Above image: Maison Valentina’s Koi Bathtub and freestanding basins.

As we hurtle with breakneck speed towards the merriest day of the year, it is so often the colours of the festive season that first signal that Christmas is coming. Red and green hues of varying degrees of garishness begin to assault the senses as early as October, appearing in tinsel and fairy lights and every incarnation imaginable – yet there is one colour that has elegantly communicated the spirit of Christmas year after year.

Biblically speaking, gold has been present in the celebration of Christmas from the very beginning, as one of the tributes given to the newborn Christ by the Wise Men. Tradition aside, gold brings a warmth and rich lustre wherever it appears, and it is for this reason that it has endured as an eye-catching decorative aspect in interior styling.

Maison Valentina’s extravagant Luxury Bathroom collection blows the concept of lavish golden bling out of proportion, with a range of standalone bathroom pieces fit for a modern day Cleopatra. Or perhaps Liberace, or Beyoncé – anyone with expensive taste and a keen eye for the indulgent glimmer of gold.

The otherworldly Diamond bathtub appears hewn from black kryptonite, the kind of tub you might imagine a futuristic Batman to take a dip in. With the golden tub element just visible over the onyx-like exterior, the Diamond bathtub will certainly create a luxe focal point in any bathroom. The Diamond range includes a matching single washbasin.

The Lapiaz range, including freestanding washbasin and bathtub, is a singularly artistic concept made from polished brass, mirror and laquer. Depicting the aesthetic quality of irregularity by gilding a ‘crack’ in the tub, Lapiaz is a sculptural study of contrasts: of the organic gold ripple against the perfect cuboid form of the tub exterior.

The playful Newton washbasin and tub range seems to spring forth from the ground itself; an impossible effervescent fizz of polished black and gold bubbles, somehow forming functional bathroom objects in its wake. This is perhaps Maison Valentina’s most fantastical line, subverting accepted notions of form and practicality in creating imaginative, almost cartoon-like pieces – objects that would be right at home in a surreal Hayao Miyazaki anime.

Though Maison Valentina’s over-the-top collection is perhaps not a realistic option for us mere mortals, at this time of year we are all entitled to a wish list, aren’t we?