Simplicity is Key for DPH Market

Richmond Tile & Bath offers its customers a hands-on shopping experience, especially when it comes to wellness-themed products such as deep soaking tubs and steam showers. The firm has gone so far as to create private rooms where customers can “test drive” a massage air bath or the Vedana therapeutic care center.

Owner Tony Vanario believes the wellness trend will continue to grow and leaders in the industry need to foster and encourage emerging trends. “The health and wellness market is going to get much bigger,” he predicts.

He continues, “The more people are exposed to it, the more likely they are to adopt it. Introducing the benefits of nurturing one’s mind, body and spirit by simply enhancing the capacity of their own bathroom is irresistible to the consumer. I am convinced that sharing awareness and knowledge will put the customer in a better position to make better choices.”

Theatrical Moves

A return to simplicity in design should never translate into boring design. Creating impact can mean using classic elements in unexpected ways. The best designers know how to utilize space, color and proportion to create a room with a sensational ‘wow’ factor.

One example of this comes from Italian art designer Alex Turco, whose waterproof floor-to-ceiling art panels offer a whole new concept of art applied to interior design. His panels add texture and color to any space from a kitchen backsplash to a shower wall.

BainUltra offers a new perspective on the tub – literally – with a dramatic new installation option known as Theatre Stage. The tub is elevated from its humble position on the floor to a dramatic platform that enhances its architectural beauty and focuses attention on the wellness benefits of therapeutic bathing. The concept is definitely generating some buzz with its fashion-forward spin on space planning.

Well-made products with classic lines never go out of style. Design teams from across the bath industry are re-discovering their roots creating new product lines blending the best of traditional and modern design. Consumers seem to appreciate this new approach and are eagerly responding to these trends that celebrate the art of living in simple, stress-free and beautiful surroundings.

Linda Jennings is president of Jennings & Company, a Sarasota, Fla.-based public relations, advertising and marketing agency that specializes exclusively in the decorative plumbing and luxury hardware industry. Jennings is also a member of DPHA and serves on the association’s editorial advisory committee.

DPH Perspectives is published regularly in KBDN under an exclusive strategic alliance with the Decorative Plumbing & Hardware Association.