Luxury reinterpreted in smaller bathrooms

To maximize the sense of spaciousness, Barber Osgerby have relied on natural light, so that the bathroom features a floor-to-ceiling window, as well as a large skylight above the shower.
All photos: Axor/Hansgrohe
How
can a bathroom convey spaciousness and luxury on a small floor plan? Axor posed
this question to the London-based design studio Barber Osgerby. The answer:
"Skyline", a concept for a narrow, elegant bathroom in a penthouse
flat in London. Fitted with Axor One bathroom mixers and Universal Circular
Accessories, which they designed, Skyline embodies a personal version of
well-being in a small space.
Skyline is
just seven square metres in size and designed as part of a London penthouse. “The
project was inspired by the move towards more compact living,” Jay Osgerby, one
half of the acclaimed design duo, explains. “It’s a move away from the huge,
lounging, spa-style bathrooms that we've come to know from the top-end of the
market over the last few years, into creatively addressing compact spaces,
particularly in urban environments.” To maximize the sense of spaciousness, Barber Osgerby have relied on natural light, so that the bathroom features a floor-to-ceiling window, as well as a large skylight above the shower.
“It’s about being clever with the space, by flooding it with light and offering
views,” Osgerby says.
Creatively addressing compact spaces and bathrooms

Skyline is
just seven square metres in size and designed as part of a London penthouse.
Colour also
plays an important role in the Skyline concept, although Barber Osgerby have
departed from current trends in their thoughtful use of it. “The tendency is
often—particularly at the moment—that you paint one wall in one colour, you
leave another wall in another colour, and you have a big picture on the other
wall,” Osgerby notes. “And in a compact space, it doesn't really work.” As an
alternative, the designers went for an all-over monochrome green, created with
tiles from their Primavera collection for Mutina. The tiles’ soothing tone assumes
multiple roles: “In terms of colour theory, green is obviously the most calming
colour,” Osgerby says. “It’s a reference to nature. But at the same time, in
this instance, it gives us the ability to have one palette which unifies the
entire space.”
The green
of the tiles allows for an astonishing visual contrast with the all-new Matt
White surface finish of the Axor One fixtures and Universal Circular
Accessories. In the context of the bathroom, white has long been identified
with hygiene and cleanliness, and the Matt White finish infuses these
associations into the fixtures. “With Axor One, we've taken what's really
needed and made it into the most refined object we possibly can,” Jay Osgerby
notes, “and for us, the Matt White finish actually exemplifies this in terms of
its purity, simplicity and calmness.” Both collections, the fixtures and the accessories,
are now available in an array of colour finishes, all curated by Barber
Osgerby, but Matt White was particularly suited to the sense of serenity that
Skyline aims to conjure.
Choice of colour as a central theme of individualisation

The use of matt white as the definitive colour tone creates a holistic aesthetic that is intended to convey a sense of serenity.
Axor's "Make it yours!" campaign, which includes the Skyline
bathroom, addresses colour selection as a central theme of the megatrend individualisation. The
choice to use the colour Matt White across the bathroom, as Barber Osgerby have
done with their Skyline concept, aims to allow for a truly individualized
expression, without compromise: Matt White appears not only on all fixtures,
from washbasin faucet to showerpipe to thermostatic module, but on all
accessories, as well, from towel hooks to shelves to mirrors and the Drain. This
results in a unified aesthetic in service of the overall sense of calm the
designers sought to create as Osgerby adds: “The bathroom has always been
talked about as being a sanctuary. And I don't feel like that's really gone.
These spaces are one of the few spaces that give you sanctuary from the
craziness of life.”
A personal vision of luxury

The green
of the tiles allows for an astonishing visual contrast with the all-new Matt
White surface finish of the Axor One fixtures and Universal Circular
Accessories.
A
harmonious space of understated beauty, offering retreat from the busy
metropolis, Skyline speaks directly to Osgerby’s personal idea of luxury. Thus,
the designer declares, “Luxury is time, advancement, space and travel. And some
of those things we can get in [Skyline]. The idea of being able to remove
yourself — of having time and space to think — it’s luxury.” And when asked how
personalisation plays into this idea of luxury as well-being, Osgerby replies:
“If you're able to be in a lucky position to create your own environments, then
you're living in your own painting, you're living in your own artwork, aren’t
you? And hopefully, if you're happy with what you've created, you can feel
content, which naturally means that you can relax.”
Asked about
the client Barber Osgerby had in mind with this highly personalised bathroom
concept, Jay Osgerby says: “I think a lot of designers spend a lot of time
saying how they design for the market, but we can't really do that.” And he
continues, “Actually, we design for ourselves. In our studio, I think we're all
unified in this. If we don't make something or produce something we wouldn't
want to live in or use, it just doesn't happen. We’re not a design consultancy,
you see. We’re people who design things that we love.”