RILUXA CLIENT PROJECTS

Two Japanese-Inspired Retreats Right in the Centre of Paris

For this Riluxa client in Paris, the concept was to create two different bathrooms that would emanate a minimalist zen-like serenity. And the results are truly breathtaking. Through the use of exceptional materials and strikingly original forms, each of these bathrooms is a true work of art.

To devise this beautiful renovation, our client drew on a wide range of inspirational sources. Ultimately, he plumped for entirely custom-made washbasins – which we crafted to his original designs in Corian® and marble. Fusing these subtly luxurious materials with the judicious use of colour in the wall coverings, he succeeded in adding texture and interest to the space.

Read on for an insight into our client’s creative process for this project, where he found his inspiration and why he chose Riluxa products.

First of all, a little bit about yourself—are you a homeowner or a design professional, and where do you live? 

I live in Paris, right in the centre of the city. I work in finance as an investment fund manager. And I’ve always loved everything related to interior design and decoration.  

Tell us about your bathroom project—was it a renovation or did you start from scratch? How long did it take and did everything go as planned, or were there any unpleasant surprises along the way? 

I started these projects from scratch and the bathrooms must have taken a good month. We did the work during the lockdown, so I was at home the whole time. I’m absolutely obsessive about details which meant I paid attention to everything, down to the colour of the grout. 

Originally, I worked with an architect at the beginning of this project. We ended up incorporating some of the architect’s ideas, and others we dropped. When it came to the bathrooms, we mostly came up with our own ideas. 

We created two bathrooms in total: a yellow one with a marble double washbasin sitting atop a vanity unit and a blue bathroom with two Corian® washbasins. For the yellow bathroom, I incorporated some of the architect’s suggestions but I came up with the ideas for the blue bathroom myself. I researched lots of bathroom magazines, and I was really inspired by a ceramics company catalogue. That was the basis of my inspiration but I also changed the details to suit my own taste.

After absorbing a wide range of inspiration and deciding what I wanted, the next task was finding the right materials and the right colours.

Tell us the story of your Riluxa relationship – how you found us and what your experience has been?

It was my architect who had suggested a Riluxa washbasin, and that’s how I got to know you. When I went on your website, I saw that there were many stylish and original choices at prices that fit my budget.

I came across your site and Aurélie got in touch with me. Everything was simple and went smoothly because Aurélie was professional, quick and straight to the point. I’d love to be able to say that this level of service is to be expected from any company, but in reality, the experience with every company isn’t like that.

It’s not always easy to find the right colours or the perfect thickness, etc., both in terms of colour matching and quality. It’s true that when we buy online and we can’t touch things in advance, that’s not always easy. But Aurélie took photos of the samples for me (both indoors and outdoors) because in the blue bathroom we were looking for a slightly beige grey, not a mousey grey, so that it would match with the tiles. The colour really had to be a great match.

The importance of good advice on bathroom furniture and decoration isn’t valued enough, and customers are often left to fend for themselves. It’s often very difficult to find good advice. But Aurélie advised me extremely well and, once I had chosen the colours and the material, she also created the technical plans exactly as I had them in my head. I’m delighted with the result.

What Riluxa pieces did you buy for your project? 

I chose made-to-measure products for both of the bathrooms.  

The Blue Bathroom: 

2 washbasins in Corian® Colour Neutral Aggregate

A worktop in Corian® Colour Neutral Aggregate

The Yellow Bathroom: 

A vanity top in Crema Marfil marble with a double washbasin

A wall-mounted 2-drawer furniture unit in moisture-resistant MDF

What attracted you to these specific pieces? 

For me, the bathroom market is split into two segments:

1. First of all, the relatively “cheap” and inexpensive products like we find in Leroy Merlin, with the standard, unoriginal, basic white furniture. That wasn’t really what I was looking for.

2. Then, there’s the other segment where you can find very original colours and forms but the prices tend to be exorbitant, like many of the Italian, English or very expensive Spanish brands. They’re often very nice but the budget can easily get out of control.

So, for me, Riluxa was the perfect combination of originality, quality and a fair price.

What I liked most of all was the ability to easily customise everything. All I had to say to Aurélie was “I’d like a piece of furniture of x cm long and x cm thick, I’d like the washbasin to be integrated, with this many drawers and this width”. And each time, she was able to give me very clear answers, along with the technical plans.

What design style were you going for – and what inspired your choice? 

The yellow bathroom is for my wife and the blue one is for me. I like things to be minimalist, I love an ultra-minimalist style, with very few things around. I like clean and linear designs and cubic forms, softened by subtle curves, to create an industrial feel but without the foreboding sensation. I didn’t want to find myself in an apartment that feels like a hotel. We also wanted the spaces to feel Japanese-inspired. I love Japan and I wanted something very zen and understated, very minimalist.

Tell us what you think of your project now that it's finished: 

The building work itself was not very enjoyable as it lasted a long time and there were some complications, but the experience I’ve had with Riluxa was excellent. I’m really pleased with my two bathrooms and I can’t get enough of them when I look at them.

When we take on a renovation job, we never know what the outcome is going to be, both in terms of the tradespeople and the final result. Building work is so often badly done, and you can end up with a result that’s far from what you imagined, such as if the colours aren’t what you had planned. In my case, with these two bathrooms, I’m even more satisfied with the result than I could have imagined!

If you would like your bathroom project to be featured on Riluxa's Client Projects Showcase, tag #riluxa @riluxa on Instagram or upload your images directly by clicking here. We love nothing more than seeing how our customers have used Riluxa products to create their dream bathrooms.