16 Sep Open House
Head to Third Floor, North Dome for a new enlarged space that merges two previous showrooms – Victoria + Albert Baths and Perrin & Rowe – and adds sister brands Shaws of Darwen and Riobel. This new united front means that visitors can enjoy a comprehensive experience of the latest bathroom and kitchen products.
The new name stems from the brands’ parent company, founded in the US by Ken Rohl more than 40 years ago: Rohl was inspired to set up his business after a trip to Europe saw him coveting the high-quality kitchen and bathroom fittings that he couldn’t find back home. Canadian brassware brand Riobel may be the least familiar name to visitors: combining inventive design with engineering, and span the traditional and the contemporary.
The showroom features a much larger selection of products – look out for V+A’s new compact baths, designed with tricky smaller spaces in mind, and Shaws of Darwen’s Gallery collection of decorative designs that can be applied to the front of its ceramic sinks. There is also space for client meetings, with the aim that the showroom should be available to designers as a working hub, plus interactive digital screens that can be used to explore products and see case studies, videos and 3D models.
Head to the new space on Thursday 23 September from 3pm – 6pm for the official launch at Focus/21, in the company of interior designer, former BIID president and presenter Daniel Hopwood.