Bringing the Essence of a Day Spa Home to Your Bathroom

(ARA) – In today’s fast-paced society, more people are searching for the perfect escape from the stresses of juggling work, family and other responsibilities. While some head to spas for much-needed relaxation, others want to be able to unwind in the privacy of their own homes. Enter the home spa – a new trend and comforting retreat that’s as close as your master bathroom and far away from life’s stresses.

Bath product manufacturers are making it easier to bring home the serenity of the spa lifestyle and its health benefits. The comfort revolution that began decades ago with the introduction of personal whirlpools now extends throughout the bathroom. Today, you can enjoy the amenities of a five-star spa in your own home thanks to new, customizable fixtures and products that turn an ordinary bathroom into a haven.

Define Your Space
Less is more when it comes to planning a home spa. This is good news for those who think their bathroom may be too small or too large for spa-like fixtures and fittings.

Bathroom product manufacturers like Porcher offer minimalist and modular solutions for bringing serenity to spaces of any size. Porcher’s Tetsu Collection – a Japanese word for ‘peace’ – features exotic natural woods from Africa and the Orient with its collection of furniture, fixtures, accessories and tub surrounds. For example, pre-assembled Tetsu wall-hung units have cabinet doors that open to reveal large grooming mirrors and smaller cosmetic mirrors. The furniture also has built-in plumbing for lavatories or vessel sinks that can be accented with sleek wall-mounted faucets. This means there’s no need to tear down and rebuild existing walls.

The key to creating your personal bath retreat is to reduce clutter by selecting products with clean, smooth surfaces. The quieter and more organized the design, the calmer you’ll make the environment. One idea: select built-in storage whenever possible. Choices run the gamut from the woody warmth of a Scandinavian-styled sauna to minimal, Zen-inspired spaces outfitted with sleek, modular bath furniture.

Indulge in Special Comforts

The comfort culture in the home spa includes small and big indulgences – everything from soft furniture to wall-mounted towel warmers to built-in sound systems. Porcher’s Tetsu Collection, for example, features a comfortable chair with built-in storage and a removable cushion that flips over to become a tray for holding aromatherapy candles or placing a cup of herbal tea.

You can also incorporate other creature comforts into your home spa. Affordable, ultra-thin electric systems offer luxury underfoot by providing radiant heat through stone and tile floors. Customized shower units and tubs with multiple adjustable massaging water-jet heads or hand-held units provide all sorts of hydrotherapy options, as do classic Japanese soaking tubs. Built-in shower seats of various shapes and sizes add yet another level of comfort to the well-designed spa bath. Of course, oils, bath salts and plush towels and robes round out the spa experience.

Set the Mood

Proper lighting that can adapt to the mood and time of day is a must in the home spa. Consider easy-to-install dimmer lights or chromotherapy, a new option that’s available in some tubs, shower systems and sinks. Chromotherapy products shine streams of changing color hues and intensities through standing and running water. Painting (or resurfacing) the bathroom walls in a soothing color, such as a watery blue or a soft green, also changes the mood with a few simple strokes. But there’s a reason why white remains a classic for hygienic and healthful spaces. It inevitably clears the mind.

Escape and Enjoy

Wellness and well-being are in style. But living well doesn’t necessarily mean living large. Today’s relaxing bath environment is a place where it’s possible to appreciate and achieve all of the luxuries that contribute to physical and emotional fitness. Fortunately, in today’s market, there’s something to suit nearly every need, preference and budget when it comes to creating your own home spa.

Courtesy of ARA Content

EDITOR’S NOTE:Judith Nasatir is a well-known writer and editor whose work has been published in numerous American and international publications about design, architecture and decorating. For more information, please contact Kelly Epley at (312) 951-8392 or kepley@clynch.com.