Bathroom Components and Fixtures
bathroom fixtures and components | Kohler Co
There are obvious yet overlooked issues in the bathroom experience.
Ever wonder why the toilet is the first thing you see when entering the bathroom, why you have to lean in over the sink to get a closer look in the mirror, or think about the fact that when you travel, your hotel room and bathroom are essentially public spaces with hundreds of guests checking in and out every year? This project aims to address these and other shortcomings in the bathroom experience by considering the whole bathroom environment. My contributions include secondary research, development of opportunity areas and design principles, and the design of product and spatial concepts.
Below are selected drawings from the published US Patent Application US 2018/016470 A1, where I am named as primary inventor. See the full document here.
Distinct Spaces: private, yet open
Comparing to prior art, the entry wall is eliminated and the overall width is expanded, allowing for distinct spaces for showering, toileting, and grooming.
The bathroom user can often run back and forth from the bathroom to the bedroom to complete various tasks, disturbing half asleep partners or roommates. In this layout, the awake user can close the sliding door to divide the sleeping space from the “getting ready” space, attaining privacy, and allowing the sleeping occupant to keep dreaming, which may be particularly useful in a hotel context.
This layout allows more occupants to simultaneously use the bathroom without invading each other’s personal space. The enclosed toileting space conceals sights, smells, and sounds, and the enclosed shower space provides visual privacy and contains humidity. All of this is enabled by a pre-plumbed wall structure that effectively rotates the plumbing chase 90 degrees and can be seamlessly integrated with the fixtures. The wall structure contains hot and cold water lines and drainage lines.
Test the Waters
When the user enters the shower, the valve and its red and blue temperature indicators are easily visible. The valve also holds the handshower. When the user starts the water, the handshower sprays first, allowing them to test the water and find their perfect temperature before stepping in.
Multi-Height Showerhead
The articulating showerhead accommodates a variety of statures, and the adjustability allows the user to create a luxurious shower experience that combines the benefits of a showerhead, rainhead, and bodyspray all in one product.
Convenience & Safety
The toilet paper holder has a shelf for the user’s items and an integrated grab point for stability while getting on or off the toilet.