Georgina McWhirter Is Making Faucets Fun Again

Aug 15, 2023

Anyone who follows design editor Georgina McWhirter on Instagram, where she posts as The Eye Spies, knows her predilection for the sensory bliss of lively chromatic combinations. Now they can spice up your bathroom thanks to a collaboration with Wood Melbourne, the Australian purveyor of circular and square faucet handles founded by Oliver MacLatchy. Aptly named Chromablock, the range of colors shun the ennui of chrome and the market oversaturation of brass, instead opting for a range of 12 unexpected hues—the burnt orange-red Hot Sauce and mustard-tinged olive Dirty Martini are clear favorites.

Chromablock stems from McWhirter's pandemic urge to enliven the bathroom in her New York City apartment, which dates to the 1940s. She sourced wood cubes and balls at a craft store, painted them with nail polish, and installed them in her bathroom, but the polish quickly flaked off. MacLatchy knew she was onto something, so they began sharing ideas remotely while he devised the ideal matte-poured resin material. The result makes the quotidian seem dazzling. "My abiding love is colors and how they interact," McWhirter says, citing Pierre Jeanneret's Polychromie Keycards as key inspiration for the color pairings. "Finding the perfect color combination that ‘sings’ and looks just right for the moment is strangely fulfilling."

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