Today we discover some sanitary ware that were the beginning of many styles and trends, later pursued by all competitors. Looking at the history of bathroom furniture over the last 40/50 years, we will also realise how the bathroom has been and often was influenced by the world around it. The shapes, colours, and positioning (floor-standing, wall-hung, back-to-wall) of sanitary fixtures have changed starting from the ’70s and ’80s and are still in continuous motion today. Every time we think that designers have nothing left to propose, here comes the new project that makes all the previous ones “old” and predictable, and we remain surprised like children when they first discover gifts under the Christmas tree. We will focus on the sanitary fixtures that have opened a new road, a new conceptual thought from an architectural point of view. Perhaps over time, the competition has also improved and made the initial idea more attractive, but today we want to reward the pioneers!
ALA series Ideal Standard – the wall-hung series
This is the series of sanitary fixtures that popularised wall-hung sanitary ware in the ’80s. We saw in the post: ”Wall-hung sanitary ware and their covers (part 1)” the history and the reason why wall-hung toilets have become popular quite recently. It was such an innovative product for its time that a very particular toilet seat was also created: the lid was narrower than the ring and made the product unmistakable. The old original Ala toilet seat is available in the Sintesibagno store and can be found at the following link [ Clik HERE ]. A very important detail is the Ideal Standard white colouring, the official colour of that period (if you don’t know this type of Ideal Standard colouring at the following link [ Clik HERE ]).
SQUARE series Pozzi Ginori – the champagne colour
The Square Pozzi Ginori toilet in champagne colour is a legendary series of sanitary fixtures for many reasons. We saw in the post: ”Pozzi Ginori sanitaryware old square models. Square, Italica and Italo duo which toilet seat cover is correct?” how, together with ITALICA and ITALO DUO, these ceramic series helped the company become the market leader in the ’70s and ’80s. Today we do not focus on the shape, but on the colour. The champagne version of this sanitary fixture is the reason for the appearance and wide diffusion of this colouring in bathrooms for sanitary ware and toilet seats. Its champagne coloured toilet seat can be found in the Sintesibagno store at the following link [ Clik HERE ].
LINDA series Ideal Standard – the elongated oval shape
So innovative that it had to have been designed by one of the masters of Italian Design: Achille Castiglioni (here the post dedicated to him). Year 1977: in addition to the introduction of a new material, vitreous china, the elongated oval shape was conceived, which would open a new formal path later pursued by all competing ceramic companies. All Linda toilet seats, in all colours: EU white, Ideal Standard white, champagne, blueberry, deep blue, mink, whispered green, whispered pink, and also in the new thermosetting plastic materials (also soft-close with slow-closing hinges) are available in the Sintesibagno store at the following link [ Clik HERE ].
DECO’ series Cesame – the hexagonal shape
The most famous series of hexagonal sanitary ware is this series by Cesame called: Decò. After it, ceramic series arrived that are still best sellers today, see the 1930 series by Duravit. In the post: ”Octagonal and hexagonal sanitaryware and toilet seat covers” we saw almost all the series of sanitary ware with these geometric shapes. In addition to 1930 by Duravit, we have seen the series Classic by Absolute Ideal Standard, Canova Mono and Royal by Globo ceramica. All toilet seats for this Cesame series: the original version (including the one with golden hinges) and the dedicated version can be found in the Sintesibagno store at the following link [ Clik HERE ].
FROZEN series Simas – the rectangular shape
Many rectangular toilets have been produced throughout the history of bathroom furniture. We have seen many in several posts: in ”Sanitaryware rectangular shapes. Why do all toilet seat covers for this toilet look the same?” (we focused on EBLA by Dolomite, TERRA by Flaminia, SPACE STONE by Ceramica Globo and OUTLINE by Althea) in “Older, discontinued models of sanitaryware with a rectangular toilet seat. (part 2)” (we focused on CIOTTOLO by Flaminia, FIESTA by Catalano, HIDRA by Hidra Ceramiche and ADDA by Facis GSI). What is the particularity and uniqueness of Frozen? Just look at the image next to it. The corners of the sanitary fixtures in this series are calibrated at 90∘ with a production perfection almost impossible for a ceramic product. The final arrival point of Italian artisanal mastery. In the bathroom furniture sector, when talking about squared/rectangular sanitary ware, the point of reference is this series produced by Simas. It could only be called Frozen. The toilet seats for this sanitary fixture (both the thermosetting version and the polyester-coated white wood version) can be found in the Sintesibagno store at the following link [ Clik HERE ].
Ideal Standard and the colours of sanitary ware: the whispered ones (pink, light blue, green, grey), blueberry, and fern
Now let’s focus on another peculiarity of sanitary ware. If the Square series by Pozzi Ginori popularised the champagne colour, the Ideal Standard sanitary fixtures (in particular CONCA, ELLISSE, TESI, VELARA and LIUTO) brought success to the colours you see in the image next to it: Whispered Pink, Whispered Light Blue, Whispered Green, Whispered Grey, Blueberry Blue, and Fern Green. In the post: ”Sanitaryware colours and toilet seat covers: green, pink, blue, brown…(part 2)” we tried to describe them as best as possible to help you in choosing the correct toilet seat, which is complicated at a digital level. In the Sintesibagno.shop store, you can find all the original Ideal Standard toilet seat colours at the following link [ Clik HERE ].
Today we started looking at ceramic series that are very important for the entire bathroom furniture world. Maybe you recognised your toilet and are now able to purchase the correct and precise toilet seat for your WC without making a mistake. However, if you still have doubts about which toilet seat to look for for the WC you have in your bathroom, we suggest you send us an email to info@sintesibagno.it or a WhatsApp message to the number + 39 3341288978 with two images of your sanitary fixture and a few measurements, and we will be able to help you with your choice. Here is the video on how to proceed with the toilet seat search.
