This month, fashion designer Marc Jacobs, with his shockingly long rhinestone nails, showed off his latest obsession: a white Toto toilet in his own home. Surrounded by green marble walls, it contains a control center that controls functions like the spraying of water and hot air, and a sensor cover that lifts up as soon as you approach it. [frequently asked question] “One thing I've been hearing a lot about lately is ways to keep yourself clean,” he told his Instagram followers. “TOTO is a lot more hygienic than paper and it's definitely better for the environment.”
The rise of luxury toilets can be seen at every level, from high-end art to public necessity. In 2019, an 18-karat gold toilet by Maurizio Cattelan called “America” (worth $5.95 million) was so popular that it was stolen from an art exhibit at Blenheim Palace. It took four years for the culprit to be charged with theft. If you’re good friends with rapper Drake, you might get a Toto toilet (or four) for your birthday, as DJ Khaled did for his 47th birthday. While residents of San Francisco’s tony Noe Valley celebrate the opening of a new public restroom built at a cost of $1.7 million, Abby Whalen continues to build a following (more than 270,000 on TikTok) by reviewing restrooms around the world, from Hermès toilets to Spirit Airlines toilets. While design lovers gleefully post about their new Mario Bellini sofas and cupboards, your home’s next big status symbol might be one that’s been long ignored.
But today's luxury porcelain toilet seats aren't the toilets of old. First, take a look at Kohler's Numi 2.0 model. It's a Tesla toilet. It's modern, high-tech, and fun, thanks to its ambient lighting and speaker system. “Luxury, especially in the context of a cultural renaissance of quiet luxury, is about restraint, quality and intentional attention to detail,” says Michael Koh, Kohler's senior brand marketing manager. terms of service“It's a homage to the theme of enhancing everyday moments and rituals through purpose.”
Kohler's Numi 2.0 comes with ambient color lighting, a built-in speaker system, and of course heated seats.
Traditionally, the most luxurious bathrooms have featured a marble toilet and a separate bidet, but a high-tech toilet that combines both, known as the Washlet, was developed by Toto in the 1980s.—It is gradually becoming popular in the United States, and it is reported that it is already in more than 80% of Japanese households. Japan Today,
In fact, Toto toilets are so popular that there's even a Toto Toilet Museum in Kitakyushu, where Shihohiko Takahashi, an urban designer and professor emeritus at Kanagawa University, explained to CNN that the toilets “address Japan's 'culture of shame' while also promoting Japan as a high-tech innovator.”
Here, Leighton Campbell uses a luxury Kohler toilet, set back a little to provide more privacy but still maintain the aesthetic standards of the room.
Is a similar cultural influence happening in the U.S.? “Frankly, going to the bathroom is still a taboo subject,” says Leighton Campbell, an interior designer based in Charlotte, North Carolina. terms of service. “Here, having a bidet or an advanced toilet is considered a luxury, but in reality You can't be too careful when it comes to hygiene.”
So how do you put theory into practice? While installing a bathroom in a master bedroom or other regularly occupied bedroom makes sense, adding one of these stools to a guest bedroom or powder room truly communicates status.
“Hosting friends into your home is one of life's great pleasures, and the guest toilet is emerging as a star player for the discerning host,” says James Lentine, creative director at bathroom appliance maker Drummonds. terms of service. (Thankfully, they just released a collection in collaboration with interior designer Steven Gambrell to make your washroom more appealing.) Indeed, restrooms and guest bathrooms are a great opportunity to tell your guests: I can purchase luxurious toiletries and have enough funds to allow you to do the same. We can have Gournay wallpaper in my bathroom and yours. Those hand towels are Matouk, honey. We replace them with SFERRA every now and then.
According to the team at Drummond, guest bathrooms are a great opportunity to flex your design muscles, and a luxury toilet is another chance to let your guests enjoy every bit of it.
But Campbell also notes the impact a super-efficient toilet could have on guests: “If someone's just there for dinner, it might be obvious, since they're more likely to go through the bidet procedure. But a guest room is always a good place to put a bidet, and guests will probably appreciate it.”
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