LUXURY PHANTASIES: Thrones and Bathtubs

How many synonyms do you think exist for the word "toilet"? Here are some examples from which a few  may not be exactly clubbable:

the ladies' room, men's room, WC, powder room, lavatory, throne, bathroom, latrine, privy, outhouse, can, commode, john, johnny, seat, pot, potty, restroom, litter box, sand box, washroom, water closet, chiffonier, loo, washstand, shitter, porcelain god, bog, the foreign office, public conveniences, carsey, crapper, bano, head, dunny, the dump, blow hole, thunderbox etc. I am sure there are much more.

Most of the symonyms I mentioned above are probably not appropriate for the examples I found during my little research because these "places" are more than just potties?

A 24-karat golden throne is this one - made in Japan, known to be the land of the most sophisticated toilets in the world...

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This golden sink with diamonds would certainly complement the golden toilet:
One brilliant cut diamond 2.00 ct, VS2 G, and eight brilliant cut diamonds 0.25 ct, VVS1 E, with Bazel setting in white gold.

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Another  24 carat gold plated lavatory that was unveiled at the last World Toilet summit and expo in China. It costs only $200, 000 and would be appropriate for any Royal Highness...

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The Hall Of Gold has become a famous tourist attraction in Hong Kong. Owned by Hang Fu­ng Gold Technology Group the golden throne is meant to be admired, not put to practical use...what a shame...

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Designed by Jemal Wright, this is from the “Isis” range of bathroom fittings and is either fully or partially handset with Swarovski crystals...costs only 75.000 $

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This is actually a Teuco Swarovski crystal bathtub and it is beautiful and fully functional...

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I think the following may rather belong into the bizarre section of expensive thones:
John Lennon's toilet from Tittenhurst Park, Ascot, which sold in an auction for 14.740 $. Btw - would YOU have thought that the Beatle finished his biz on a throne such as this one that may rather fit into a typical English cottage??

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It does actually not look like an expecially expensive bath tub but it is made of solid copper and hand-crafted. Over five feet long and two-and-a-half feet wide, the tub is spacious enough to comfortably accommodate just about anyone. The fluted faucet and hand-held shower unit are designed with the same aesthetic quality as the rest of the tub, featuring a finely engraved starfish-on-seashell knob. So the Kallista Archeo Copper Bathtub is available for a mere 67,557 $

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The contrary of looking very expensive and not having to pay a fortune for this might be this example from Melanie Royals and her invention of the Modello Decorative Masking Patterns. "Any surface can be enhanced with design and decoration"... Melanie says and mentions a project by Kathy Wear where her beautiful stencils are used "to create a throne fit for a king":

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But back to the most expensive bathtubs. Here is one, made of turquoise malachite, designed by Luca Bojola and available for 222.000 $ only:

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There is a similar bathtub available, the Amaltea bathtub, also designed by Baldi of Florence, Italy,  but this is made entirely of the precious purple gem amethyst, and adorned with 24-karat gold-plated legs, priced at 190.000 $.

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Designed by Luca Bojola this bathtub is carved from a single piece of Amazonian rock crystal and measuring over 8 feet in diameter. Available for only 790.310 $. Nevertheless it is defintely beautiful.

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By the same designer a crystal rock basin matching the above bathtub:

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You think that's it? Not so. Here comes the  £ 1 million bathtub. It’s called “Le Grand Queen” and was sculpted out of an extremely rare stone that can only be found in the volcanic rocks in Indonesia.

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And last but not least you need the appropriate toilet paper. What would be more decadent than cleaning your derrière with money bills???

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GUEST POST: Fashion-Forward IKAT Area Rug Designs

Erica Cottrill from Home Infatuation send me this info about a company who is the leader in luxury rug design. I was immediately entranced by their wonderful patterns and textures:

Fashion-Forward IKAT Area Rug Designs Going Strong this Season

IKAT -- rugs with a tribal design motif inspired by age-old Central Asian textiles -- continue to go strong this season. Patterns are over-scaled, offering flexible interpretations of traditional designs, compelling textures with lush rich colors and intricate patterns. IKAT designs are also versatile - they offer contemporary interpretations of traditional color palettes and can work in modern environments.

"IKAT follows fashion, as the colorful tribal print trend which is chic on runways has inspired the textile industry," notes Kami Kalaty of Kalaty Rug Corp. "Our customers who want to re-energize their decor have loved these exotic rugs for their great rooms and bedrooms."

Kalaty.com is a leader in luxury rug design and uses eco-friendly practices. It is a family-owned company the was founded a century ago and which enjoys a strong long term reputation based on inventories, service and incredible quality and offers easy online tools such as IPad apps. For more information, visit www.kalaty.com or call 212-683-7222.

(all images from the company's website)
 Thank you Erica!

I have added some more images of rugs which I absolutely love. I think there is no need to mention how much the colour and pattern of a rug can change a room when chosen in the right manner.
Sometimes a rug can even be the center piece of a room and the remaining interior is just designed around it:

And if these beautiful delicate patterns are not enough Kalaty also produces a bunch of very modern and abstract rugs which are no less beautiful and impressive:

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SPECIAL SERIES: The Beds and Bedrooms of the Richie-Riches (part 4)

This time I thought I would do a fun post with a tiny satirical note on a theme that is - of course - about beds and bedrooms again. The title says "The Bedrooms of the Richy-Riches" and its all about spending money not about style and taste...

Why not decorate an apartment like this -  a luxurious apartment in St. Petersburg designed by Igor Gremitsky, located in St. Petersburg, in the style of the Rococo era?
According to Wikipedia Rococo is...

