Shower curtains
The humble shower curtain is often viewed as a kitschy artefact and considering its tendency to be adorned with cartoon-like fish or lime-green frogs, that's hardly surprising. But some creative designers produce curtains that provide an arresting visual focus for bathrooms or as part of a co-ordinated suite of decorator items.
The striking designs at Izola (www.
izolashower.com) mainly use black-and-white photographs printed on vinyl. One series has shots of famous locations throughout the world, such as the pyramids of Giza, the Brooklyn Bridge (below right) and a view of Paris. Another series features an overall patterned approach, with one showing a photo of stacked sake barrels and another the repeated image of a Buddha statue. There is also an artist series, which includes a 1984 photograph from Studio 54 by Patrick McMullan and a comic-book-style drawing filled with tattooed mermaids, surfing centaurs and laundry detergent adverts by New York street artist Faile (McMullan and Faile designs, US$40; others, US$35).
The Travel Journal shower curtain (US$48) is printed with text from the travel diary of
an employee's Polynesian trip, translated into French and printed on cotton percale. The same pattern is available on sheets, comforter cover and pillow sham. Other shower curtains that have matching linens include Koi Pond (blue, yellow and gold carp; US$58) and Chateau Rose (outsized pink roses; US$62).
battenburglace.com).