Baby Blue Tubs and Lemony Loos. Are Coloured Bathroom Fixtures Chic Again?
Kanebridge News
Share Button

Baby Blue Tubs and Lemony Loos. Are Coloured Bathroom Fixtures Chic Again?

The divisive trend has design pros in a lather. Here, they argue both sides.

By LAUREN JOSEPH
Thu, Mar 16, 2023 8:00amGrey Clock 4 min

COLOURED TUBS and sinks are getting another shot. Design experts are revisiting the look, which originated in the 1920s. American waterworks brand Kohler recently revived two heritage colors they originally released in the ’20s and ’30s, and British manufacturers such as the Water Monopoly and the Bold Bathroom Company have found fans on both sides of the Atlantic.

Some designers, however, wincingly recall the avocado-hued tubs and sinks of the 1970s and hold that coloured fixtures are a trend that will date very quickly. For these naysayers, only white bath fixtures will do. Here, they debate the issue.

Yes, coloured fixtures give a bathroom a much-needed shot of style.

Many design pros applauded the news that come summer, Kohler’s bathroom fixtures—including toilets—will be available in two shades from its archive: Spring Green, an icy teal, and Peachblow, a mauvy pink. Fans of the chromatically diverse Rockwell collection from the Water Monopoly, meanwhile, appreciate the fixtures’ vaguely vintage eccentricity.

London interior designer Lizzie Green nestled a Powder blue Rockwell tub, one with a puffy upper rim and spheres for feet, against a wall of variegated green-blue tiles (above). “The playful design creates a center piece in a large bathroom,” she said. (In a similarly bold move, Ms. Green installed a blue art deco pedestal sink from British manufacturer the Bold Bathroom Company in a shower room clad in rose-pink tile.)

Elizabeth Metcalfe, of EM Design in Toronto, made a chalky green Rockwell tub the hero of a primary bath and a foil to some serious luxury. It sits amid walls of Breccia marble—a creamy stone veined in deep purple—and windows hung with pink cashmere drapery. The tub gives an otherwise conservative, grown-up room a “uniquely stylish” edge, she said.

The designers we surveyed agree that the trend’s biggest fans are older millennials who grew up in what Lauren Lothrop Caron terms the “beige 2000s.” The founder of Seattle’s Studio Laloc—a senior millennial herself—urges her contemporaries to be bold. For her own bathroom remodel, she’s eyeing Kohler’s Peachblow fixtures.

Noncommittal types might do best to choose one small colored fixture, says Jake Rodehuth-Harrison, founder of Los Angeles design firm Hubbahubba. Mr. Rodehuth-Harrison loves the “heavy dose of nostalgia” the pieces provide at a time when “the design world and algorithms are always looking forward and saying new, newer, newest.” He popped lilac ball feet onto another Water Monopoly Rockwell tub, this one white, in a Napa Valley, Calif., project. The result perches, most surprisingly, on muted green flooring he chose. If that’s too bold, “we can neutralize these fixtures by surrounding them with tiles in the same color,” he noted.

Another trick: Tiffany Duggan of London’s Studio Duggan suggests working with vintage fixtures that were born white. The designer recently updated an original iron tub with a wash of Farrow & Ball’s Red Earth. “If you change your mind, you can just paint over it.”

No, colored basins and bathtubs are too fatally trendy and impractical besides.

Doubters say hued baths will be a blip on the trend continuum. Unless you’re trying to preserve the aesthetic of a historic home, warned Liana Hawes Young, creative director of Wimberly Interiors in New York City, “colored fixtures will feel dated quickly, if not immediately.” And unlike trendily tinted shower curtains or wall paint that can be changed with little expense, this craze requires a spendy swap out, argued naysayers. Said Kristina Phillips, an interior designer in Ridgewood, N.J., “Clients looking for more long-term, classic design, along with keeping eventual resale in mind, might hesitate.”

Traditionalists say that if you really must, relegate such vivid choices to powder rooms and kids’ baths, spaces you don’t linger in. And well-intentioned salvage-scourers should be wary of mixing eras, said other concerned parties. “Vintage plumbing fixtures can date a space due to their scale,” explained Hattie Collins, founder of Hattie Sparks Interiors, in New Orleans. “Most times, coloured tubs and toilets are much smaller than present-day fixtures.” A safer bet, she suggests, is to focus on rescuing original floor and surround tile.

Powder blue is one thing, many say, but bright or hot-hued renditions of this trend read garish. “Neons and oranges could be a thorn in the room,” said Los Angeles designer Gilda Hariri. Even Ms. Metcalfe, who otherwise champions the trend, warned, “Avoid vibrant, aggressive tones, such as reds and oranges, that evoke a strong emotional response.”

