call for appealing, accessible design whilst protesting the mundane and considering juvenile perception. The design offers easy interaction with an ergonomic, delicate loop.”

sector. Our presence at key industry events provides the perfect platform to not only reveal our lates products but to also engage the community and receive feedback on our latest concepts.

Among other core motives such as the democratization of luxury design, our creative process is fundamentally driven by the curiosity to ask ‘what if?’ and question the historic practices of the industry. When our products land on the market we know that we not only adding to our portfolio but delivering on the evolving needs of customers and consumers.

THE SHOWROOM AT HEAD OFFICE IS A STUNNING SPACE – HOW IMPORTANT IS THIS FACILITY IN ENABLING CUSTOMERS AND OTHER VISITORS TO GAIN AN INSIGHT INTO THE COMPANY AND ITS OFFERING?

JH: Our showroom is an opportunity to communicate our brand values and positioning while delighting architects, designers and other visitors alike. It’s also an opportunity for us to understand their requirements and continue to grow and meet demands.

We refresh the showroom with new product launches so it remains an influential space that elevates the visitor experience so they can enjoy exploration – a natural and intuitive

part of the design planning process. Brassware is often the most handled elements in the showroom and, as such, seeing finished products on display and being able to touch, feel and experience them, is a very important experience. Some of our designs are a result of the exploration of texture and many of them invite consumer interaction – particularly fluted finishes and playful shapes – which is another reason it is important that they are displayed.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE WIDER DESIGN TRENDS THAT ARE DRIVING CURRENT PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT PLANS?

JH: Socially we continue to move away from minimalist, monotone interiors towards places that are full of life, expression and personality. Texture, colour and customisation continue to drive consumer choice. Addressing this demand, our latest products enable colour harmony – such as MPRO brassware & Optix shower enclosures – across the bathroom and expressions of texture and playfulness – for example, Limit & Lazo brassware – to suit a wide range of décors. The concept of the bathroom as a sanctuary of personal relaxation is not new, but as we continue to lead busy lives in a post-pandemic world, we now turn to our entire home for a place of calm. The biophilic home aesthetic continues to grow in popularity and the bathroom is a

natural space to be influenced by this trend. Our Alo rattan furniture utilises natural materials to support this aesthetic in the bathroom.

In an age of connectivity and social pressures, we look to make space for mindfulness and calming habits. The importance of space to breathe is ever relevant and designing our interior to enable this is critical. Our latest furniture and ceramics product collections focus on space saving features to enable routine mindfulness practices to have a place and our Mada pebble shaped mirrors are designed with lighting features that support our natural circadian rhythm.

Finally, I don’t think I need to mention the importance and relevance of sustainability. Our investment in the design and development of products with long lasting materials is key and as a group we have big plans for sustainability.

NATURAL COLOURS AND TEXTURES HAVE BEEN POPULAR WITH CONSUMERS FOR A WHILE NOW – IS THIS STILL THE CASE OR IS THERE A GROWING INTEREST IN BRIGHT, BOLD COLOURS?

JH: Natural colours, mid-toned woods and textured surfaces are both continuing to grow in popularity as they add depth and personality to any bathroom. The perceived ‘luxurious’ bathroom designs of not so long ago feel a little clinical nowadays and consumers are looking for a more approachable, yet practical luxury feel.

In terms of colour, muted metallic tones continue to drive consumer choice as they offer a timelessness that bolder schemes can’t deliver. Our new introductions to our brassware colour palette are brushed bronze and slate, which offer warm or cool hues respectively, maintaining a timeless luxury appeal.

However, we do see a growing trend towards bolder colour choices, these are either accents within a ‘safer’ colour scheme or central pieces in smaller spaces that require a touch of the ‘wow factor’. Commonly, the cloakroom is the place for these bold expressions and the colour range of our Beck cloakroom basins provides the perfect touch to a busy, colourful scheme.

Bathroom Brands / bathroombrands.co.uk

Crosswater / crosswater.co.uk

RAK-METAMORFOSI

Introducing RAK-Metamorfosi, a brand new vibrant collection inspired by colours and shapes found in nature. Available in large-format brushed resin porcelain slabs to create striking feature walls in 9 colours and 11 decors.

House Proud

A varied selection of homes makes up the longlist for this year’s RIBA House of the Year, the annual prize given to the best example of a one-off house designed by an architect in the UK.

The 20 projects make up this year’s RIBA House of the Year longlist. From these, six projects will be shortlisted and visited by our specialist jury, who will then decide the ultimate winner, to be announced later this year.

Dido Milne, Jury Chair, said: “This year’s RIBA House of the Year longlist includes a selection of exciting new typologies – from modest terraced houses to larger family homes. It showcases architects expressing their creativity within a wide variety of settings – from homes on tight urban sites where the ingenuity is evident in the twists and turns of the plan and section, to detached rural homes where the architect has been given free rein to reimagine the baronial hall or lakeside retreat.

“At this critical point in time in terms of ‘climate break down’, we were really looking to see how deep a dive the architects had taken into issues around environmental sustainability. It was encouraging to see in both the prototype for modular social housing and some of the larger houses on the longlist how there was a much more holistic approach to what might constitute a truly sustainable house. What we are building with, the provenance of materials and the impact on biodiversity are starting to really influence designs.” RIBA / architecture.com

EXIT ONE LAST THING TO INSPIRE...

Above: Forest Road SNUG Home by Ecomotive

Left: Cove Ridge by Coffey Architects

Above: Green House by Hayhurst and Co

Left: Threefold House by Knox Bhavan Architects

Photography: Tony Gillbert

Photography: Phill Coffey

Photography: Kilian Sullivan

Photography: Edmund Sumner

UNO

Designed for modern lifestyles, Uno offers a contemporary choice of subtle shades. Sleek in style, the versatile palette is perfect for pairing together or mixing with colour or texture.

CROWN

- INNOVATIVE THINKING