Posted on: November 19, 2007
A Waterfall Of Possibilities
A shower isn't simply just a shower any longer. Step into these mini, stand-up spas for peace, healing and touch of luxury
By Gretchen Roberts
CTW Features
Whatever your pleasure – light, fragrance, color, water pressure – there is a showerhead made just for you. Image courtesy Kohler Co.
Increasingly, time-crunched homeowners are using the bathroom as a room of refuge from work, home and technology demands. A stand-up spa environment in the shower includes everything from rain and color to scent, proving that the shower isn’t strictly utilitarian anymore. “Anything you like about the spa, you can pretty much have in your own bathroom,” says Araya Jensen, CKD, a designer for Crystal Kitchen Center and Design-Build in Crystal, Minn.
Awash In Color
Chromatherapy, a centuries-old alternative medicine treatment, uses color to cure diseases (think blue light for infant jaundice or full-spectrum light to ease seasonal affective disorder). Applied in the shower, a special color panel will turn your shower environment any color you like – such as blue if you want a calming experience, or red if you need an invigorating wake-me-up shower, Jensen says.
“Kohler just introduced a water tile called ‘ambient rain’ that integrates LED lighting with the water,” she says. “Chromatherapy is already used in whirlpool tubs, but now it’s available in several showering systems.”
Aromatic Water
Forget buying scented soaps: Breathe in healing scents with water-based aromatherapy. Prefab steam showers often come with special nozzles, such as the Mr. Steam Aroma Steamhead, that distributes scented oils like lavender, citrus, or eucalyptus to help you relax, rejuvenate, and stay alert.
For the shower, specially made showerheads may include aromatherapy cartridges, such as the TheraShower system, which allows you to insert an aroma capsule into the showerhead so the scent filters around you as you scrub off.
Invisible Doors
Without the standard clunky metal frame, frameless doors allow you to see the beauty inside – especially important if you have high-end tile or other gorgeous features in your shower. “Frameless doors give you a clean, detailed look in the bathroom,” says Abby Buford, a spokesperson for Lowe’s Home Improvement. “They are a very popular option right now.’”
Home Spa
“The spa feel is very in right now,” Jensen says. “We do a lot of calming tans and browns and whites, and tone-on-tone textures, which are classic colors in a bathroom. After you’ve created that spa-like base, you can add color and accents to make it your own.”
Beyond colors, “anything goes,” Jensen says. “A towel-warming drawer, a steam-free mirror, an adjustable-height, self-cleaning vanity, even a small refrigerator so you can relax with a glass of wine at the end of the day.”