Coco is straightforward, simple, geometric – and yet extremely graceful all the same. Although the bathroom furniture collection from burgbad is designed with graphic, almost minimalistic clarity, it has a surprisingly feminine appeal: slender, delicate and style-conscious, but also unobtrusive and understated. Developed in collaboration with Spanish design studio Lievore Altherr Molina, the collection seems tailor-made for sophisticated, urban interior design that interprets the bathroom as a modern-day salon, as a retreat for enjoying the quiet hours at the beginning and end of the day.
First and foremost, Coco’s character is defined by the unusual design created by Jeannette Altherr. The delicate base, the svelte, balanced proportions and the homogenous unit formed by the slender mineral cast vanity top and cabinet emphasise the furniture-like character of the collection. In addition to the vanity combination, the series also includes a tall cabinet, illuminated mirror and mirror cabinets as well as a handy bench and a towel ladder. Coco focuses on what really matters – both in its design and its functionality.
All the elements of the design come together in the washbasin area: a clearly defined, perfectly circular bowl set in an elongated mineral cast rectangle, an airy frame in a classic choice of material (metal), and the handleless fronts with the grain running in different directions. The roundness of the mirror and bowl create a counterpoint to the surrounding cubes. Coco plays with geometric forms and graphic lines, curves and angles, vertical and horizontal planes, uninterrupted expanses and filigree elements. And hovering above everything else is the perfect circle of the mirror.
Another striking effect is created by the real-wood finishes: the fronts feature both wide and narrow leaves of veneer with grains running in different directions – a pattern that is reversed on the lower pullout of the wall-mounted model. This play with vertical and horizontal grains gives the fronts a rhythmic, vivacious look.
The design of the mirror cabinets in the Coco collection is no less unusual. Rather than being completely mirrored, they take the form of a shelving element with an open compartment and, in some cases (depending on the width of the carcass chosen), a door. Thanks to the mix of materials, asymmetric structure, open elements and warm lighting, the mirror cabinets make a much less hermetic impression than classic models. In line with the asymmetrical approach of the design concept, they only ever have one mirrored door. Only the biggest of the mirror cabinets, which is designed to match the size and function of the double vanity unit, has two mirrored doors with an open shelving compartment between them.
The mirror cabinets are also available in two different design versions that provide different amounts of storage space: a lower model with a circular mirrored door that projects beyond the edges of the cabinet and a higher, entirely right-angled model with square mirrored doors that sit flush with the carcass. In both cases the doors, which are mirrored on both sides, cover a vertical function bar containing a magnifying mirror and power socket.
For the lighting concept, burgbad and Jeannette Altherr came up with a design that is as simple as it is intelligent: the colour-variable LED lights integrated at the top and bottom of the mirror cabinet shine their indirect light on both the washbasin and wall. As a result, they not only provide unusually atmospheric ambient lighting but accentuate the cabinet too, giving it a very sculptural, almost magical quality. The surface of the mirror itself is screen-printed with a smooth gradient that transitions into clear glass towards the outside, allowing the light to shine through the projecting edges of the round mirror door from behind. Thanks to the adjustable LED lighting around its circumference that allows the user to choose any setting between warm and cold white, the circular illuminated mirror from the Coco collection is enough in itself to bathe the room in an atmospheric light. But for those who like things a little more unusual and appreciate the way the collection plays with right-angled and circular shapes, the mirror cabinet with the round mirrored door is the ultimate answer. Even in daylight, it provides an eye-catching highlight. But when it’s dark outside, it becomes the focal point of the entire ensemble. Then, like a glowing disc hovering over the horizon, it brings the invigorating power of dawn or the tranquillity of sunset into the bathroom.
More than anything else, however, Coco provides an unusual amount of shelf space: on and under the wide vanity top, in a wide mirror cabinet with an open shelving element and on a wide, low storage bench. The bench adds a cosy, flexible element to the bathroom design and can be placed under the wall-mounted vanity unit if required, where it provides a handy surface for fresh clothes and towels or can even double as a step for little feet and short legs, enabling children to be part of rituals like washing hands, brushing teeth or having a quick wash.
The collection is rounded off by another element that underlines the cosy, living-space character of the design: a towel ladder which, like the towel rail that can be mounted on the side of the vanity unit, is made of black painted metal. Like all the components of the Coco range, the towel ladder looks as if it can just be picked up and taken along next time its owners move house. A line of accessories by burgbad puts the finishing touches to this idea.