Designers who actually can see a place for coloured fixtures couldn’t help but trivialise the trend as “retro” and “eclectic.” The rest of the room has to quietly suggest luxury, they suggest, to balance kookiness with class. Ms. Collins thinks wallpaper that has layered, expressive colours—the sort often offered by House of Hackney, Gracie or Cole and Son—could help coloured fixtures read higher end, as would lighting of reeded glass and high-quality metal finishes. “Lovely but expensive,” she added. Is the cost of a cheerful toilet really worth it?

The power of association doesn’t work well in the trend’s favor, either. A black bathroom, for instance, installed for a sense of refined moodiness, might evoke one from a 1980s basement nightclub, giving words like sterility and sanitary a new appeal. Austere white bathrooms, a holdover from the “hospital white’” tiled bathrooms of the early 1920s, are far more practical. Dark colours reveal water marks and chalky toothpaste smears. To Kristine Renee, co-founder of Sacramento, Calif., interiors firm Design Alchemy, “Nothing ever seems as clean as white.”

The Wall Street Journal is not compensated by retailers listed in its articles as outlets for products. Listed retailers frequently are not the sole retail outlets.



MOST POPULAR
11 ACRES ROAD, KELLYVILLE, NSW

This stylish family home combines a classic palette and finishes with a flexible floorplan

35 North Street Windsor

Just 55 minutes from Sydney, make this your creative getaway located in the majestic Hawkesbury region.

Related Stories
Lifestyle
‘Look Them in the Eye.’ As Maui Rebuilds, Returning Tourists Need to Be Mindful of the Trauma, Says Cultural Advisor.
By DANIELLE BERNABE 19/03/2024
Lifestyle
The hotel-style services you can enjoy — without leaving home
By Kirsten Craze 18/03/2024
Lifestyle
Bulgari’s Latest ‘Sketched’ Watches Are Drawing Attention
By LAURIE KAHLE 18/03/2024
‘Look Them in the Eye.’ As Maui Rebuilds, Returning Tourists Need to Be Mindful of the Trauma, Says Cultural Advisor.
By DANIELLE BERNABE
Tue, Mar 19, 2024 6 min

There’s an opportunity for education as tourists return to Maui while it rebuilds from last summer’s devastating wildfire, says Kalikolehua Storer, a Lahaina resident and the area cultural and training advisor for Hyatt’s Maui resorts.

Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1962, the Lahaina Historic District—once a lush Hawaiian capital and retreat for Hawaiian monarchs—is beloved by residents, explored by tourists, and has a deep-rooted heritage. Storer was working on the opposite side of the island when the blaze started last August. She scrambled to connect with family and friends. And like so many others, she grappled with the utter chaos that rapidly destroyed her hometown.

Storer’s home was spared, but the fire ultimately claimed 115 lives and destroyed or damaged more than 2,300 structures, including culturally significant sites like the Na ‘Aikane o Maui Cultural and Research Center, which housed invaluable Hawaiian artefacts (books signed by kings, genealogy, maps, and more).

Kalikolehua Storer, a Lahaina resident and the area cultural and training advisor for Hyatt’s Maui resorts
Courtesy of Hyatt

Historically, Lahaina thrived from mauka to makai (mountain to ocean), with waterways nourishing native ecosystems and communities. However, years of water redirection and climate-related drought set the stage for such a disaster, and according to Storer, the fire underscored the erosion of Hawaiian control over land and natural resources, spotlighting issues like land degradation, water misappropriation, and tourism’s stronghold on Maui.

Tourism makes up a substantial part of Maui’s GDP. The wildfire led to a 51.4% drop in visitor arrivals between August and October 2023 compared to 2022, triggering a sharp 87.1% rise in unemployment, according to government statistics.

The sector’s dominance highlights the need for a more balanced and sustainable model. Moreover, the fire’s impact on tourism underscores the urgency to diversify Hawaii’s economy for greater growth and resilience. Lahaina’s water management issues, such as the historical diversion for sugar cane cultivation, have drastically altered local ecosystems.

With only 23% of water allocated for public use and the majority consumed by the private sector (resorts, golf courses, and some agriculture, for instance), the ecological imbalance has had severe consequences for indigenous environments. Storer said she believes the aftermath of the fires and the strain on Maui’s tourism highlight the interconnectedness of ecological health and economic stability.

In response to the crisis, Maui Mayor Richard Bissen formed a five-member advisory team to lead the recovery efforts, with Storer as a key participant. Storer also sits at the table of Maui’s Office of Recovery Natural and Cultural Resources, which helps to shine light on issues impacting air, water, and land. Storer collaborates with partners from federal, state, and county levels, along with Lahaina’s cultural practitioners, to facilitate Lahaina’s recovery post-wildfire.

Storer shared visions of Maui’s rebuild with  Penta , and the balance between tourism, ecology, and the road to sustainable solutions.

Penta: With such a huge road ahead, how are you embracing hope? And what is your ideal vision for Maui?

Kalikolehua Storer: I know that I can get caught up in the end result of what will or will not work, but in the moment, our community needs to be heard, and this is my part to lean into what they are sharing. People have envisioned Lahaina as a walking town with cultural sites, a cultural marketplace, and restoring Mokuʻula, the site of the private residence of King Kamehameha III from 1837-1845. It has since been buried under a baseball field.

