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Bathrooms RENO ADDICT

Bathroom vanities: what’s hot right now

We’ve noticed some gorgeous new bathroom vanities on the scene lately so I’m here to share some of my favourites and some of the great customisation options available. The ability to customise is becoming much more common and affordable which is great news for renovators, especially those with tricky spaces or specific tastes.

Blossom by ISSY

First up, the latest ISSY by Zuster collection, exclusive to Reece Bathrooms, is called Blossom and it’s beautiful, as always. These showstopping vanities (as well as cabinets and mirrors) aren’t cheap but they’re stunning designs, built to last.

“The ISSY by Zuster Blossom range encapsulates a real opportunity to deliver luxurious, handcrafted Australian-made bathroom furniture that caters to the user’s every need,” says Reece bathroom and kitchen merchandising leader, Daniela Santilli.

Created by Zuster (sisters Wilhelmina McCarroll and Fleur Sibbel), this highly functional, feminine collection has been created primarily for women, featuring thoughtful conveniences that help create a truly seamless bathroom experience.

“I really enjoyed designing the Blossom range because I like to think about how we use the bathroom. Like us, many women are busy with family and work, and want to start and finish their day with an amazing experience at home,” says Wilhelmina.

With this in mind, the Blossom collection integrates a wealth of modern conveniences within each piece. Think concealed, soft-close vanity drawers that pop out with the tap of a finger and feature different compartments for all your personal grooming items. And mirror configurations that allow you to see your hair from every angle (a feature the designers were looking to experience in their own bathrooms).

Designed with flexibility and personalisation in mind, Blossom can be customised to fit with a diversity of bathroom spaces and styles, with an abundance of storage and customisable material and finish options. It comes in six American Oak finishes including light lime wash and a rich, dark slate stain. you can also choose from 12 handle finishes.

“Manufacturing locally means customers can customise their furniture while receiving their products within six-to-eight weeks, instead of up to 20 weeks’ wait time for overseas suppliers,” says Fleur.

“We appreciate the bathroom vanity for more than just its practical purposes. Rather, we see it as a beautiful and functional piece of furniture – a centrepiece for your bathroom retreat,” says Wilhelmina. “We have studied the beauty of flowers to create a collection that is both decorative and delicately organic.”

Check out Blossom

The popular Highgrove Bathrooms’ blackbutt timber vanity collection is now available with customisation options, so you can create a unique centrepiece in your bathroom. Whether you prefer natural stone, marble, or quartz top, you can personalise the new Jones & Jones wall hung vanities, adding a timeless and elegant look to your space. 

The eco-friendly design of the Jones and Jones vanities uses water-resistant properties with an interior core of 23mm of marine ply, for minimal maintenance and to ensure they don’t expand and contract over time.

Designed with crisp lines and a large drawer format with modular dividers, the vanity not only adapts to any bathroom style, but provides the perfect storage solution to keep all your essentials organised. Featuring Blum soft-close drawers and a long lasting lacquer, so every surface is protected to repel water and remain durable for many years to come. 

Available in five sizes from 750mm to 1800mm wide with a five-year warranty.

Shop Jones and Jones vanities at Highgrove Bathrooms from $950

If you’re looking for something more traditional, I love the options at Vanity by Design, especially the Hayley, which you can buy with a Carrara marble top.

They have plenty of modern designs too though, like the Eadie. All in all, a great place to look for both classic and contemporary options.

The Eadie by Vanity by Design

Shop Vanity by Design

Somewhere I’m loving for the sheer amount of customisation options available, all online, is The Blue Space. They have just about every style of traditional and contemporary vanity, in all manner of finishes and with countless options for tops, basins and handles. There are also a lot of floorstanding options, which aren’t as popular these days due to our love of wall-hung, so can be tricky to find. Sometimes floorstanding is still the best (or preferred) option though!

The ADP London vanity from The Blue Space
The Loughlin Furniture Freo from The Blue Space

Shop The Blue Space’s options

We recently shared the coloured concrete cylinder pedestal wash stands from Nood Co. Perfect for a powder room, totally unique and available in 14 colours!

