The design of a bathroom (for humans).

The bathroom, in our homes, is maybe the room that most intensely put together the functional aspects with the aesthetic ones.
Briefly, remembering of our cultural roots, Utilitas and Venustas.
bagno per alieni (non di ermes ponti)

We happen to admire – while browsing through design magazines – truly beautiful salles des bains in… sadly empty premises.

No person, no human being seems to ever use them.

Could it be the showroom’s syndrome?

Or the pleasure of a fascinating photographic performance?

Or maybe they’re bathrooms for aliens, ready for the time they will show up?

We’re far from judging.

However, the bathroom… for humans, in everyday life,, means water, heat, humidity, mirrored surfaces, containers, pipes, faucets, drains, ventilation, comfort, intimacy, relaxation and much more.

bagno by ermes ponti (schizzo progettuale)


bagno by ermespontiNo need to go far: just think about your home: how many items, functions can you recall? Many.

And what about the intensity of use ?

Perhaps only the kitchen is used as intensely, but – unlike the bathroom – kitchens can caount on specific equipment and technology…

Not so our bathrooms, where often a small space must serve the needs of various people, many times a day.

Our point of view on the topic can be summarized in a few simple concepts:

bagno by ermes pontiThe bathroom is one of the points where design demonstrates its ability to bring form and function in a harmonious vision, daily perceived by the final customer who’s supposed to use it (and clean it) every day.

Here’s where our revolutionary end-to-end ermes ponti method  gives its best.

  • The execution “to perfection” of the project is critical, perhaps more than in any other room of the house
  • Hydraulic works and funìrniture installation have to live in a perfect way, so to allow the most comfortable possible use
  • Choices of materials and new technologies in this field are vital to the bathroom’s functionality, and make it unique; we offer bespoke, tailored bathrooms, designed around the needs of the customer and totally custom-designed and custom-made.
  • Bathrooms signed ermesponti are “wellness rooms”; and this is never “generic wellness” but always the wellness of a particular person or special family, with specific needs that lead to the maximum extent of customization project.

bagno by ermesponti

All of this leads us to listening to the needs of the customer and take count – from the very first phase – of its specific needs and her personal tastes. The harmonic resolution of functions respecting the demands of the initial project, of course, follows.

“I’d like a nice table, for my kids to do their homework.” Story of a table… almost perfect.

ermes ponti: tavolo wenge su misuraThis is one of those stories we really like, in which we can find what we love more about our work:

  • direct relationship with the customer
  • possibility to create made-to-measure  furniture
  • a feeling for beauty and functionality (utilitas-venustas, from Vitruvius and so on…)
  • intelligent use of resources, ecologically and environmentally speaking
  • attention to the choice of the essence, in relationship with the specific home

Remember the song we used to sing as children?

To make a table, you need wood, to make wood, you need a tree…

This time we couldn’t sing it, because the table we’re about to tell you about was made without cutting any tree.

The story starts with a lady, a customer of ours – whose home we know well, having furnished it with tailored solutions.

She turned to us asking for a simple object, but with a specific functionality:

“I’d like a nice table by the fireplace, for my kids, to do their homework.” 

A special challenge  for us: something to work on both in terms of design and as a realization project… just like we always do, as a matter of fact!

First of all, knowing that our customer cares for the environment, we took the opportunity to propose a “zero impact” solution:

The table will be made exclusively with spared wood, in small pieces. No extra fees for the material.

“Interesting”, said the customer. Tavolo su misura eremes ponti

Indeed, it was the opportunity we were waiting for to use scraps of fine true Wengè wood.

Beautiful bits we were keeping aside, awaiting for a chance like this.

The re-use idea, if you think of it, does belong to our architectural culture, from the Roman walls to the Byzantine mosaics, and the Venetian terraces… nothing new under the sun!

The challenge was accepted – not without doubts – by our most meticulous carpenter, Alberto.

