By Rob Sinclair
When it comes to predicting what’s hot in interiors, it usually pays to look to the northern hemisphere, two seasons ahead of us, for inspiration and what is set to hit Australian shores.
I saw these trends first-hand this season after attending the ISH bathroom fair in Frankfurt, with all the powerhouse brands from around the world under the one roof. Overall when it comes to the bathroom, we’re seeing people wanting to create luxurious spaces for relaxation and escapism. Bathrooms are becoming a spa and wellness retreat in their own right, with people investing in things like rain showers and tapware with beautiful finishes that are not only functional but create a sense of luxe in the bathroom.
A standout at ISH was the sheer amount of tapware in different colours, finishes and textures. And with tapware being an easy way to update your bathroom without necessarily undergoing a complete renovation, I thought I’d share some of the biggest trends to come out of ISH.
Colours
Tapware has come a long way in recent years, with so many options available when it comes to colours. Matte black is popular, and I can’t see that trend going anywhere, as well as copper, brass, rose gold and bronze. I think we are also going to see more of white tapware as it creates a crisp and fresh look.
Finishes
The trend is growing towards natural, matte finishes on fixtures and fittings offering a raw, industrial and old-world look. PVD, or physical vapour deposition, is a method of producing thin films and coatings for your tapware, guaranteed to provide durability and sustainability. Layers of colour are usually deposited onto stainless steel to replicate copper and brass looks. Gessi offered more than 20 different types of these finishes to choose from at ISH, and Hansgrohe had 16, which demonstrates this look will be here to stay.
Texture
We will see tapware – both the base and spouts – treated with a kind of three-dimensional effect or structure on its surface. Think dimples (like a golf ball), ‘pimples’ and other 3D shapes. Brodware is another one of my favourite tapware brands, and their new Yokato series has a knurled surface that adds to the vintage textured look.
Trending colours:
Copper
Bronze
Brass
Matte black
Rose gold
White
Finishes:
Raw
Industrial
Vintage
3D
Brands to look for:
Gessi
Astra Walker
Brodware
Hansgrohe
–Rob Sinclair is joint managing director of e&s
