The Power of Two

Deborah Wilk and Edie Cohen -- Interior Design, 1/1/2010 12:00:00 AM

Bogart and Bacall. Redford and Newman. Whenever a pair of great talents come together, people sit back and wait for sparks to fly. This time, the 16-year-old partnership between German kitchen-and-bath powerhouses Duravit and Hansgrohe has produced Puravida, a collection by Phoenix Design.

Of the storage components, the wall-mounted vanities and cabinets come in three sizes, the mobile unit in one. All flaunt gentle curves, including the cutouts that replace hardware pulls. The standard finishes are gloss-white lacquer—accented, if desired, by red or black—as well as ebony veneer and aluminum.



Fixtures are ceramic. Running just below the outside rim of the tub, offered freestanding or built in, is a channel glowing with LEDs or highlighted by a strip of red or black lacquer, ebony veneer, or aluminum to coordinate with the cabinetry. Sinks have one or two shallow, gently beveled basins in several sizes. Some can be set directly on a counter or under-mounted; others are pedestal-style. The low-flow toilets can be mounted on either the wall or the floor.

Beautifully paired with the fixtures, fittings feature a chrome finish—alone or combined with white lacquer. Single-hole and widespread lav faucets, made from a single piece of brass, feature adjustable sprays and a water-saving flow rate of 1½ gallons per minute, 30 percent less than the U.S. federal standard. The wall- or ceiling-mounted showerhead and the two hand showers are likewise low-flow. A chrome finish also carries through to the accessories: towel bars, a soap dish and dispenser, a toilet-paper holder, a clothing hook, and a tumbler.

 

Duravit, 888-387-2848; duravit.us. circle 446 Hansgrohe, 800-334-0455; hansgrohe-usa.com. circle 447