We also need to diversify the economy. This is a big task, but with Hawaiian leaders in all sectors, I am confident that this can be accomplished. We have nowhere else to go but up, so all ideas are worth a conversation. My ideal Lahaina is to rebuild our historical sites, churches, and learning centres, and better care for the ocean, land, and air. To be better stewards, we need to educate and make it a priority. All of us, including visitors, need to know the importance. The issues we have about water and land need to be resolved.

Explain more about the land and water and how they are pivotal parts of recovery. 

The West Maui Mountains are home to the Pu’u Kukui Watershed and Mauna Kahalawai Watershed Partnership (caretakers of the mountain area directly above the impact zone), which used to flow through waterways and land divisions ( ahupua’a ) to enrich the ecosystems. However, when the sugar cane and pineapple industry arrived, that water was diverted and went straight to those farms. The water never went back to the way it was, and because of this, the indigenous ecologies have been drained. So, water needs to be returned to streams, and a greater percentage needs to be given for public use. This is a major issue and needs to be resolved. The waterways are there, but they need to be cleaned and prepared for water to flow. That has to start upland of the watershed. Looking at an aerial map of Kauaula Valley, most of the area is dry, but along the river where the Palakiko family lives is very lush. They prepared the stream area, and it came back. However, that took years because of private-sector control.

“Asking people how they are doing, looking them in the eye, and caring about them can make a huge difference,” Storer says.
Courtesy of Hyatt

Many people believe that tourism is the biggest problem. Is that true?

Right after the fire, many people encouraged tourists to stay away. And people listened. Our economy dropped because people stopped coming. Unemployment shot up, and the economy, as a whole, suffered. Our island is so dependent on tourism, and that is part of the problem. I believe we need to diversify the economy.

How can we educate tourists, and how can hotels be better stewards?

It truly is all about education and visitors engaging in cultural experiences and even conservancy programs, so that they have a better understanding of people and place when they visit. At Andaz and the other Hyatt hotels in Maui, I’ve developed very strong, culturally driven programs to engage our guests in authentic Hawaiian activities. Things like lei making, coconut weaving, hula lessons, celestial navigation, taro demonstrations, and Natural Cultural Resources programming with the Pu’u Kukui Watershed Preserve, Kipuka Olowalu, and the Ma Ka Hana Ka ‘Ike at Mahele Farms.

At Andaz, the lūʻau experience is called the Feast at Mōkapu and focuses on the journey of the Polynesian ancestors arriving on Maui and settling in the ahupua’a where the resort sits. We don’t hold back in that storytelling. We dive into history that isn’t normally spotlighted at luau, and the uncomfortable truth of settlers to Hawaii is really important. After the fires, this education became even more important, and I encourage tourists to participate in experiences like this.

Hotels play a huge role in this and can provide cultural sensitivity sessions for their guests.

How can tourists play a role in the rebuilding?

It’s important now more than ever for visitors to consider what happened, and that their waiter, housekeeper, bartender, front desk attendant, dive instructor, store clerk, literally everyone was somehow impacted by this. Asking people how they are doing, looking them in the eye, and caring about them can make a huge difference. Also, if you choose to visit Maui, there are ways to volunteer and donate. We’re not just looking at physically rebuilding here, we’re looking at emotional wellness, history, and so much more that is going to take years. So, I would say donating to Maui Strong and taking a few hours of vacation time to volunteer can greatly help.

Allocation of funds and policies that help to financially sustain our agencies that do the work in the watersheds, waterways, farmers, and ocean agencies. The work they do today is the key to this turnaround. I believe that visitor taxes should be allocated for our Natural and Cultural Resources effort.

How can tourists be a “good tourist” and still visit in a conscientious way?

Be kind without being maha’oi (being forward in asking) and asking so many questions. A nice, genuine smile and encouraging words in passing can uplift someone. Also, those who own vacation rentals. We need help from that sector. We need to take a look at the things that got us into this crisis to begin with. Unfortunately, we are having to work through policies written years ago, not ever thinking we would be in this situation.

This interview was edited for length and clarity.

MOST POPULAR
11 ACRES ROAD, KELLYVILLE, NSW

This stylish family home combines a classic palette and finishes with a flexible floorplan

Consumers are going to gravitate toward applications powered by the buzzy new technology, analyst Michael Wolf predicts

Related Stories
Money
The Biggest Winners and Losers From the Work-From-Home Revolution
By NICHOLAS BLOOM 15/12/2023
Property
The Australian economy could be set for a ‘soft landing’ in 2024
By KANEBRIDGE NEWS 21/12/2023
Property
Their Home Had to Be Fashion Forward. But Above All Else, It Needed a Killer Closet.
By NANCY KEATES 23/01/2024
0
    Your Cart
    Your cart is emptyReturn to Shop