Project Description
Hydrotherapy Bath, Surrey, England
Product: Serenity Plus 2-Person Bath
Client: DCL Interior Design Ltd/Accuro Residential (for private client)
The Project:
When DCL Interior Design was appointed to lead a prestigious design project involving a private residence in Surrey, one of its principal challenges was to create a bedroom that looked beautiful and impressive but felt cosy, despite its large dimensions. Part of its solution was to bring a bath into the space, giving it the feel of a luxury hotel room. However, the bath would need to be elegant without looking obtrusive. Consequently, classic, minimalist lines would be essential.
The DCL team therefore set about looking for a bath that met a number of important criteria. The chosen model needed to be:
- Free-standing
- Comfortable
- Capable of incorporating a hydrotherapy system
- Large enough to accommodate two people
While a hydrotherapy system was essential for meeting the homeowner’s needs, a further requirement was that the jets and controls should not be too visually apparent. It was important that they did not compromise the simple, minimalist principles of the interior design.
The company’s research brought it eventually to Cabuchon’s website and, from there, to detailed discussions with the customer support team. The DCL designers concluded that the Serenity Plus (1700) would be ideal for the project but first, they requested a sample of the bath’s material, Ficore® to test its appearance and tactile qualities.
Being satisfied that Ficore® was an excellent choice, the team agreed on a bespoke layout for the hydrotherapy jets, and requested special positioning of the controls, given that the bath would be undermounted beneath a marble surround. (Controls are more typically set into the rim of the bath or into an adjoining wall.) Finally, the designers requested that the hydrotherapy jets themselves be finished in white to match the colour of the bath to make their appearance as subtle as possible.
Cabuchon staff then built the bath and hydrotherapy system to the agreed design, and then arranged the delivery. The bath was duly installed as planned.
Danielle Lee, founder of DCL Design, was closely involved in all stages of the project and declared herself very pleased with the results.
“This project in Surrey was one that really challenged the whole team and certainly took our expertise to another level. It is an extremely beautiful, unique and unusual house, full of pattern, colour, drama and texture; a home that the clients didn’t want to be just another luxury house that looks like so many others.
“The master suite was planned to be a huge vaulted bedroom with an ensuite bathroom and his-and-hers dressing rooms. However, as we pored over the drawings, it became clear that the room was just too cavernous to feel cosy and intimate with just a bed. The clients and I therefore decided to elevate the bed on a carpeted platform to zone and ‘cosify’ it a little, and to incorporate the bathing facilities within the bedroom for a really luxurious hotel-spa feel.
“This then created a challenge in sourcing a freestanding bath that still had spa jets (this was a must) but discreet ones, so as to be stylistically simple, and in a tub that was aesthetically complementary for a classic, elegant bedroom. It also needed to be comfortable to relax in, and big enough for two people to enjoy together. Meeting all of these specifications was tricky to say the least, and having searched for many months, we finally came upon the Serenity Plus by Cabuchon.
“It’s a great bath. Its gently sloped backs are comfortable, and wide enough for both clients to sit end-to-end to chat in the bubbles. The jets and controls were plated in white so that they didn’t detract from the simple outlines.
“Cabuchon were incredibly helpful and knowledgeable in answering our many questions, and the flexibility with the design was surprising. We were able to specify precisely where our clients wanted the jets – to target back-pain concerns – and the sampling, orders, installation and after-care advice were smooth, swift and professional.
“We then had lots of fun specifying the stone details, brassware, curved surround and floor tile patterns, amongst all the other glorious things in this room and the rest of the house, but that is all another story!”
