Moments of clarity: Villeroy & Boch's Antao bathroom collection by kaschkasch

Anyone observing nature will recognise that ideal shapes are rarely actually based on perfect symmetry. Circles, squares or right-angled triangles are culturally learned ideals. Harmony in the plant world, however, grows out of a mysterious symbiotic interplay, out of the ability to adapt to a particular location and set of conditions. Take the branches that wind adventurously upwards in order to catch a little more sunlight between the dense canopy of their neighbours. Or the slender blades of grass that manage to wring dew from the damp night air and then, shining under the first rays of sunlight, secrete fine drops of water so that leaves can be well supplied with nutrients right to their tips.

A case of ‘form follows efficiency’, you could say. There are numerous reasons to follow nature when it comes to interior design and architecture – reducing waste not the least of them. In terms of comfort, the natural approach offers the opportunity to feel closer to its calming and restorative power. It was with this in mind that traditional manufacturer Villeroy & Boch commissioned Cologne-based design studio kaschkasch to create a bathroom collection inspired by the organic forms of nature.

The duo, Sebastian Schneider and Florian Kallus, collected countless conscious impressions while walking in the forest. Impressed by the uniqueness and transience of dewdrops, the pair found in them a suitable motif for their holistic Antao collection, transferring their form to washbasins and tables, bathtubs and WCs, and even to matching fittings. Here too, a dewdrop is never as round as a perfect circle, but rather oval. Consequently, kaschkasch introduced elliptically curved shapes, which in the case of the washbasins vary according to size.

‘Like the dewdrop, each drop has a different, individual shape. That's why we found it totally fitting not just to scale the central basin smaller and larger, but to develop even more shapes,’ explains Schneider. The matt surfaces in natural shades such as Almond or Morning Green add another special touch. The countertop washbasins and cabinet washbasins are also available in classic white, glossy or matt,  in matt black, as well as in three sizes each.

Storage space is provided by the cabinet furniture designed to match the ceramic objects, for which kaschkasch has put together a composition of high-quality, natural materials and tactile fronts. In addition to a harmonious choice of colours for the elegant lacquered surfaces, the Antao furniture programme includes real wood furniture in Honey Oak and Warm Walnut versions as well as a fine natural stone top made of genuine Botticino marble. It goes without saying that the indirectly backlit wall mirror also follows the form of dewdrops.

Schneider and Kallus gave the free-standing bathtub a different shape, as if it has been slowly rounded by the effects of flowing water. Its generous, asymmetrical interior shape is designed to offer comfort and ergonomic reclining pleasure and is made of particularly impact- and scratch-resistant Quaryl®. It has an extraordinarily minimalist appearance with two optional functions: ViFlow, a concealed overflow, and SilentFlow for quiet and quick filling via the floor of the bathtub itself.

The Antao collection is completed by a selection of carefully coordinated washbasin and bathtub fittings. As in all parts of the product family, these too feature a characteristically elliptical shape that has a particularly pleasing haptic quality. Villeroy & Boch offers them in three finishes – matt black, brushed nickel and chrome – and feature nice details such as the way the lever of the single-lever mixer gently tilts backwards when opened.

‘A functional product that looks sober and technical doesn't work for me because then it lacks accessibility,’ says Schneider. ‘But a purely decorative product doesn't suit us at all, either. That's why we always try to find a good balance between the two parameters of function and emotion.’

The designers have again succeeded in this. Users can feel the freshness of the forest, and how it offers soothing calm and clarity. And thanks to Villeroy & Boch's Antao, this feeling can be reproduced in the bathroom in a wide variety of combinations, anywhere and at any time.

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