And there are two navy options we’re pretty mad for at Early Settler at the moment, a brand whose vanities have, until now, been very much on the tractional end of the spectrum! This one’s the Nate.

For more inspiration, check out our kitchens and bathrooms section

Categories
Kitchens RENO ADDICT

Complete kitchen packages for those paralysed by indecision!

Ever wish someone could just put together the perfect kitchen for you? Overwhelmed by choices and decisions?

Expanding on its success as a one-stop shop for the most stylish edit of bathroom fixtures and fittings, The Blue Space has moved into the kitchen realm with the launch of its kitchen packages. Designed to take the hassle out of renovating, the store offers packages (curated by local designers with an eye on trends) which are ideal for people struggling with design decisions.

The ‘Manhattan’ kitchen

“We could see customers loved the simplicity and ease of the bathroom packages – our whole process is about making renovations as simple, easy and rewarding as possible – so we’ve launched kitchens as well. It’s about the peace of mind that comes with seeing your choices work together before you buy,” says The Blue Space founder and managing director, Josh Mammoliti.

Furthermore, The Blue Space offer a tech-driven approach that allows you to see your product choices in situ (via high-res 3D CAD drawings) before you commit to buy.

The ‘Bordeaux’ kitchen – I love the grey shaker style doors

Brands available include Polytec, Phoenix, Clark, Seima and Crompton and the store sells high-quality Australian made cabinetry too. Plus, the entire kitchen is delivered fully assembled to your front door with no flat pack required – amazing!

The ‘Alpine’ kitchen – Scandinavian inspired crisp white and wood

As for the pre-designed packages, Josh says they came about because most customers prefer to create a complete look, but are often overwhelmed by choice.  “We also offer a product selection service too, where customers send us photos or specifications of their existing space and we put together product suggestions,” says Josh.

The ‘Loft’ kitchen

Shop online | Check out Jen’s recent kitchen reveal

Categories
Expert Tips Kitchens RENO ADDICT

The 3 must-dos when planning your kitchen island

After last night’s Block kitchen reveals, it seemed like a good day to talk kitchen islands!

When it comes to determining the layout of your kitchen island, functionality should trump all else. It is important to consider the daily activities that will happen around your island and tailor your design around those. Think about what kind of storage you might need, what items you’ll be using in the kitchen, the look you want to achieve, how you want to use your space and so on.

Josh Mammoliti from The Blue Space shares his hottest tips for how to choose the right kitchen island for you:

Don’t forget the basics

Have ample power points installed and not just for your kitchen appliances. Remember you will likely be charging laptops, tablets, phones and who knows what else regularly, so keeping cords nice and tidy and power within reach is essential.

Somewhere to chill

Breakfast bars are a great addition to a kitchen and double the functionality of your space for little additional cost. Informal meals, catching up on a bit of work or hanging out with a glass of red are almost daily rituals in a busy kitchen hub.

Double up

You will never regret adding in an extra sink and tap. With a vast island bench space you will find yourself preparing meals with ease and have the perfect space for entertaining guests. Adding a second sink for food prep work is as good as having a butlers’ pantry, especially to help avoid clashes with other people busily using the main sink and bench area for washing up.

— Josh Mammoliti is managing director of The Blue Space, a business changing the way you renovate. At the click of a button you can purchase not just individual items, but complete stylised bathrooms, kitchens and laundries.

For more kitchen inspo

Categories
Bathrooms Expert Tips

The hottest six bathroom trends of 2016

As winter sets in, there is an increased focus on the bathroom which is no doubt due to the nesting that the season inspires. Not only do people typically spend more time at home, long, warm baths are something of a cool-weather ritual and with that in mind, Josh Mammoliti, of online bathroom goods retailer The Blue Space, shares his pick of the latest bathroom trends.

Bluespace_Bathroom-Scuro_Lo-Res

Timber tiles
There’s no denying that timber brings a certain warmth that is unmatched by many other materials. This no doubt explains why timber-look tiles are so popular of late. “Timber in the bathroom is definitely popular this year. Timber look tiles are great for bringing warmth and texture to the bathroom,” says Josh.

