Sarto 15 Tub Designed by Carlo Colombo for Antonio Lupi

The Sarto 15 Tub by the profilic Carlo Colombo for the innovative Antonio Lupi has an evocative profile and equally captivating contours, as any designer tub should. It’s shapely and profound, bringing to mind the Spanish word “hondo,” which translates literally as “deep,” but also has connotations of “awe-inspiring,” “luxuriant,” and “transportive”—any of which seems apropos to the Sarto 15.

Sarto 15 Tub. Designed by Carlo Colombo for Antonio Lupi.

Though the piece has a resemblance of sorts to notable baths we’ve featured previously (the sinuous sweep of Scoop meets the old world elegance of Chorus), Sarto 15 sports several attributes that set it apart, the most overt of which is its extensive border. This feature—taking the form of a flat-faced, expansive edge along the leeward side—reminds me of Seinfeld and the inimitable Cosmo Kramer’s experiments with highway lane width: both exude a certain profligate extravagance. Though the latter’s innovations ended poorly (with a horrified Newman’s mail truck in flames), I see only a fortuitous future for Colombo’s innovation. Apart from being a convenient armrest and repository for bath accessories (and the surface is wide enough to accommodate a chicken dinner and a bottle of pinot gris, should you care to indulge in another of Kramer’s favored pastimes), the extended edge gives Sarto 15 a distinctive aesthetic. The slight asymmetry suggests the off-kilter work of designers like Karim Rashid or Pierre Paulin, yet the piece has enough traditional moxie to lend it a certain versatility.

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But the story doesn’t end with its shape. Antonio Lupi is quick to remind us that it’s constructed of Cristalplant, the new composite that’s super-hard, ultra-durable, soft as silk, and easy to clean (and white as snow to boot). The material is thus an ideal surfacing agent for tubs and washbasins, not to mention an excellent aesthetic counterpoint to the brightly colored exterior of several Sarto 15 models. The tubs come in a handful of colors, including a brilliant sky blue and a profound pitch black, each of which makes an intriguing contrast to the purity of Cristalplant white. Sarto 15 is a free-standing tub with a floor-mounted spigot, which means you can put it darn near anywhere you want it. And though its allure is such that you might be tempted to feature it in your foyer or living room, I’d suggest the bathroom—but feel free to place it at this particular room’s very heart, because the Sarto 15 should be admired full circle and in full, living color.

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