Bathroom Design – Semi-precious stones light up a masculine bathroom that glows with desert colours
In the pursuit of new and exotic effects GDC interiors design team turned to Capital Marble for its expertise in procuring and working with stone, to interpret their ideas for a Knightsbridge bathroom design featuring back-lit, semi-precious stone.
GDC interiors created a black box design for an ensuite bathroom as part of a refurbishment project in a ground floor apartment in Knightsbridge. At just 2.5m x 2.5m the challenge was to bring New York glamour to Knightsbridge within the constraints of a 19th century London building for the film producer owner.
The walls and floor are clad in matte black composite stone, against which the glowing colours of the Egyptian desert are contrasted in the back-lit, semi precious stonework of the wash basin and steam room benches, which are carved in a limestone onyx known as Alabastro Egiziano. Dornbracht Rainsky is inset in the shower / steam room ceiling; which is a magnificent showering experience not dissimilar to being caught in a tropical rainstorm! The wash basin tap is a Cut faucet from Boffi and the pod-like Alessi WC is mounted on the wall. The overall effect is a deeply masculine exotic luxury within a minimalist environment.
The detailed bathroom design was carried out by the team at GDC interiors, who worked in close cooperation with Capital Marble in the production process. GDC interiors were concerned that the basin should dramatically appear to float without any visible support. They also insisted that the water should drain through a linear outlet in the basin (repeated in the steam room shower area) that was concealed but accessible.
In responding to GDC interiors rigorous demands for quality of workmanship and materials, Joanna Kossak-Cox, Capital Marble Managing Director explains: “We worked closely with GDC interiors to ensure we captured their obsession for minimalist and clean lines, we were confident that we could push beyond the boundaries of what is normally possible in stone”.
Not to be mistaken for Egyptian Alabaster, Alabastro Egiziano is a limestone onyx featuring dramatic, golden-brown stripes. It is a hard stone which was used extensively in the Pharaonic period for sarcophagi, also in the linings of tombs and the ceiling and walls of temples. Working with this exotic and semi-precious stone takes time and skill to ensure it does not fracture along the veins and to expose its natural beauty to best advantage.
Understanding the structure and inherent weaknesses of a block of semi-precious stone is of paramount importance when carving something as technically demanding as the GDC interiors wash basin and benches. The trust GDC interiors put in Capital Marble, to interpret their design, was well-founded resulting in a completely unique and dramatic bathroom design interior that is fit for a modern pharaoh.
It looks like a honey. You will lie in a honey 😀
Best regards
Vonios baldai