New Directions: The Surprising Trends in Bathroom Design

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When you think of new trends in bathroom design, what springs to mind? The latest looks likely fill your thoughts as sight is our dominant sense. However, the most recent design direction for bathrooms goes beyond appearances – our much-neglected sense of smell is the new centre of attention. Innovative systems, such as Geberit’s DuoFresh, remove unpleasant odours from our bathrooms and purify the air we breathe. Here are four ways this future-thinking trend is changing bathroom design.

Geberit Australia

The DuoFresh ceramic honeycomb filter and drawer unit is used for odour neutralisation and can be replaced without tools.

1. The High Priority of Hygiene

Since 2020, hygiene has become one of the most prominent trends in home design. The importance of hygiene and healthy ventilation have escalated for architects, designers and homeowners, and today, clients often list hygiene as a high priority in their design briefs. Geberit designed the DuoFresh technology in response to increased calls for hygiene and the longstanding issue of bathroom odours.

So how does it work? The discreet odour-extraction unit sits neatly behind the flush button and houses a ceramic honeycomb filter and subtle, quiet fan. The concealed unit removes unpleasant odours from within the toilet pan, purifies the air, then diffuses the clean air into the bathroom via the sides of the flush button.

Geberit Australia

The system aims to eliminate odours at the source before they can emanate into the rest of the room, removing the need for air fresheners and chemical sprays that mask odours.

For added hygiene, the DuoFresh stick provides the blue colour and foams the toilet water to enhance bowl cleanliness. Homeowners can replenish the DuoFresh sticks themselves by sliding the flush button to one side and inserting a fresh stick into the drawer on the filter unit. They can also easily access the ceramic honeycomb filter to replace it every 12 months.

Geberit Australia

A proximity sensor activates the DuoFresh unit when one approaches the toilet. The air is extracted directly from the toilet pan and returned to the room once it has been purified.

2. Style and Substance

As well as offering clever functions, many homeowners want their bathroom fixtures and fittings to reflect contemporary trends in interior design. Aesthetics are important, but what does this mean for smart toilet technology? Simply put, it calls for subtle details over stand-out designs and barely there products over bold features that draw the eye. Because of this, the DuoFresh inner workings are completely hidden from view behind the flush button.

The option of a discreet, in-built LED orientation light offers a gentle glow beneath the flush button to make finding one’s way to the toilet easier at night. The LED orientation light is connected to a proximity sensor and users have the option to customise its settings. The unit can either switch off via user recognition or it can be turned off automatically using day/night detection to save power.

Geberit Australia

With its swivelling mechanism, the flush button can be opened with a flick of the wrist, giving easy access to replace the DuoFresh filter unit and DuoFresh stick.

3. Invisibility Meets Innovation and Intelligence

Residential renovators are embracing trends in smart home technology in every room in the home, and the bathroom is no exception. You wouldn’t dream of designing a kitchen without a range hood, and now good designers are cognisant that a similar principle can apply in the bathroom.

Innovations in technology help optimise function, reduce energy usage and let users customise features to suit their needs. This is the case with Geberit’s DuoFresh, which includes intelligent features such as an in-built proximity sensor that detects when someone approaches the toilet and quietly switches on the unit.

Using the Geberit Home app, the sensitivity of the sensor can be adjusted on homeowners’ smartphones, as can the intensity of the fan, the run-time of the unit and the brightness of the LED orientation light. The app can also remind homeowners annually when the ceramic honeycomb filter is due to be replaced. The invisible nature of the system – as well as how it is controlled – ensures that smart technology does not intrude on sleek design.

Geberit Australia

The Geberit Home App is available via Google Play or the App Store. It can also be downloaded by scanning the QR code located on the mounting frame.

4. Made to Last

‘Design well, design once’ has become the motto of many architects and designers, and their clients around the world who understand that more quality is key to less waste. Choosing cleverly designed and well-manufactured products reduces the need to repair or replace wares down the track, adding to landfill.

The DuoFresh unit is easy for plumbers to install and is compatible with Geberit Sigma01 and Sigma50 flush buttons. No tools are required for service and maintenance, and the flush button can be fully removed and clipped back into place afterwards.

The DuoFresh odour extraction unit comes with a two-year warranty and a 25-year supply guarantee on spare parts. For over 150 years, Geberit has earned its reputation for reliability and durability by combining the precision of Swiss design with the quality of German manufacturing.

More: To find out more about the new DuoFresh technology, visit Geberit’s website or contact your local Reece Bathroom store.

This story was written by the Houzz Sponsored Content team.