Challenge

The Pleasance Plus free-standing bath from British manufacturer Cabuchon Bathforms was the centrepiece of a luxury bathroom design project that won three separate awards at one of America’s most prestigious interior design competitions.

The U.S. National Kitchen & Bath Association announced the winners of its 2011 NKBA Design Competition during the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS) in Las Vegas. The awards recognise the best designs across nine different categories and, in 2011, there were more than 500 entrants.

Project Requirement

One of the shortlisted finalists was Holly Rickert of Ulrich, Inc. Her submission was a large bathroom produced for a private residence in New Jersey, which placed the Pleasance Plus – a modern take on the classic Georgian ‘slipper bath’ – at the heart of a scheme that made striking use of wood, stone and other natural materials.

The Pleasance Plus is a larger version of one of Cabuchon’s most popular free-standing baths. Fitted with a low, in-built seat for added comfort, it features the same flat, tightly radiused rims that are a distinctive feature of the original Pleasance and, at 657mm (25 ¾”), it is significantly deeper than standard bath designs, enabling luxurious deep soaking.

The bath was well suited to the designer's vision but to make the project even more distinctive, she asked Cabuchon's team for a number of modifications.

Solution

Delivering the Solution

As part of the winning design, Cabuchon fitted the Pleasance Plus with a thermostatic temperature control, which would enable the bather to maintain the temperature at a fixed setting, or gradually to raise or lower it, precisely as required.

The design also called for the waste to be omitted. Though an unusual request, it worked well in the setting. The Plasance Plus was placed over a waterproof pan and sump, all of which were concealed beneath river pebbles. Water was therefore able to overflow the bath and away through the hidden tray.

Like all Cabuchon baths, the Pleasance Plus was handmade and custom-built using Ficore®, a solid composite material created and trademarked by Cabuchon’s parent company Design & Form Ltd. As a material, it permits greater sharpness of design detail and offers a number of other advantages over more conventional alternatives. The bath’s characteristic squared rim edges could not be achieved using other commercially available materials.

Outcome

Project Result

Judges were greatly impressed by the design, which went on to scoop the titles of Best Bathroom, Best Large Bathroom and the HGTVPro People’s Pick – Bathroom. The ‘Best Of’ awards were judged by a panel of design professionals while the ‘People’s Pick’ went to the most popular design as adjudged by a national television audience.

“To receive three awards at the KBIS Show was a great result,” said designer Holly Rickert. “I’m very proud of the design, which places the Pleasance Plus in front of the window, among river rocks, with a beautiful view of the treetops. We chose to have Cabuchon build it with no overflow so the tub can overflow freely into the pan in which the rocks sit. We chose the Pleasance Plus because of its graceful sculpture and extra depth for soaking. ”

Congratulating Ulrich Inc., Cabuchon's managing director Tony Pontin said: “I’m delighted that Holly’s design did so well at one of the United States’ most prestigious awards events. Ulrich Inc is an enormously impressive design house and we’re very proud to have played a part in Holly’s success. It really is a beautiful scheme and it shows off the Pleasance Plus to great effect.”

More information, including specification sheets and technical data for the new Pleasance Plus can be obtained by visiting the company’s website – www.cabuchon.com – or by calling 01524 66022.