Today we see ceramic series characterised by a very special aesthetic element. These are ceramic WCs that have a step at the back. The reason for its presence is undoubtedly a stylistic choice, but it also performs a useful hygienic barrier by preventing any “undesirable” elements from ending up behind the toilet or, if the toilet is flush with the wall/shielded, from ending up on the wall where the toilet rests. A branch of this category we encountered in the post: ”Sanitary ware with a raised top. WC covers with 45° fixing hinges” where we have seen WCs that have an upper surface that tilts forty-five degrees to accommodate the holes for fixing the toilet seat cover. These WCs include: CONCA, AERO, EPOCA, CLIO, ADDA and DUCCIO. Today we focus on the series of sanitary fixtures that have a real step-up in the back instead. Well let’s start by looking at these toilets and their particular toilet seats.
Ceramica VAVID – the Mediterranea and Orientale series
We always like to start when we talk about a certain formal characteristic of sanitary ware from those who made it successful on the market. In our opinion, the credit in this case belongs to Ceramica VAVID. With the series (pictured here) Mediterranea, the ceramic house broke new formal ground, later copied by many other sanitaryware companies. Its rectangular shape is embellished with a detail that is not only aesthetic but also of great practical interest. In fact, the designers of the ceramics company inserted a riser in the back of the bowl with the precise intention of preventing the natural ‘dirt’ that is clearly present in bathrooms from getting in the back and helping to keep the bathroom floor clean and tidy. In the ’70s and ’80s when it was introduced it was a great success with the public. It was produced not only in white, but also in champagne and grey. You can find Mediterranea toilet seat covers in the Sintesibagno store at the following link [ Clik HERE ]
Mediterranea was the mass-market series (in a previous post we saw its future competitors coming in the ’80s: “Sanitaryware from the 80s and 90s. Finding the toilet seat cover” (TESI, SINTESI and CLODIA), Orientale represented the company’s lux line. A large and important sanitary, but also made like its smaller relative with the ingenious, very practical rear elevation. It was also produced in WHITE, CHAMPAGNE and GREY. All toilet seats can be found in the store at the following link [ Clik HERE ]
Ceramica Cesame and the SYMBOL series
We have already seen the creative ability of this Sicilian company: CESAME. Capable of best sellers of the calibre of: ARETUSA, SINTESI and BELLA EPOQUE. With Symbol, the ceramic house shows its ceramic craftsmanship at its best. It also offers the back step, but embellishes it with details almost embroidered into the figure. It is a large sanitary ware and in fact the toilet seat cover measures an impressive 47.5/48 cm, and was produced in champagne, deer and pink in addition to white. You can find Symbol toilet seat covers in the store at the following link [ Clik HERE ]
Ceramica Catalano – the ZERO 54 and ZERO+ series
The Lux series of the Zero Programme of the Civita Castellana-based company. It was the beginning of the 2000s and together with all the other series that made up this project Catalano made a name for itself in the world of design. Zero+ is the most important from a formal point of view. Important dimensions, suitable for large bathrooms. We are talking about sanitary ware with a width of a good 40 cm, so certainly not suitable for small bathrooms. They have been out of production for a few years now, but their original toilet seats are available in the store at the following link [ Clik HERE ]. A dedicated variant is available in case you want to save money on the purchase of the toilet seat at the following link [ Clik HERE ]
A few years earlier the company proposed Zero 54. And the credit for the success of the whole programme is, in our opinion, its own. Both in the floor-standing version we see in the photo and in the wall-hung version, the characterising element is the rear step. This Zero version has been out of production for some time, however, the version in wrap-around thermoset is available in the store at the following link [ Clik HERE ] and a dedicated version in polyester-coated wood at the following link [ Clik HERE ]
Ceramica AXA the ONE series
It is one of our favourite modern ceramic series. It took very little to make the figure of a modern, streamlined floor vase different from all the competition’s. Axa has succeeded in doing this by adding a small aesthetic detail, which also becomes functional, drawing inspiration from past ceramic stories, but still personalising it. That small rear elevation embellishes the typical shape of this type of sanitary ware and above all prevents impurities typical of toilets from reaching the wall and ‘stagnating’ there, making it easier to clean! Axa One is beautiful and useful! A further aesthetic advantage generated by the step is that once the toilet seat is fitted, the top of the seat will be perfectly aligned with the step itself, creating a very refined continuous plane. On this toilet seat we recommend the use of the original toilet seat (although a cheaper replica is available in the store), first of all for a perfect aesthetic result, and secondly because the toilet seat itself falls into the special 24.5/25 cm centre distance category. The original toilet seat can be found in the Sintesibagno store at the following link [ Clik HERE ]
Ceramica Pozzi Ginori TOWER series
One of the last ceramic series produced by Pozzi Ginori before the well-known ceramic brand was incorporated into the Swiss multinational GEBERIT. We have told you the story of Pozzi Ginori in many posts. This fantastic company has written the history of sanitary ceramics and bathroom furnishings since the early 1900s. Even as a company it has had phases of great splendour and some less shining moments, but we can say that it has always been there. Its year zero has us (although its productions date back many years earlier) like to make it start with the birth of MONTEBIANCO.
We described it well in the post : ”And then comes ‘Montebianco’ Classic/antique sanitary ware and their toilet seats” where we saw that his design was created by Guido Andlovitz as far back as 1925 and all the ceramic series he later inspired. He came of age (in a commercial and productive sense) when he met ANTONIA CAMPI. Perhaps the most florid creative period, in the post: ”Antonia CAMPI. The incredible Lavenite, Richard Ginori and Pozzi Ginori sanitary ware series designed by her and their toilet seat covers.” we have seen series of sanitary ware and their incredible toilet covers: TORENA, SQUARE, CONCHIGLIA, TABOR and IPSILON. Also from the ’70s is the sanitary production of hits such as ITALICA, ITALO DUO and PIEMONTESINA we saw it in the post: ”Pozzi Ginori sanitaryware old square models. Square, Italica and Italo duo which toilet seat cover is correct?” Then we took a big leap (we are talking twenty years) and arrived at the mature and shining age of meeting ANTONIO CITTERIO. We dedicated no less than three posts to this period: ”Antonio Citterio and the partnership with Pozzi-Ginori. Legendary ceramic series and their toilet seats.” , “Pozzi Ginori sanitaryware: the series of the modern era and their covers. (part 1)” and “Pozzi Ginori sanitaryware: the series of the modern era today and their covers. (part 2)” and we discovered that from the end of the first decade of the 2000s there was a production of best-sellers that reached the golden age of the ’70s and ’80s. One after another came to light: EASY, JOIN new, JOIN old, 500, 900, Citterio, EGG and Q3. Its intermediate phase, which in terms of time we place between the late 1980s and early 2000s, we recounted in the post: “La produzione Pozzi Ginori anni ’90. Pre-artistic direction Citterio and after the success of Italo, Square, Italica, Piemontesina” where we discovered: YDRA, LINEA, FANTASIA, IDEA, OASI and COLIBRI’. TOWER seems to us to be a fitting finale to a more than 100-year history of ceramic and commercial success. A rectangular-shaped sanitary ware with the step we mentioned in this post at the back. Once again Pozzi Ginori goes one step further than all its competitors. It produces a toilet seat cover that in the mould shows the step, thus accentuating the formal rigour of the whole figure! The original toilet seat cover with slow-motion hinges for this WC can be found in the Sintesibagno store at the following link [ Clik HERE ]
