Accessories supplier Forbes & Lomax is one of the companies that has helped contribute to this revolution. Established in 1988 by interior designer Serena Herbert, the company has a history of designing innovative accessories. Probably best known for its invisible light switches, its range is continually expanding. The company has recently added two new products to its range, exhibited for the first time at the 100% Design exhibition in London in September.
The invisible dimming system is based on a similar principle to the company's invisible switches: a four channel dimmer is set in a transparent plate that allows the wall finish to show through. The system is connected to normal mains wiring and lighting levels can be changed at the touch of a button or by remote control. The company has also launched frosted switches and sockets, which allow a muted version of the wall colour to show.
This is not the only company to be experimenting with modern takes on wiring accessories. Wandsworth Electrical is another that has developed a wide range of innovative accessories. Like Forbes & Lomax, it has developed an invisible plate made of clear acrylic, which allows the wall colour behind to shine through.
Wandsworth's other ranges use more traditional materials like brass, but it is the way that these are used that makes the designs special. While the ranges include traditional period designs like Georgian rope edging, the plates are, nonetheless, slim and stylish. Even products such as the Victorian range, intended to sit happily in period houses, have been modernised by cutting-edge materials like polished steel and copper.
Perhaps the company's most directional range is Profile. The shape is classic, but features such as the depth and texture of the plates give the products an industrial-style edge. The plates are only 1·5 mm deep and come in four different textures: the pleated and woven styles have a contoured design; the stippled and chequered a more subtle etched pattern.
Suzie Mitchell, of the marketing team at Wandsworth Electrical, explains the company launched Profile in response to changing switch aesthetics. "The range was developed because we felt there was a need for more interesting and contemporary switches – something a little different, and something to take our accessories range forward into the 21st century." Mitchell agrees that there's a growing market fuelled by the public's new-found interest in design: "The interest in the finer details was always there among architects and interior designers. Still, people are starting to realise that interior design isn't just for the professionals, it is something they can do themselves to improve their living environments."
Cheaper chic?
Although Mitchell concedes that Profile is mainly "aimed at interior designers and the upper-end of the private/domestic market, due to its highly contemporary nature", the new interest in funky fittings is not simply the preserve of the wiring accessories equivalents to Prada and Chanel. Major volume suppliers like MK Electric and MEM 250 have developed ranges that are innovative and design conscious. These fittings are aesthetically more attractive than standard units, with innovative shapes and finishes.
MK's Edge range is a modern take on switch and socket plates. Ultra-slim with high quality finishes, the wiring accessories are certainly a departure from the traditional white moulded variety.
Like Wandsworth's Profile range, MK's Edge is only 1·5 mm thick. Seven different metal and paint finishes are available, from highly polished brass, chrome and bronze to metallic silver, brushed stainless steel, matt black or white. MK's latest addition to the range sees a return of the good old toggle switch, offering a traditional alternative for contemporary interior decors.
Legrand has also launched a range that ties in with the modern trend towards sleek looks. Its Mosaic range is a modular system with five different finishes of faceplate and a contoured profile.
Clip-on covers mean that there are no unsightly screws and if you want to change your decor, changing the covers to suit couldn't be easier.
Rainbow bright
The MEM 250 range is undoubtedly the most colourful. Called Ultra, the accessories are available in eight standard finishes, including stainless steel, highly polished and polished brass, but they can also be ordered in a choice of 180 different RAL colours, and in bespoke shapes. The customer pays a flat fee of £75 to have a template produced, but can then make as many copies of the original as are needed at minimal additional cost.
With design elements worthy of bespoke accessories, but at a fraction of the cost, Frank Sawyers, product manager at MEM 250 believes that it is tapping into a market with huge potential. "It offers an alternative. We had a desire as a manufacturer to widen the range of styles and finishes available. Any flat plate shape is possible provided it fits a standard box," he confirms.
While MEM 250 will continue to focus mainly on selling its products to electrical contractors, there are plans in the pipeline to expand the customer base.
"We are looking to other ways of attracting a wider audience. We're hoping to get the range introduced to a major DIY chain to reach the customers directly," said Sawyers, adding: "Electrical contractors are not really interested in putting in luxury items if not specified to do so. We need to make them aware of what's available."
A brave new future?
Will this wave continue to grow, or will the interest in designer accessories bottom out eventually? It seems almost inconceivable that the home improvement boom will last forever, and with a global slowdown now occurring, it's usually luxury items that are the first to go.
Sawyers is optimistic, however, that the consumer interest in such products will remain buoyant: "I don't think price will be a reason for not having them: there will be certain people who are prepared to pay extra for luxury fittings."
Whatever the future for designer wiring accessories, right now the manufacturers feel that there's a market for this kind of product. The development of the accessories is good news for consumers, who are being given a range of alternatives to the standard fittings – provided they can pay for them. Anyone involved in the installation of these products needs to be aware of the alternatives that exist.
And, of course, it's good news for the Changing Rooms designers, who I'm sure would get rid of the white moulded switches if they could.
Source
Electrical and Mechanical Contractor