This seems to be a week of odd correspondences. First there was the chaos theme of In Between Lightnings, Disaster, and Signature (coming Friday), now there’s the “icon branches out” theme of Patricia Urquiola’s foray into log furniture and Karim Rashid’s experiment with home appliances. In all fairness, though, Rashid’s TV Bathtub for Korean manufacturer Saturn isn’t strictly experimental.

TV Tub. Designed by Karim Rashid for Saturn.

The omnipresent Rashid has traveled this terrain before, most notably with his project to re-beautify the radiator, Hellos’ Kwart. The TV Tub has shades of the same logic—namely, how to render a strictly utilitarian device aesthetically pleasing. Not that the TV in the bathroom gag hasn’t been attempted before: Seura’s Television Mirrors are perhaps the best previous example of the re-location of this integral recreation, but Rashid’s version is more of an up-close-and-personal affair, as it places the tv into the very fabric of the tub, thus positioning the screen at the bather’s eye-level. The result is the sublime experience of washing away your work-a-day blues to the soothing visual intonations of Jim Lehrer or Keith Olbermann or Bill O’Reilly—however you may be so inclined. Or, perhaps more sensibly, to the innocent diversions of Jeopardy or Dancing with the Stars.

Rashid’s tub is, of course, a handsome number. Made of Liquid Acrylic Resin in starkest white, it boasts a high-sided profile with a subtly sloping prow, giving it a distinctly nautical feel. The waterproof screen is artfully incorporated into the foot end, providing the perfect punctuation mark to your ritual of cleansing and relaxation.

Time will tell if the TV Tub gains entry into the residential market. I suspect this will have much to do with the price tag—and the state of our state, since such high luxury items tend to fall by the wayside during financial slowdowns. For the present, however, I predict the Saturn TV Tub will appear in high-end hotels and condos of every stripe. And you know what they say… as the Ritz goes, so goes the U.S.A…