Suite success: coordinated bath accessory collections make upgrading easy

Building Products, March-April, 2004 by Celia Kuperszmid Lehrman

There's an easy way to have happier clients, make more money, and spend less time and frustration in bathroom product selection. Want to know more?

When helping clients choose products for their bathrooms, more contractors are discovering that coordinated accessory lines can make the design process foolproof and faster. These products have been specially designed to complement each other and provide a certain look in the bathroom--from traditional to retro to modern.

The collections also help sell upgrade packages that include everything from toilet paper dispensers to towel bars to lighting without the trouble and expense of using more than one supplier. Even more important, the new "bathroom accessory suites" are getting rave reviews from homeowners.

"Homeowners do notice the quality of something like this they use everyday" says Danny Lipford, president of Mobile, Ala.-based Lipford Construction and producer and host of the home remodeling show "Today's Homeowner with Danny Lipford."

Even clients who typically like to mix and match accessories usually limit their creativity to choosing light fixtures and medicine cabinets. "Designers have the confidence to mix, but it's like shopping for a suit for a lot of people. They just buy everything the mannequin is wearing so they know it all goes together," says Marc Bickler, president of Ginger, a company that offers coordinated bathroom accessories, lighting, mirrors, shelves, and grab bars.

SPA AT HOME

What bath accessories do homeowners covet? Look at hotel baths where the luxurious spa look began. "Hotels use luxury bathrooms to distinguish themselves from the competition and move upscale," says American Standard's director of design Gary Uhl. "People want to create that environment at home."

So homeowners are adding towel shelves, double towel bars, combination shelf-towel bars, and magnifying mirrors. Many of these products are multi-functional, letting homeowners store more stuff in the same amount of space. In addition, they have been refined to fit residential-size products and re-styled to match other bath accessories in new and existing lines. Baldwin's Peyton line offers a combination towel shelf, towel bar, and robe hook.

"There is a great deal of clutter in the bathroom and in order to calm it down, there needs to be a place for everything," says designer Clodagh whose bath collection for Ann Sacks emphasizes dual functionality: The robe hook is also a towel holder; the towel bar is also a shelf. The collection is also part of the larger trend of coordinated bath lines that include everything from toilets and tubs to towel bars and toothbrush holders. Kohler's For Loft collection offers this convenience in a modernly styled package. American Standard's Standard collection is based on designs from the 1920s and features vintage styling at moderate price points.

Heated towel bars still are considered a luxury and as such are limited to high-end projects. But as their prices continue to come down, and as the price of average bathroom remodels goes up, that may change. Nevertheless, the appeal of toasty towels will always be greater in cold regions than elsewhere.

Moving from luxury to necessity, more bath accessory companies are offering grab bars that meet both aesthetic and ADA requirements and match other bath accessories in finish and detailing. While contractors report success in convincing homeowners to install blocking for grab bars during remodeling projects, putting in grab bars, even attractive ones, is still not the norm because consumers aren't demanding them.

"In my experience, a 50-year-old [baby] boomer doesn't expect to be old for another 25 years," says Mark Scott, president of Mark IV Builders in Bethesda, Md.

FAUCETS FIRST

Even though more and more homeowners are choosing bath accessories at the same time they pick faucets and fittings, it's still the faucets that determine the style and finish of the accessories. Faucet companies continue to expand their accessory offerings. Delta Faucet, partnering with architect and product designer Michael Graves, recently introduced a collection of bath faucets, accessories, and lighting.

Since both traditional and contemporary designs are popular with homeowners, most plumbing and faucet companies offer variations on these styles at all price points. Even minimalist design, favored in urban areas and by upscale buyers, has mellowed. "Minimalism used to be cubic, square, and massive," says Jado senior brand director Dominique Facon. "But now angles have been smoothed and forms have been rounded; there is less volume, more elegance."

Polished chrome still outsells all other finishes, closely followed by nickel. Brass however, continues to lose ground. Often finish is tied co style: Darker finishes like brushed and distressed bronze are gaining ground in traditionally styled collections. Stainless steel is making some headway in contemporary lines. But no matter what the metal, PVD finishes have become commonplace as manufacturers heed homeowners' calls for low-maintenance materials.