Phoenix_Vivid_Slimline_Floor_Mounted_Mixer_Bathroom

Black tapware
A more enduring trend than we predicted, black tapware is proving capable of more than fifteen minutes of fame.”With so many bathroom looks able to capitalise on the trend, from Scandinavian to modern and minimalist, matte black remains a very popular look,” says Josh.

Dorf Epic Bloc Mixer Tap in Black and Rose Gold

Warm metallics
Something of a modern classic in any interior space, warm metallic such as rose gold and brass are huge trends this year and great for a luxe bathroom look. “They key with these metallics is not to overdo it, a key piece in the bathroom can perfectly play off textured finishes such as timber,” says Josh.

Hansa-Viva-Shower-System

Smart showers
Not only are they super practical but smart shower systems, or double shower heads, are a luxurious point of difference for the bathroom. “Be soaked with a rain shower when you want to relax or use the hand shower when you want to keep your hair dry,” says Josh.

 

Recessed LED strip lighting
We loved Philippe Starck’s interpretation of the LED bathroom trend, and also how recessed LED strip lighting has shrugged off its tacky associations and is being used in all manner of clever (and subtle) ways. “Recessed LED strip lighting around the perimeter of the room and above the mirror is a prominent trend. Use the lighting in creative ways – under wall hung vanities or even in your shower head to really create ambience in your space,” says Josh.

Caroma-Urbane-Cleanflush Wall Faced Toilet Suite

Rimless toilets
Say, what?!? In technical terms, a traditional toilet has a ‘boxed rim’ that the water hits when the device is flushed – the perfect hiding spot for all manner of germs. A rimless toilet removes the rim and allows the water to run around the bowl through a completely visible, exposed channel. The channel is made of the same material as the rest of your toilet bowl and, because you can see it, it’s super easy to clean.

Caroma-cleanflush-2

“Rimless toilets are one of the biggest leaps forward in technology we have seen in some time. Already popular in Europe, we expect the trend will really take off in Australia – once you see how much cleaner these toilets are you won’t want anything else,” says Josh.

Categories
Kitchens

The ‘Net-a-Porter’ of bathroom, kitchen & laundry renovation

If you’re looking for an on-trend and easy-to-navigate edit of the latest bathroom, kitchen and laundry products, The Blue Space is your one-stop shop. After spending the last decade working in the digital arena for Australia’s leading bathroom brands, the site’s creator Josh Mammoliti, set up the business earlier this year to help renovators sift through the myriad products available on the market.

dorf_home_block1_industriebathroom_1691x954_1

“The disconnect we see is that Australians find it hard to make their bathroom or kitchen dreams look like the pictures in reality. They often don’t know where to start, they need to shop at multiple places or fear making a wrong decision – especially given a wet area is not only a major investment, but you want it to be timeless for the next 10 to 15 years. We want to showcase trends, inspire design and allow Australians to achieve stylish, sophisticated spaces without the stress,” says Josh.

TGC_CE730 Phoenix Cerchio Sink Mixer Hero

One of our favourite features of the site is the ability to purchase packages; ideal for people struggling to make design decisions. “Most customers prefer to recreate an overall look, in which case we offer pre-designed packages from local designers and suppliers to make it easier for them to choose. We also offer a product selection service where customers send us photos or specifications of their existing bathroom and we put together product suggestions,” says Josh who will be adding a 3D design service in the coming months. “The new design service will allow customers to not only have their bathroom designed in 3D but to take it away and continue to play with it before buying,” says Josh.

A trend-driven site, a team of design gurus and local designers are constantly sourcing the latest trends and creating collections around them. “We work with local designers each month to tap into the latest trends and create collections that inspire and can also be bought as an entire look, whilst keeping in mind the value of timeless investment pieces too,” says Josh who has a team of consultants available on the site for live chat too.

Bluespace_Bathroom Chiaro_Hi Res (1)

“Bathrooms, laundries and kitchens are beautiful statement pieces in your home and a major investment making it so important to get it right. Our customers don’t want to be spending their weekends in showrooms, they want to be inspired on their mobile and tablets in the comfort of their own home and be able to purchase instantly,” says Josh.

Shop the edit here.

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