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Stamp of luxury
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Simplicity is the hallmark of FCML's line of bathroom accessories
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AESTHETIC DESIGNS At the FCML showroom
Minimalist designs. Stark whites. Wide spaces. This is not an art gallery in Japan. This is a showroom for sanitary ware in Chennai. Welcome to the world of luxury bathrooms. Lifestyle products and designer sanitary ware are a sign of a new aesthetic, which finds beauty in the mundane.
Fakir Chand Mohal Lal (FCML) is opening its la exclusive lifestyle (p) ltd store, on May 2, at 32, Khader Nawaz Khan Road. Chennai is getting its first such sanitary ware showroom. Mini Shaji, joint managing director of the FCML store, said Chennai, to their surprise, had turned out to be a very good market. FCML, with its headquarters in Delhi, has already done well in Hyderabad, Mumbai, Ludhiana and Bangalore. In the last three days itself, they received 50 orders from Chennai.
Sophisticated lines
All the products share clean, sophisticated lines and shapes. Bathroom fittings become art when reduced to minimal rectangles, squares and ovals. The stainless steel and white glaze shine under studio lights. There are Chennai-ites who are willing to shell out Rs.5 lakh for a bathtub, Rs.2 lakh for a rain shower and Rs.72, 000 for a spill-proof washbasin.
The bathtub, in striking white, is fitted with a Jacuzzi, water fountain and has provisions for light and aromatherapy. The rain shower is available in many sizes and the spill-proof washbasin looks like a slice of bread. Simplicity has never been so sophisticated. But people are not paying for just appearances.
All the products in the 4,000 square feet showroom are imported. The high-end sanitary ware, tiles and fittings are supplied from France, Germany, Italy, Sweden and Spain. FCML is the exclusive distributor for Kohler, Jacob Delafon, Pomdor, Gessi, Demista and Alape, in India. It is also a prominent dealer for Grohe and Kimberly Clarke. Only a few accessories, from the Oberoi range have been made in Delhi.
Imported tiles, which range from Rs.375/sq ft to Rs.1500/sq ft, hang in long sleek sheets. Some resemble wood, some are uneven and mottled while others shine with colours. One might wonder why import tiles when India has a rich tile-making culture. Shaji explained that this was because Indian tiles are not sufficiently porous and damage easily.
FCML works in tandem with architects and designs bathrooms according to the given dimensions. It also tailors its products for individual preferences.
For its Chennai clientele, it stresses that the products are salt tested and will not corrode with use. FCML provides its clients with art, functionality and a lifetime guarantee. Mini Shaji adds with a laugh, "But whose lifetime is that?"
NANDINI NAIR
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