Words: Izzie Price
Photography: Ashton Hugh
Soap — it’s a slippery issue. There was a time, not so long ago, when bars of the stuff were relegated to your grandmother’s downstairs loo, or the counter top of a certain type of country hotel. Liquid suds, suddenly, were everywhere — easier, less messy, fashionably perfumed with peppercorns and mysterious fruit.
But now the humble bar is making a comeback, as plastic packaging becomes non grata in so many elements of our life. And it looks like it’s here to stay — so long as it doesn’t slide off your basin at short notice, of course. With that in mind, you’ll need a decent dish to keep things where they ought to be — and thankfully there are some particularly handsome options on offer. Dishy.
The Kartell Square Soap Dish will bring a splash of glamour to your bathroom
What is it about aquamarine? There’s just something about the colour that simultaneously evokes hedonistic glamour and blissful relaxation. There’s something very F. Scott Fitzgerald about it; but it also has a depth of colour that’s almost hypnotic, and makes us think of slow, heady days on the Mediterranean.
This particular soap dish sparkles and shines in a sleekly sophisticated aquamarine green (though it also comes in a transparent or nude pink form, for anyone less aquamarine-minded). Designed by renowned architects and designers Ludovica and Roberto Palomba (particularly known for their divinely luxurious bathtubs) and crafted from transparent PMMA, this dish is guaranteed to elevate any bathroom from the merely neat and tidy, to the downright elegant.
The Pigeon and Poodle Abiko Soap Dish is a bathroom accessory for gentlemen
Everything about this soap dish is gentlemanly, really. Its appearance is about as suave as a bathroom accessory can get; its deep cobalt hue is evocative of dignity and elegance, while its pearl white edition is subtly understated, and its marigold version adds a splash of joyful colour (truth be told, the marigold is our favourite — and it’s presumably everyone else’s favourite, too, because it’s currently sold out. Keep a weather eye out for when it’s back in stock).
The saturated swirls of its design give it that added layer of elegance, and its semi-translucence gives it that bewitching quality, suggestive of hidden depths. It’s crafted from resin; and since it comes to us courtesy of Pigeon and Poodle, you can rest assured that its craftsmanship was utterly top-notch.
The Blue & White Enamel Soap Dish will ensure you never let standards slip
We’ve always been advocates of the classic look; and this certainly extends to soap dishes. This enamel dish has classical style in abundance; no surprises, really, since it hails from Münder-Email, one of Germany’s last remaining enamel workshops that prides itself on creating enamel ‘like the old times’ — and it’s a prime example of the age-old adage, ‘less is more’. Its design is simple; but very often, simple is best.
Its blue and white design makes it the perfect addition to any bathroom (blue and white are, surely, the optimal bathroom colours) and its functionality knows no bounds — soapy or otherwise. It’s easy to clean (cleaning a soap dish sounds like an oxymoron, but it’s important to keep them sleek and fresh), and it comes equipped with a removable top layer that improves functionality and allows the soap to dry. Functional, indeed.
The Lumi Ceramic Soap Dish is a sleekly understated addition to your morning routine
We mentioned that simple can often be best, and we meant it. The sleek, elegant simplicity of this ceramic dish will give your bathroom a streamlined edge (frankly, every gentleman’s bathroom should have a streamlined edge), and its soft matt cream colour will ensure it blends seamlessly into your existing bathroom aesthetic without looking even remotely out of place.
It’s crafted from stoneware ceramic, which makes it both a classically elegant soap dish (ceramic tends to have that effect) and it’s about as durable as a soap dish can get. All in all, it’s just the thing to add some suave functionality to your morning routine; all you need now is the soap. But that’s a whole other grooming chapter…
The Feldspar Cobalt Soap Dish is a handcrafted masterpiece
This cobalt offering hails from Feldspar, whose pieces are all designed from the brand’s very own thatched studio, overlooking Dartmoor. This particular dish comes to us courtesy of Feldspar founders, Jeremy and Cath Brown; but the brand continues to support local businesses, with many of its designs crafted by skilled craftspeople across the UK, using only the very finest local materials.
This dish was expertly handcrafted in Devon. Made from fine bone china, its transparent glaze highlights the crisp white finish of the china, and brings its delightfully dimpled profile to the fore. The cobalt hand-painted accent creates the perfect finishing touch — and its minimalist design means it doesn’t have to be confined to the bathroom; it’ll serve you just as well in your kitchen (or, indeed, anywhere with a tap). It even goes in the dishwasher. Neat.
The Decor Walther Kristall Soap Dish is luxury exemplified
If anyone’s ever told you that soap dishes can’t be luxurious, they were wrong; and we can prove it. This crystal dish is about as luxurious as it gets — crystal has a remarkable way of introducing luxury into any room, by dint of its very existence — and its timeless, classical design will make you feel like the leading character in the prequel to Tender is the Night.
In case we haven’t already made it obvious, this dish is crafted from crystal glass, and has a crystal clear finish. It’s guaranteed to elevate any bathroom to a state of sublime luxury just by being poised on the sink — and it’s certain to encourage any gentleman to improve his bathroom etiquette as it sits there, sparkling and twinkling away. Better stop leaving your towels on the floor, gents; this soap dish won’t stand for it.
Looking for more ways to improve your interior aesthetics? Why not turn over a new leaf this summer with a house plant (or five)…
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