We ask a lot of our bathrooms. They have to function well and wash, flush and drain away the day for us. Even more than our bedroom, the bathroom is where we retreat to when we need to shut out the world and find some precious “me” time. They hold and they hide our secrets in the form of lotions and potions and much like Las Vegas, what happens in the bathroom, stays in the bathroom.
More often now, we are creating spaces that are more like in-home spas than anything resembling an ordinary bathroom. The original formula called for a sink, tub/shower and toilet where today, the additional options invite you to linger a while as you wash away the day.
A Moen Remodeling Sentiment Survey conducted this year finds more people are choosing to stay in their homes and make changes rather than move. Almost 80% of respondents said they planned to tackle a renovation project with the most attention put on bathrooms.
“Bathroom remodels were more popular than kitchens, due to the smaller investment required and multiple bathrooms per home”, explains Jack Suvak, Senior Director of Marketing for Moen.
After the kitchen, the bathroom is where the owner will make most or all of their money back when the home eventually goes up for sale. A very dated or non-functioning bathroom screams “neglect” to prospective buyers.
Homeowners are knocking out walls and even giving up precious closet space in order to create the bathroom of their dreams. Size really does matter. The typical shower measures 36” by 36” but renovators are devoting more space to showers, doubling or even tripling the length and sometimes eliminating a bathtub altogether.
You should spend more time enjoying your space and less time cleaning it. Those once-popular sliding doors can have all sorts of nooks, crannies and moving parts that catch soap scum and are hard to scrub. Some spa-like showers have a simple, glass half-door or no door at all, if the size and layout allow for it.
Perhaps you’d like to sit a while and enjoy the rhythmic sound of the drops. Shower benches are becoming very popular. In some cases they’re wise additions for safety but for many, it’s just a matter of wanting to relax a while, albeit not in a tub full of water. The shower is one of the rare places where a smartphone or tablet isn’t welcome although I’m sure someone at Apple is working on the iPad Submersible. Until then you can be reasonably sure that you won’t have to peck out an email while showering. Some homeowners choose to build a bench into the structure of the shower. Others place a wooden bench, likely teak, inside. Teak is admired for its ability to withstand frequent soakings.
A change in showerhead can greatly alter the experience of soaping up and rinsing down but spa-like showers can go horizontal, too. Body spray units installed in the walls hit you with soothing water from angles other than above. Showerhead sprays range from gentle rain to pulsating pulverization. Even though the new space is part spa, functionality doesn’t need to be compromised. Hand-held shower options get down and dirty when the dog, or a mud-puddle-jumping child, needs cleaning up.
Materials used for shower-spas are as varied as the options for faucets and showerheads. From tile, glass, stone and concrete to brushed nickel, chrome or brass, it’s a full buffet of choices.
And then there’s the faucet style, whether you want contemporary, traditional, squared-off or rounded, it’s a mind-boggling selection. Far be it from me or anyone else to tell you what you must have in your personal bathroom oasis but allow me to strongly suggest one addition to your shopping list: a Do Not Disturb hanger for the bathroom door.