As the Lead Industrial Designer at GWA Group for Caroma, Luke Di Michiel spends most of his days inside Caroma’s Design & Innovation Centre on the outskirts of Sydney. It’s a space that feels almost like a laboratory, halfway between a workshop and office, where ideas come to life. On the other side of the building you’ll find the national distribution centre, a reminder that everything developed here will eventually make its way out into the real world: into homes and buildings where they will be used for years to come.
Luke Di Michiel, Lead Industrial Designer at GWA Group for Caroma.
It’s this connection, the fact that every design has an impact, that has kept Luke at Caroma for 21 years, having joined the team straight out of university. His early years were spent learning from industry leaders like Dr Steve Cummings, understanding the intricacies of dual-flush technology, flow rates and the details that inform the performance of every bathroom.
Plenty has changed in two decades, but one challenge persists: many bathrooms are still designed as if our bodies never change. As if we won’t all experience a moment where reaching out to grab a rail wouldn’t minimise a fall. Whether it’s because of ageing or an injury, we usually don’t think about these things until after we need them.
“Often, you plan a need at the time the need presents… then you’re in scramble mode.”
These patterns appear in daily life, too. “I haven’t put the grab rails in at home yet,” Luke admits. “But I’ve got three young kids and when I’m helping them in and out of the bath, I grab the vanity to steady myself.”
It’s instinct, so why aren’t we designing bathrooms that can support every life stage?
Lived experience as a design tool
When people experience Caroma’s Age Lab, they begin to realise this. With weighted vests, stiff gloves and goggles that simulate the visual and physical challenges many face daily, like arthritis and sciatica, the Age Lab mimics what it can be like when the ability to perform a simple task changes. For specifiers, these insights often translate into considerations like clearances and product height, fall-prevention and contrast for low vision.
“It starts a discussion and it creates empathy… It gets people to think about their role in helping others.”
Once there’s an understanding of how different people navigate a bathroom, the next step is considering how that plays out at scale. “There’s always a practical approach and we always put ourselves in the shoes of designers and architects. Then, for a plumber, how are they going to install these products? What can we do to make it easier for them?”
Rethinking bathroom hardware
Luke has seen similar realisations at Caroma’s research sessions. Participants have openly shared how they steady themselves by using whatever is close, whether it’s a wall or vanity. It’s a common theme: the need exists, but isn’t always acknowledged or accepted.
“How do you go from thinking really reactively, to proactively?”
It’s these types of insights and thinking that shaped the development of Caroma’s universal accessories.
A decade ago, support rails sat in a category of their own. They were functional, but aesthetics were usually an afterthought and it created a stigma that still lingers. Now, Luke says that thinking has changed for good. Support doesn’t have to look like support; it can be hidden in plain sight. More than meeting compliance, it enables independence.
Collections made for life
It’s this balance that excites Luke most in his work today. Collections are carefully put together to sit within modern bathroom designs, while adding a level of care and consideration for the future. A grab rail can often double as a towel rail, and accessories have the same glow as the rest, whether it’s brushed brass or gunmetal.
It all comes back to helping create spaces that are made for life, today and tomorrow.
“I’m always thinking, how can this all come together as a beautiful bathroom collection? There are so many decisions to be made in a bathroom, it can be quite daunting. To be able to support customers in that selection process, that's why I do what I do.”
