Aesthetic Value by Device
Design that leaves one speechless even when not submerged in water.
“Our products are part of the architecture: a carefully designed environment which makes it possible for people to experience themselves in entirely new ways. How do we make this happen? We combine beautiful designs with technical skills, and so create rooms of a high aesthetic added value.”
Thilo C. Pahl, Managing Partner
AESTHETIC landscape.
Aesthetically Speaking
With Cyrus Ghanai
Portrait of Cyrus Ghanai © Michel Comte
A chrome plate that becomes a mirror? Cyrus Ghanai has just included one in the design for a client’s bathroom because he likes to shave in the shower. The idea is typical Ghanai: the interior designer is one of the most highly profiled bathroom planners in Germany, and a creative lateral thinker of the “scene“.
A dance of contrasts.
He combines unusual materials, stages light, creates atmosphere – and in doing so turns tiny wet rooms into high-end bathrooms with personality. Cyrus is one of our partners of long standing when it comes to new ideas and trends. He’s presenting a few of them here.
Self care, calm, relaxation – we all need more of those. So what does a bathroom need in order to become a “this-is-where-I-want-to-be” place?
Atmosphere and light! The existing surfaces in a bathroom are usually hard and robust, for reasons of function and hygiene. So I use light, textiles, colours and contrasting shapes to set a counterpole that creates excitement. The mood changes. Sometimes all it takes is curtains or a roller blind. And if there's enough space, a stool or a bench.
Light, though, should never just fulfil its function. It defines rooms and guides the eye. Spotlights over the washbasin highlight its materiality.
But of course, the face also has to be lit up for applying make-up or shaving. In the shower or bath, by the same token, I can use coved lighting to emphasise the materiality of the wall. Here too, I use spotlights to illuminate the floor because I want to bring out the lovely materiality and colourfulness of the shower.
And of course, music is also important. In the ideal case, I would be surrounded by sound from loudspeakers integrated in the wall and ceiling. Only a detail, but one that makes a big difference: sockets in drawers, so I don't have to keep fiddling around to plug in a hairdryer, curling tongs and the charger for a razor and then unplug them all again.
Minimalistic, opulence, Boheme – what will the bathroom of 2020 look like?
It will certainly have no, or hardly any joints. Large tiles, up to a metre in width and three metres high, will create a modern look. Carefully positioned water-resistant fleece wallpapers, textured or smooth, and large pictures or coloured areas will add unusual accents. What is lovely about these materials: unlike tiles, I can easily replace them and completely change the style of the bathroom. Coloured ceramics will again be important, especially in natural hues, but also in black and various shades of white. Incidentally, this also applies to the fittings. And brass will be replacing copper!
“The materiality and surfaces of Bette bathroom elements are absolutely well worth being highlighted by daylight and spotlights.“
Cyrus Ghanai
Puristic forms, natural hues and black fittings: Ghanai works with contrast to create a vivid aesthetic.
Aesthetically Speaking
With Dominik Tesseraux and Sven Rensinghoff
Sven Rensinghoff and Dominik Tesseraux.
Character and emotion.
The bathroom is becoming more and more important as a place of independent architecture. Accordingly, this room demands new design and functions. Freelance product designer Dominik Tesseraux and Sven Rensinghoff, marketing director at Bette, talk about trends and teamwork.
Gentlemen, what does the design of a bathroom tell us about its inhabitants?
DT The bathroom is undeniably the most intimate room. Today it’s no longer about function or status, but character and emotion. For the first time, the bathroom is being seen as a living space, and thus also in a wide range of designs.
SR And today’s bathroom reveals a great deal about the style of its inhabitants. It now has a vastly different role and significance than it did twenty years ago. It used to be where we went to wash, and that was it. But since then, an entirely new body consciousness has arisen. We now see the bathroom as a feel-good oasis; we spend much longer in there, and create our own individual style world.
Sven Rensinghoff has worked at Bette since 1996, and is responsible for marketing and product management. He has been a member of the Executive Board since 2017.
So where is the trend you describe headed, and which products have been Bette's response to it so far?
SR We worked with Dominik to develop the BetteLux Shape line, which is a complete furnishing concept in which the bath, rather than just being randomly placed anywhere, is a self-confident part of the bathroom architecture and thus also of the whole house. The washbasin, freestanding mirror and stool were then added as natural follow-ons. We took this concept a little bit further with the BetteLux Oval Couture line, the first collection to be clad in padded fabric.
“Glazed titanium steel is our DNA.”
Sven Rensinghoff Marketing Manager at Bette
What is the significance of the material?
SR Very high. After all, glazed titanium steel is our DNA. That’s what we can do. We are convinced that it is the best material for the areas of application that we work with.
DT And glazed steel allows us to give the products an unmistakable character. In fact, the classic manufacturing process has only changed marginally over the decades. This is where we need to start in the future in order to achieve a wider range of design and functionality.
What are the strengths of your cooperation? How do you complement each other, who contributed what?
DT It’s an interplay in which the design usually provides the impetus for new thinking. The discourse is very important, and this then also reveals the true quality of the cooperation. One example of this process is the eight millimetre folded edge: it was initiated by the design. We quickly saw the potential, and so everyone created a distinctive feature for Bette.
SR We complement each other, and it regularly breaks through our reserve and motivates us to take the next step. It’s good that someone from outside provides us with food for thought and sets processes in motion. Even though not everything can always be implemented one to one, but that’s part of the dialogue between designer and company.
“Products are becoming more emotional and intimate.”
Dominik Tesseraux, freelance product designer
What are the strengths of your cooperation? How do you complement each other, who contributed what?
DT It's an interplay in which the design usually provides the impetus for new thinking. The discourse is very important, and this then also reveals the true quality of the cooperation. One example of this process is the eight millimetre folded edge: it was initiated by the design. We quickly saw the potential, and so everyone created a distinctive feature for Bette.
SR We complement each other, and it regularly breaks through our reserve and motivates us to take the next step. It's good that someone from outside provides us with food for thought and sets processes in motion. Even though not everything can always be implemented one to one, but that's part of the dialogue between designer and company.
Dominik Tesseraux lives and works in Potsdam. After training as a cabinetmaker and studying design, he worked at various well-known German design offices. He founded tesseraux+partner in 2001.
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