Posted 11/01/2021
Kohler Bathroom

Chennai-based architect Niels Schoenfelder of Mancini Enterprises shares four ideas to enhance the indulgence, while still keeping it simple. 


Say Yes To Partitions: Shower curtains, glass dividers, sliding doors…these are established ways of separating the wet areas from the dry. But before these modern inventions came into the market, high wall partitions were traditionally used in bathrooms. These constructed separators introduce a conventional look. Build a wall a little more than half way up, to take care of the splash of the wet area, and clad it with tiles to match the colours of the rest of the room. And if the design concept requires, glass partitions (though they always seem like they belong in a laboratory), can make a cool safe bathing haven. 


Try It With Tiles: While tiles are essential in the wet area of a bathroom, why do we limit them to that space only. Due to their material, the colour in the tiles gives it much more depth than the colour you would get from regular emulsion paints, making it so much more seductive. Hand-glazed, ceramic or porcelain, tiles are a great way to add more character. So ditch the pristine white walls and transform your bathroom into a fully coloured space.


Swirl It With Marble: What’s the best way to get a fluid, seamless look to your walls and floor? Use some marble! Being a powerful and fluid textured material, the grains seem to suggest the visual of swirling water, besides being a material you can’t go wrong with. The downside…you have to go see the slab personally to choose the gradient and colour. Whether monotone or dual textured, marble can enhance the bathroom and can make it go from simple to sensual. 


Control The Controls: While putting on your shower, how often have you found yourself getting scalded or frozen, as you try and adjust the temperature and flow? More often than not you will find yourself under the water flow at unusual angles so you don’t get wet with the first gush of water. Introducing a freestanding control panel that you can access before getting into the shower, is a unique solution that not only solves the problem but also brings in a touch of drama – incorporate a granite structure or something sculptural onto which you can add the fittings. Placing controls at areas other than right under the shower, will make your bath more comfortable!


Niels Schoenfelder, Principal Architect, Mancini Enterprises, Chennai

“My education in architecture, work-experience and travels around the world led to the creation of Mancini Enterprises in 2004, a design firm for architecture, interiors, objects, furniture and landscapes in India and abroad. Being aware of ground realities in India, the challenging diversity of projects and their respective building realities is the driving force behind my work.”

Website: www.mancini-design.com

Text: Compiled by The Blue Pencil Design Company

Images: Courtesy Mancini Enterprises