Tubs of Color

Warm or cool, colored bathtubs highlight the focus on sculptural fixtures in contemporary baths.

ICFF stands for the International Contemporary Furniture Fair, which opened this week in New York City. ICFF is the biggest annual showcase for contemporary furniture and fixtures on this side of the pond. Although it’s huge, it’s always energizing to see all the newest design creativity, products and sources from around the world. Due to illness in the family, I was unable to get there this year to do a report. But among the invitations was one from Blu Bathworks, based in Vancouver, Canada, which sent a photo of their colored bathtubs including a stunning minimalist lime green quartize bathtub [top]. This tub, from their Blu Stone designed by Michael Gottschalk, poses the following question for modern baths: instead of having color on the walls, why not have it on the fixtures? The one-piece freestanding oval tub comes in a matte or gloss finish and, at 59-inches long, is ideal for smaller spaces.

Blu’s slipper-shape tub is a scaled up showstopper in bright red.

Avant-garde Italian bath fixtures from Regia also are showing at ICFF. Their Jolie “vetroghiaccio” tub, designed by Bruna Rapisarda, is double-skinned and see-through (ghaccio is Italian for icecube). It can be illuminated by natural light and comes with a cushy “technogel” neck rest on one end. It also comes with special supports for lifting it into place.

A few years back, in a piece on Black Bathrooms I showed a Neo Metro Ebb Collection illuminated resin sink vanity and mirror, which the company still showcases. This French molded resin tub came with integral LED illumination (it was sold by the French retailer Castorama)  to make the super cool blue glow in the dark.

Red is another transparent hue for Regia’s Jolie tub, which can be paired with a matching pedestal sink. While these tubs of color are far less tame than the Italian Bathtub Chic tubs we posted about in the past, they show how conservative our thinking about bathrooms can be — even when a new one is planned.

(Source: blubathworks, regia, marieclairemaison)

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