By Suzana Mikolova 
If we’ve learned anything in the past few years, it’s that figuring home values, and calculating the value of home improvements is a tricky proposition. Location, market conditions, and the products used in remodeling any room are all factors in how much money one might recoup from a project. Upgrading a bathroom is no exception.
But there is an intangible involved in the remodeling of a bathroom. I like to think of it as “the oasis factor.” If the home is our castle, then the bathroom should be our oasis. That’s where Duravit products come in. Durability and practicality are an issue of course-but what is function without form? Duravit combines both.
Is it just possible that baby boomers and gen-Xers are staying put in their homes, and abandoning the concept of changing residences more often than they change their cars? If this is the case, then why upgrade a bathroom just for function? That’s only taking care of half the job. Why not upgrade not only the fixtures but the ambiance? Duravit products stand up to both challenges.
While they may not yet be a household name in the U.S., worldwide their bathroom furnishings are a standard of excellence in remodeling and new construction. Hotels, public buildings, and new homes throughout Europe, Asia and the Middle East are using Duravit products. In cost, their fixtures can compete with the better-known American brands, yet there’s a step up in design and innovation in products from this German company that has been around nearly 200 years. Steam showers, tubs for two, over-size sinks, even out-door tubs and “pools” allow the homeowner or builder to create a spa or bathroom project that is out-of-the-ordinary. Why settle for a bathroom that is just the same but different?
As our needs change, so do our tastes. In college, or our first apartment, a box on the floor served not only as a bookcase, but an end table, dining table, and lamp stand. Anyone who has travelled to foreign lands has probably seen what passes for a bathroom in some older hotels. Are these rooms functional? , sometimes, they’re barely so. Are they beautiful? Rarely. And are these rooms an oasis of relaxation? Never. Why does the bathroom have to be a space that is, despite a few upgrades, simply a room for a toilet, sink, and bathing area? Duravit thinks outside the box-not only the box that confines your room, but the box that confines design and function.
Design is a big part of the appeal of their products, but Duravit just doesn’t design bathroom furnishings on the outside and slap a famous designer logo on the product. Their designers are creating products for the bathroom inside and out. In other words, it’s that design/function/innovation dynamic that is being created. Okay, maybe they’re not reinventing the wheel, but they are reinventing the idea of a bathroom. Next time you’re searching for the “oasis” in your home, check out Duravit bathroom furnishings. You may be in for a surprise.