"...an 18th-century artistic movement and style, which affected several aspects of the arts including painting, sculpture, architecture, interior design, decoration, literature, music and theatre. The Rococo developed in the early part of the 18th century in Paris, France as a reaction against the grandeur, symmetry and strict regulations of the Baroque, especially that of the Palace of Versailles. In such a way, Rococo artists opted for a more jocular, florid and graceful approach to Baroque art and architecture. Rococo art and architecture in such a way was ornate and made strong usage of creamy, pastel-like colours, asymmetrical designs, curves and gold. Unlike the more politically focused Baroque, the Rococo had more playful and often witty artistic themes. With regards to interior decoration, Rococo rooms were designed as total works of art with elegant and ornate furniture, small sculptures, ornamental mirrors, and tapestry complementing architecture, reliefs, and wall paintings." 

So the livingroom as below, designed by Igor Gremitsky, might be the modern and slightly wacky version of  a Rococo style room:

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In the same style you can also find a luxurious kid's bedroom. I try to imagine what would happen if one of the kids who could live here gets hold of crayons and starts her/his creative juices newly on the walls (as my little sister did with our bedroom right after it had been newly wallpapered) - my Dad was not amused...

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In comparison the following bedrooms are a bit more decent although gold has been used in abundance here also which seems to be symptomatic of this kind of interior design:

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And then I came across these - from the website of an "Entrepreneur, Furniture Designer, Artist, Website Designer, Writer, Adventurer" as he says of himself on his website: Glenn Keith Madden, born in South Carolina and living currently in Indonesia. His company's furniture is all hand carved from solid wood.

Would this bed fulfil your dreams?

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In addition you could add this throne to complement your imagination of pure luxury and royal sublimeness...

Or would this bed rather complement your lifestyle...?

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And how about this bed? It is called the "Avatar Bed"...

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Or would you prefer to sleep in the bed of the "Conquerer"? To be honest I did not imagine that you could buy a bed such as the one below and who would actually buy this? Amazing...

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Now to some more bedroom designs and beds of the "unusual" kind....

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What would you say to a Cosmovoide Bed for ridiculous $60,000? This bed has twin electric relaxation bed frames (whatever that means), rainbow colored LEDs, a telephone, and a DVD system with a TV at its foot:

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Here is another futuristic bed that comes in vibrant red besides other colours: the Sphere bed from Karim Rashid for piffling $50,000. This Sphere bed has a 32 inch colored television, covered LED florescent canopy-top lights, a champagne holder, a mirror at the back, plus all the comforts that every bed offers. (from Better Homes):

The warning "do not show this to your kids" seems very reasonable to me because this fantasy coach bed is available for $47,000 only. It is made from wood and fibre glass and looks to have come straight out of a fairytale. This bed is every little princess’s dream. (from Better Homes)

And what do you say about one of the world's most expensive bed with a price that can reach over $210,000 which puts it right away into this category - available only for...?

"Furniture designer Abdolhay Parnian treats his furniture like works of art and it shows in the final product. It’s taken him two years to design this bed and I think you’ll agree that it was well worth the wait." (read more)

But there are more expensive options. F.e. the Jado Steel Style Gold Bed for $675,000!!! This bed is coated in 24 carat gold and features Swarovski crystals along the sideboard. This has to be the most expensive waterbed ever!

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Do you think this was it?? Be prepared to look at a bed that costs 1.8 Million US$. Yes, 1.8 Million Dollar.

It is probably the most futuristic bed you have ever seen, this magnetic floating bed. "Designed by architect Janjaap Ruijssenaars from the Netherlands, the 900 kilogram bed is kept afloat by powerful magnets. Just in case it tries to take off, the bed is tied by wires to the wall." (from Better Homes)

Ha - but this is still not the end of the list of superlatives. Here finally comes the most expensive bed in the world, a Baldacchino supreme for $6.3 million.

"At the price of $6.3 million this is the most expensive bed in the world. Created by none other than Stuart Hughes, the man who seems to want to make everything the ‘most expensive’. Hand carved from ash wood and chestnut wood, with the canopy’s edges in cherry wood, the 107 kg of 24 carat gold inlay work has added to the gob smacking price. The fabric is Italian silk and cotton; the headboard can be customised with diamond buttons (at an extra cost of course!). No wonder only two were made." (source)

Would this be your perception of a "beachhouse"?  Located near Stockholm this is in fact a property with a private beach.

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In the very same house you would find bedrooms such as this one:

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Here are some more examples of how the other part of the society sleeps:

spaces design by interior designer STRAIGHTLINE Interiors

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Why I added this bedroom you may ask. But yes, you are looking at the bedroom of the most expensive 1-bedroom appartment in the world:

"Listed at a cool 1.8 billion yen ($21.8 million USD), the Sifter’s jaw dropped when the listing stated an apartment called The House, in the exclusive Minami-Azabu district of Tokyo (the most expensive neighbourhood in Tokyo), was a 4,434 square foot (411.932 sq m) 1-Bedroom apartment.
At a mind-boggling $4,920.75 per square foot, the Sifter challenges you to find a more expensive 1-bedroom apartment for sale..."(read more)

Apparently a 2 story penthouse in Monaco was sold for only 305 million $ by an Arab Sheikh. Also this bedroom looks amazingly decent in consideration of the price for the whole penthouse.

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Another bedroom from the very same appartment looks even more decent. So the "justification" for the incredible price of this penthouse may be the location rather than a precious interior...

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Of course there are a series of extravagant rooms and bedrooms which are populated by the vips of the film and music branch. It may be nothing new to hear about the preferred style of Mariah Carey which would do justice to any royal diva:

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To be continued at another time...

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