Pure and simple, a distinctively personal retreat for AXOR

This personally created retreat, designed by Sarah Poniatowski in southwest France for AXOR, blends together indoor and outdoor environments in a sanitary sanctuary of serenity and solitude.

By AXOR and Markus Hieke for

AXOR

June 20, 2022 | 10:00 pm CUT

Sarah Poniatowski's personally designed meditative retreat for AXOR is located in southwest France, an area of the world the designer feels a deep, personal connection

Let's imagine this article as a little exercise in mindfulness. The place: a small holiday home on the beach, sonically enveloped by the sound of the sea, and protected from the sun by a roof that juts far down and the slats of the hinged shutters – and location for a carefully composed hideaway designed by Paris-based interior designer Sarah Poniatowski as part of AXOR's 'Distinctive' campaign.

Under the motto 'From personalities for personalities', the bathroom and kitchen fittings manufacturer from Germany's Black Forest recently asked several renowned designers, including Hadi Teherani and Tristan Auer, to create spaces for conscious body perception and care. In the case of Poniatowski, founder of Maison Sarah Lavoine, she did not leave the location of her retreat, which is entirely dedicated to meditation, to chance: ‘I have a deep connection with the southwest of France,’ says the designer. ‘The region is so authentic, there is nature everywhere. For me, it's the most relaxing place in the world. That's where the inspiration comes from.’

The house's raw, wooden architectural elements set the tone for a space that sits in perfect harmony with its idyllic, natural environment

Taking the bath outside

And so, Poniatowski embedded her project right there. For the bathroom of the house – the main focus of her cooperation with AXOR – she envisaged a concept that would immediately illustrate the combinations of idyll and nostalgia, sophistication and modernity. Nothing in contradiction, all in harmony. The aim was to emphasise the surroundings with an indoor-outdoor bathroom and to create a soothing space with the feeling of a summer holiday.

For the bathroom of the house the designer envisaged a concept that would immediately illustrate the combinations of idyll and nostalgia: Nothing in contradiction – all in harmony

The canon of natural materials includes raw beams and elements made of pine to match the beach setting, but also a bathtub and washbasins made of travertine. The shower and bath area is bathed in a calming turquoise, paired with tiles in shades of emerald green, aubergine and pink. The inventory includes baskets, stools, rugs and wall-mounted vintage mirrors, as well as fittings from the AXOR Starck collection. A flowing transition leads to the outdoor shower area, where the new AXOR Starck Nature Shower, which is available in two versions specially designed for outdoor use, ensures gentle showering pleasure – whether after an intensive yoga session or having just jumped out of the water. The shower column used here in matt black is equipped with a PowderRain overhead shower as well as a bar-shaped hand shower.

Alongside the wooden backdrop, soothingly toned travertine bathtub and washbasins, and tiles of emerald green and aubergine combine with the warm glow of the fittings' PVD surfaces

Resource-conscious showering pleasure

The overhead shower used in the interior, meanwhile, belongs to the Conscious Showers series, with which AXOR promises consistently high showering pleasure with lower water consumption. The concept can be summed up as being able to enjoy showering responsibly while at the same time meeting high aesthetic standards. With the Conscious Showers designed by Phoenix Design – which are available as round or square overhead showers – the flow rate of the water can be reduced to just under 6 litres per minute in the EcoSmart+ variant. By way of comparison, conventional showers can consume twice as much. And there are plenty of reasons to use water responsibly and sparingly, not only in remote holiday homes. If you have to heat less water, you also use reduce the pressure on other resources, too.

The AXOR Conscious Showers series is specifically designed with a highly efficient distribution system, ensuring a soothing cleanse with water consumption under six liters per minute

The series' emphatically universal design makes it possible to combine the AXOR Conscious Shower with many of AXOR's mixer collections. Users can choose from surfaces in chrome and matt black, as well as from all AXOR FinishPlus PVD surfaces on request.

Indoor and outdoor space typologies blend together seamlessly at the beachside retreat. With an energising half-open shower bringing visitors closer to nature with every drop

Immerse yourself with all your senses

Getting back to the beach house: those who stay here may love the fast pace of the modern metropolis, but they also of course appreciate the tranquillity and special restorative powers offered by such secluded places. At least that's what Sarah Poniatowski had in mind when she developed the concept for AXOR.

So, are you ready then to immerse yourself, to allow yourself to be doused by the soft spray of the AXOR rain shower? Can you feel your body? What are the sensory impressions? Can you smell the sea? And the beach? What are you thinking? How do you feel? Welcome to the French beach house! Breathe in deeply. Breathe out. Wake up.

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Schiltach, Germany