Space Saving Solutions

(Pictured above - a windowless bedroom featuring Timage materials and lighting to create space)

The team at Timage has a broad experience of our products, the incredibly varied customer base we enjoy and quite a cultural spread. You’re probably aware from our About Us section of the homepage that the company has Italian heritage and most of our products come from that neck of the woods. The northern lake region of Lombardy is rightly famous for its boat making history and the link to boat design is where I come in.

My own experience with Timage began as a customer when I joined the design office of a leading UK manufacturer of luxury powerboats. This followed my qualification as an Industrial Designer and I was looking to put into practice my learning of modern production methods, materials, styling, market-fit and ergonomics. Alongside the proposals for new profiles and layouts for these boats, I needed access to the right components to bring the new designs to fruition. Parts that worked well, looked right and were going to last. And thus, my dialogue with Timage started, a dialogue that is still unfinished 33 years later. In this time the designs have evolved, the markets changed, and the boats became larger [as indeed the challenges did too!] The yachts became more international, the appeal more global and the customer base more diverse. For the last 4 years though, my Timage relationship has changed and I now sit on the other side of the desk, working as part of their team. That desk is either in our HQ in Essex or at my base in Northamptonshire, as I work with the rest of the team to serve our marine and architectural clients.

Once a boat designer, always a boat designer. It seems to reflect in an approach to problem solving, however far from the sea. A boat can be a complex product, in fact really a collection of products that are all packed into a [hopefully] harmonious and well-functioning envelope. Whether you are creating a light comfortable space, a working galley kitchen or a washroom that should look appropriate in a top-rated hotel, it happens to shake about and move at around 40 mph.

The sea is not a forgiving place to a sub-standard fitting. That is where the Timage doctrine comes into force. Everything is Marine Grade.

(Pictured above - our folding mixer tap)

So maybe I look at something a little differently. I would hope I can really help you if you would like to resolve any area of a boat, above or below decks. But we are seeing how versatile this approach can be to the non-marine sector: hotel design, wellness spa, residential, automotive & motorhome. In my mind, marine grade can never be a negative, it is our minimum standard. But boat design can bring about considerations that can shed new light on a potential solution. No boat is ever large enough, we all want more space to enjoy or fit more equipment and features. This often means we find space saving solutions and ways of getting dual function out of a particular area. A fold away bed, a hidden washstand and tap, a lounge or dining seating area that converts to a bed/sunbed, a hidden kitchen. We have all seen the boutique hotel room featuring a tub or sink in the sleeping area but why not hide it from view; better to not look past the tap to see the TV? These areas also work when our components are outside or poolside too.

Quite often it is not just about freeing up space and getting elbow room, it is about dealing with the sense of space brought by materials and lighting. A yacht cabin may lack any daylight by virtue of position in the boat, and we’ve had clients looking to get yield from a broom cupboard. We can’t necessarily make the room physically larger, but we can provide textured wall linings and hidden colour-adjustable mood lighting that can change the ambience and give a sense of wellbeing; softening the environment, even setting the tone for the time of day. 

Let us take a look at your next project and see if we can shed a new light, for space saving, quality fittings or illumination. Often a small fitting request turns into a far more advantageous solution, where we can make proposals that just may exceed your expectations. Maybe there’s a bit of boat design you are yet to discover?