From guest bathrooms and hotel lobbies, to bar and restaurant areas and every space in between, RAK Ceramics provides a full interiors solution. A one-stop shop for all aspects of hospitality design, the manufacturer offers a portfolio of quality products, encompassing sanitaryware, brassware, mirrors and accessories, to tiles and surfaces for walls and floors.
Ben Bryden, Sales and Marketing Director for RAK Ceramics UK comments,
“As an innovator within the bathroom industry, helping shape new trends and ideas rather than simply responding to them, RAK Ceramics is able to offer a complete solution for any project in the hospitality sector. By keeping abreast of forecasts of what might be coming next in interior design, we can react quickly with product solutions that fulfil a need with designers. This is supported by a unique supply chain, with full UK warehousing.”
Sanitaryware that is stylishly practical
As comfort levels rise in the domestic bathroom, the stakes are even higher in hospitality areas such as the hotel bathroom, with the sanitaryware chosen for such spaces needing to work practically and visually. RAK Ceramics delivers, with sanitaryware collections that create a relaxing ambience to transform the guest bathroom into a calming oasis.
Minimal lines for a sleek and streamlined finish are a perpetual trend in hotel bathrooms, and one that is showcased beautifully with the RAK-Des collection. The range boasts a versatile choice of bowls and freestanding washbasins, combining with RAK-Precious countertops that emulate the natural properties of materials such as stone and marble, while offering the ease of cleaning and durability that is so necessary in hospitality environments.
For a long time too, the focus for sanitaryware in the bathroom has been starkly white, but this is changing, with soft pastels and muted shades increasingly being seen. Less clinical than an all-white bathroom, these pops of colour can be scaled up or down to meet individual tastes. Colour doesn’t need to mean bold and bright and in this instance the trend takes a far subtler approach, with the nature-inspired tones of the RAK-Feeling collection serving to add character while creating a relaxed and tranquil vibe.
Tapping into bathroom brassware
Brassware in the bathroom can make just as much of a visual impact too, with trends shifting towards the mixing of materials and finishes to make the basin, bath and shower area stand-out features while maintaining the sleek and simple design principles.
Responding to the trend for mixing metals and materials in the bathroom and shower, RAK Ceramics offers over 30 tap ranges, with brassware in five finishes – Polished Chrome, Black Chrome, Brushed Gold, Matt Black and Brushed Nickel – across many of its most popular ranges. Nowhere is this trend better represented than with the luxurious RAK-Amalfi collection. Encouraging creativity, RAK-Amalfi does things differently, with handles that can be combined in several ways with the tap body, mixing metals for an individual look throughout the bathroom.
Style and function with no compromise
Minimal design must meet minimal maintenance in hospitality area, of course, and with RAK Ceramics that needn’t mean any sort of compromise. In the guest bathroom and washroom, touchless flushing on WCs like RAK-Sensation, for instance, encourages users to flush in a hygienic way, while the absence of awkward levers or buttons to press makes the bathroom more accessible too.
In terms of ease of cleaning, rimless WCs are a dream, while anti-bacterial coatings raise the hygiene levels even further, acting as an invisible barrier to harmful germs and bacteria. Special glazes, such as RAK-Sanit, applied during manufacture mean there is no need for lots of scrubbing and the use of chemicals. A regular wipe down with a soft damp cloth is all that is needed.
Surface design
As well as being one of the largest ceramics’ brands in the world, the RAK Ceramics surfaces collection is just as extensive, with floor, wall and countertop tiles in a wide range of styles and sizes, along with mega slabs for a minimal finish with virtually no grout lines.
Among these is the stunning Metamorfosi collection, a decorative porcelain surface that makes an eye-catching impression for any hospitality interior, from dining room to spa space. Metamorfosi is a large-format surface, available in two sizes – 120x260cm and 120x120cm. Inspired by the colours and shapes found in nature and responding to this important interior design trend, the surface is highly durable and splash resistant, just as porcelain should be, yet visually striking in its appeal, with several design options to choose from.
Equally as striking and innovative is Luce, a translucent porcelain surface that makes a stunning centrepiece hospitality area, and even more so when enhanced with backlighting technology. When illuminated, Luce’s special body gives a soft glow and transforms the design from a plain tile to a soft natural marble, perfect for carrying the room through from the practicalities of daytime into evening, to a more sociable ambience as night falls.
The range includes seven different graphics and colours in marble and onyx effect, that replicate the natural ability of the stones to filter the light.
A hub of creativity in Clerkenwell
All of these ideas and more can be explored in person at the RAK Ceramics Design Hub in London. The go-to destination for designers, architects and developers looking to explore the possibilities of choosing the brand for their projects, the location is designed to be an interactive environment to inspire creativity. The Hub is well placed for those visiting the capital’s design quarter in Clerkenwell and is one of the largest venues of its kind in the area, with 7,276sq ft over two floors.
The space provides designers with an immersive space to share ideas and explore the possibility of working with RAK Ceramics on their projects. Designed to be an interactive and immersive environment to inspire creativity, the Hub includes a working tap display, Virtual Worlds 4D Theatre and a ‘Grab and Go’ sample area.
Celebrating its first anniversary during Clerkenwell Design Week from 23rd to 25th May, the RAK Ceramics Design Hub looks forward to welcoming visitors at 100 St John Street, EC1M 4EH.