He saw from the beginning the opportunity to create an extraordinary piece, but also the difficultiesto get the work done: long time, difficult processes, uncertain result… ermes-ponti-tavolo-wenge-bespoke-4

We decided for a 43×43″ plan, polished surface, untreated or perhaps with a film of oil citrus sprayed hot. Then 2″ thick edge.

A quick sketch to explain the idea and then we were all set.

Alberto is happier now:

The effect of the combined veins of the different types of Wengè, ranging from black to various browns to white, creates a mosaic in which each tree tells a different story. Without doubt, a very special table.

ermes-ponti-tavolo-wenge-bespoke-2The thicknesses of the table has been decided with our brass expert.

The top, very heavy, needed triangular supporting elements to make it more stable… they too have been coated in Wengè, while the burnished brass edge is left exposed.

The work of Alberto is now an amazing piece, something to be proud of.

Finished, then?

No: we realised by looking at it that a round table may not be the best to do schoolwork on, especially to draw.

So we cut a slice of it… should we call it the beauty of Japanese imperfection wabi-sabi?

However – even if the customer says she is very happy – we have a feeling we’ll need to wait until the schoolyear is over, to know if the table served its purpose as expected!

Tavolo ermesponti fatto a mano con scarti di wenge

Almaty, Kazakhstan: retail interiors for Baby Juniors. Warm Italian atmosphere in the mall frenzy.

Baby Juniors - Interiors by ermesponti

Imagine a store for children in a great, crowded, brand new shopping centre.

Imagine to create a cozy and intimate atmosphere to make your little customers comfortable.

Imagine to be able to suggest the quality of the Italian lifestyle: Made in Italy in the air, on the walls, in the lights… in the general atmosphere.

Now, watch this become real, thanks to a 100% custom designed, Made in Italy project by ermesponti.

Italian atmosphere? Just ask!

In order to make such a dream come true, Poddaponti architetti had, in the first place, the idea of creating a scene from an historic Italian palace.

In fact, entering the store you get the feeling of being inside a Renaissance Baby Juniors - Interiors by ermespontipalace, with three rooms communicating with each other, open to imaginary Italian gardens you can stare at thanks to some stunning photos mounted on light boxes (mounted so accurately that actually customer happen to try to open the fake window).

The proportions, the choices of materials and furnishings, the whole project give such a feeling of spaciousness… you can forget about the crowded and chaotic mall.

Once inside, you can find the Italy of Palladio.

The interiors – various rooms charachterized by niches and coordinated lockers – the large bow window at the very end,  the serliana solid oak with a pickled effect… all this speaks a precise language.

The language of these environments is – no doubt about – Italian.

The Italian language of architectural tradition, and perfectly-made interiors.

You can indeed find, in this Kazakhstan shop, the Palladian proportions (in the serliana) and the typical artisan care for details only Italians are able to produce, plus – finally – the look + feel of the fashion products available in the shop: all Italian brands!

Made in Italy as user experience.

From the first look you have at the interiors, when you step in to the feeling of well-being that comes by walking around…
Baby Juniors - Interiors by ermesponti
the whole store can be defined as a true Made in Italy Experience.

In there, everything is 100% custom designed in Italy.

Among the contributors to the realisation of this retail shop: Berto Salotti for sofas, Dedar Milano for curtains and wallpapers in the bottom of the niches and also a small artisan of Murano for the stained glass blown chandelier.

And the brands represented in the store, of course,  convey the glamour of the Made in Italy fashion taste: ArmaniJunior, Dolce & Gabbana, GF Ferrè, Missoni, Monnalisa, Versace Boys

Designed in Italy = Value for money.

The designed in Italy, as we do in ermesponti, shows an extraordinary value for quality-time-cost, unbeatable for this quality.

What is often considered an unattainable luxury – bespoken or tailored interiors for instance – is not necessarily costly.

Our end-to-end approach maximizes every element of the design and construction process, keeping everything under control.

In other words: quality at the highest levels ever and short design/production process.

The qualitative results and economic are amazing, in Almaty as in New York or Mantua or… your place, wherever it is :-)

Baby Juniors - Interiors by ermesponti