The new flagship Moben, Sharps and Dolphin showroom at Tunnel Estate Retail Park, West Thurrock, has opened its doors for the first time at 10am on Friday 30th July following the obligatory ‘cutting of the red ribbon’ by the company’s new CEO, Chris Pavlosky.

Representing a new era for the Thurrock store, which has relocated from its previous premises where it was based for the past 20 years, the new £1m showroom showcases an impressive nine kitchen, eight bedroom and eight bathroom sets.

With a lease of ten years, this 5,000 sq ft showroom has created 10 new jobs in the area, and features sets of the very latest ranges including the Ellipse kitchen, Pure bedroom and Venus bathroom. Each of these designs were inspired and styled by Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, who is working with the three brands on new product launches and who appears throughout the new Thurrock showroom with his expert advice on designing beautiful kitchens, bedrooms and bathrooms.  

Peter Welsh, Retail Operations Director, comments: “The launch of this latest flagship store is exciting for Thurrock and for Moben, Sharps and Dolphin. The previous store had been hugely successful which is why such a large investment has been made to showcase the very best in kitchen, bedroom and bathroom design.

“We had a fantastic launch event yesterday and it was great to have the support of our CEO too. The team is very much looking forward to greeting our first customers and we hope that they are suitably impressed by what this showroom has to offer Essex and the surrounding areas.”

The new showroom’s address is Tunnel Estate Retail Park, Weston Avenue, West Thurrock RM20 3LP.

Sets on display:

Moben: Paris Ellipse, Sorrento, Ascot (includes Ascot Blue period colour), Geneva, Ripple, Edwardian, Harrogate, Urban Olive and Studio.
 
Sharps: Cosmopolitan Aubergine, Pure White, Malmo Walnut, Home Office, Highline, Urban Olive, Concerto and Latitude.
 
Dolphin: Inferno, Wave, Venus, Victoriana, Neptune, Mercury Plus, Ignite and Cube.

Styled by Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen

 Homeowners are set to fall in love with their bathrooms this season thanks to the launch of the new Venus bathroom collection from specialists Dolphin.

At the heart of range is a stunning freestanding paintable bath which comes in a six charming colours – burgundy (pictured above), matt silver (pictured on next page), taupe, , powder blue, duck egg green, and white – so the look can personalised to suit every taste and home.

Venus is the perfect place to relax and unwind at the end of a long day but also shows how with careful planning, a bathroom can be made multifunctional. Behind the wall, there is a spacious shower area, which features a new waterfall showerhead to add a further touch of luxury to this scheme whilst doubling as a very practical solution for busy mornings when a quick, invigorating shower is called for.

Also new from Dolphin is the glamorous range of Galaxy mosaic tiles – shown here is the shimmery black and silver, providing a striking backdrop to the freestanding bath. Available in a total of five colour options, this is just another way in which you can put your own personal stamp on the Venus bathroom.

The chic wenge washstand with elegant elliptical sit-on basin and cascade effect tap completes this trend-led yet highly versatile bathroom.

Dolphin’s new brand ambassador and interior designer Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen comments: “The central theme of the Venus is bathroom is about giving homeowners the ability to truly express themselves. The bath featured within the Venus design is a very, very nice piece of design. It’s elegant, makes reference to historical shapes but it also has a defined sense of modernity about it too. With the colour options you can personalise the look by selecting the bath colour and tile options too.

“Venus represents for me how people need to see baths in a whole new light. People simply love the idea of the bath and it is a key feature I think should remain in the majority of situations. However, I understand that bathrooms need to fulfil different roles and Venus shows how it is possible to combine both a practical stylish shower area with a fabulous freestanding bath, providing you think outside of the box.
“Styling wise, this scheme is about unadulterated glamour. The bath speaks volumes and the tiles add sparkle, so the rest of the room needs to balance this out with more understated colours and a few accessories, such as a baroque mirror and a textured rug, to cosy the whole look up.”

Moben Kitchens, Sharps Bedrooms and Dolphin Bathrooms have unveiled their new ambassador - renowned interior designer Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen.

Bringing his own unique style to all three brands, Laurence now provides inspiration and styling advice when it comes to new kitchen, bedroom and bathroom product introductions and is featuring throughout the marketing programme, unveiled to customers for the first time on Tuesday, 22nd June 2010.

All new photography of new ranges launched by Moben, Sharps and Dolphin will be styled by Laurence himself and a part of his role will be as a style consultant for all three brands, working with the new product development teams. Sitting alongside the existing brand experts, Laurence will be available for comment on the inspiration behind new products, style advice and trend predictions on the three brands behalf.

Laurence also has a dedicated ‘trends and inspiration’ page on all three websites – www.moben.co.uk, www.sharps.co.uk, www.dolphinbathrooms.co.uk – featuring his detailed insights into the design inspiration behind each new range introduced, styling tips and a look ahead to what trends will be leading kitchen, bedroom and bathroom design over the months ahead.

Furthermore, Laurence will also be embarking on a ten day showroom tour, visiting a total of 20 Moben, Sharps and Dolphin showrooms across the country this autumn. Consumers will be able to meet Laurence and hear all about the latest trends and product launches, with dates to be confirmed soon.

A close working relationship

Commenting on his new role with Moben, Sharps and Dolphin, Laurence said: “I have been working with Moben on the TV advertisement voiceovers for a while but it soon became clear there was a great deal of potential in becoming an ambassador for all three brands.

“My real remit with Moben, Sharps and Dolphin is to inject even more personality into these products and make sure that customers can truly ‘see’ the product within their own home. I can come up with the big, broad-brushstroke ideas that can take all three brands to an even more design-inspired position. I want to further inspire the design team, encourage them never to hold back on creativity and share my enthusiasm of this wonderful business.”

With regards to the existing product portfolio as well as the new ranges soon to be introduced, Laurence is excited about the potential all three brands have to offer the kitchen, bedroom and bathroom market.

“Moben, Sharps and Dolphin all have a reputation for quality, reliability and dependability, and I want to build on that. These days, it is no longer about playing the property market – it’s about making your home a home again. There is a now real hunger to have more personalised products. By working with these three great brands, I feel I can bring more personality to their beautifully engineered, thoughtful and well-designed furniture.”