“The bathroom has become a kind of living room, a place where we can relax and tend to our well-being,” reflects designer and architect Antonio Citterio. As evident, his bathroom designs for Axor blend innovation with timeless appeal.
Axor, renowned for crafting iconic objects for bathrooms and kitchens, has once again partnered with the Milanese maestro. Over his illustrious five-decade career, Citterio has gifted Axor with four distinctive bathroom collections. His latest work emerges from a keen observation: “Even luxurious bathrooms are becoming smaller. And so I perceived the need for a new design language at the washbasin.”
The Axor Citterio C collection, born under the ethos ‘Make it yours!’, is Citterio’s response to contemporary demands. It’s a study in elegant compactness, celebrating curved forms that speak to our innate desire for comfort and security. This tactile collection spans the entire bathroom, from washbasin to bathtub and shower area. Citterio’s design process is deeply intuitive. “When I think about a product, I immediately see the space as well,” he explains. “I imagine the product as part of a film scene,” he adds, painting a picture of a world where objects, people, and space engage in a harmonious dance. His bathroom philosophy is equally poetic: “The object we touch with our hands should evoke the idea of what a luxury water is.” This concept served as the wellspring for his latest collection.
Flow of Relaxation
For one of his two bathroom concepts for Axor, Citterio conjured a Scandinavian beach house for a young, active family. The spacious bathroom faces east, with a glass wall running its entire length. “There’s music playing. You’re in the midst of nature,” Citterio describes. “In the morning, you get that special light from the east, the low sun. There’s a special atmosphere in the evening with candles too. It’s a dream centered on relaxation. You can unwind in a hanging chair and savor the view.”
This northern climate-inspired bathroom features light materials: travertine, a creamy porous limestone, and birch wood that extends to the ceiling. “Travertine is warm,” Citterio notes. “We wanted to add some warm Italian accents. At the same time, it’s not precisely shaped; the stone tells a story.”
A freestanding travertine structure unites the washbasin and bathtub, challenging conventional design. “Usually, plumbing is hidden inside the wall. But we’ve placed the washbasin and bathtub in the middle of the room, so the pipes run from floor to ceiling. This allows us to attach mirror elements, and the mirror can rotate,” Citterio explains. “Nothing — the brise soleil, the lights, the hanging chair — is attached to the wall. Everything is set in a generously open space.” The palette is dominated by brushed black chrome, one of Axor’s exclusive FinishPlus surfaces.
Axor inspires design professionals and enthusiasts worldwide to create spaces reflecting individual personalities. “The design of each piece should engage the user not just at first glance, but for the entire life of the product,” concludes Citterio.
More details on axor-design.com