A steam bath is not the same thing as a sauna. Each has their ups and downs, but both are therapeutic and medicinal. The steam room is the one where the heat is carried on thick clouds of mist emitted from steam heads, and although it might feel more intense than a sauna at first, it is actually a little bit cooler.
[caption id="attachment_969" align="aligncenter" width="384" caption="Steam Room in Master Bathroom"][/caption]
Your steam shower at home must be sealed in by vapo...
Deluxe showers blend the luxurious experience of a spa with the convenience and speed needed for a hectic lifestyle, offering a more realistic way to enjoy a little R&R even if you're on the go. In 2014, many homeowners are turning their attention to showers rather than bathtubs or whirlpools, focusing on big, bold, spa-like designs to create elegant, sun-soaked spaces. Many of the most innovative and unusual shower designs are becoming mainstream choices, so if you're planning a major remodel this year, it might be worth giving one of them a try.
I think that heat+water is possibly the best combination ever devised, excluding the summer in the deep south. Other than that, you name it - hot baths, hot showers, steam baths, saunas, hot springs - and I love it. I'm not alone, either. Most of the rest of the world has and uses public steam baths and saunas, often every day. Even throughout the history of this country, hot springs have been believed to have positive medicinal effects. Truth be told, heat+waters is a pretty magical combination for your health, which is why private steam baths and saunas are starting to become common even in our quick shower in the morning culture. But what do they do for you that's so great?
Good For Your Heart
[caption id="attachment_4294" align="aligncenter" width="275"]steam shower. Steam showers offer all the functionality of a whole-scale custom shower while totally eliminating all the major expenses that typically put such an upgrade out of reach.
[caption id="attachment_4304" align="aligncenter" width="400"]Whirlpool tubs were at the forefront of luxury bathroom design for years, but these days the focus is all on showers. Multi-sprayer custom showers and sprawling steam showers are more conductive to a busy lifestyle, and steam showers especially come with a whole host of health benefits you can enjoy in quick 15 minute chunks. But plumbing, tiling, and constructing a custom shower - or especially a steam shower - from scratch can be e...
Steam showers and saunas are often talked about in the same breath, lumped together as a heat-based, health-beneficial spa treatment that you can install in your home. But the similarities between the two essentially stop there: the experience of using them is different, the health benefits are different, and even the installation, construction, and cost vary widely. So today I want to clear up a little of the misinformation out there and take an honest look at the factors you should consider when choosing between the two.
Small bathrooms often get the short end of the stick when it comes to availability of luxury upgrades. After all, it's hard to have a big, sweeping shower stall when your bathroom itself is neither big nor sweeping. Ditto for a roomy soaking tub or whirlpool. In bathrooms where there isn't much space to spare, you either have to choose between having a shower or a bathtub, or combine them into a single unit. All too often, that means boring acrylic bathtub shower combination that doesn't feel very luxurious at all. Thankfully, there is an alternative. Steam shower units take up about as much space as a conventional shower/tub, but come with all the luxury features you'd usually need a much larger space to accommodate.
There are two kinds of people in this world: people who wash, and people who bathe. If you're the latter, you probably know what I mean. Whether you're taking a hot shower or a luxurious bubble bath, it isn't just about getting in, getting out, and getting clean. For bathers, the journey (the long soak, the relaxation) trumps the destination (merely getting clean). Now, as a huge fan and advocate of opulent bathrooms and home spas, I'm absolutely in love with the growing popularity of freestanding tubs - especially the trend of putting them in the middle of the room instead of sticking them against a wall.
Advantages of Freestanding Tubs
There are a lot of luxuries, big and small, that you can cram into your bathroom. It's one of the easiest places in your home to indulge. From whirlpool tubs to custom showers, to soaking tubs<...
In my line of work, you see a lot of really beautiful bathrooms, from vintage to ultra modern and everything in between. But there's one design I don't see very often, despite the fact that I fall in love with it all over again every time I do - in floor tubs. These are regular drop in tubs that, instead of being installed in a frame, mount, or deck, are installed directly into the floor, so you can step down into your tub from floor level. This creates a beautiful, unusual, spa-like look that will add a major wow factor to your bathroom.
[caption id="attachment_4648" align="aligncenter" width="499"]bathroom design trends are beginning to converge: bigger bathrooms, luxury master suites, an emphasis on simplicity and creature comfort. Taken together, they show a clear trend towards master bathrooms strongly influenced by spas and high end hotels. But even with the simple, open floor plan and emphasis on luxurious natural materials in mind, there are more than a few options when it comes to choosing the major fixtures for a spa style bathroom.
bathroom vanities that can set the mood for a totally different ty...
Spa style master bathrooms have become hugely popular in recent years and are a great way to make a master bathroom that little bit more indulgent and relaxing. But while many of these bathrooms have a distinctly Nordic influence, lately homeowners have been looking farther east for inspiration. The simple, zen-like vibe of Asian inspired bathrooms meshes well with the trend toward natural, open bathroom spaces, but this style has its own distinct sense of elegance.
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Big, luxurious, walk-in showers have become one of the most desirable features in bathroom design. They're convenient enough to use even if you have a busy schedule and scale remarkably well to the size of your bathroom and your budget. While the ideal you'll see on TV and in design magazines is a shower built to fit about five people, you can get the same steamy, decadent indulgence even in a small bathroom. Unfortunately, true custom showers involve ripping out your whole shower, rerouting plumbing, and even upgrading your water heater - none of which are very budget friendly. For a middle ground, look for one of these five types of high end, luxurious shower heads. They can all be replaced with about 15...
One of the simplest tricks to creating a relaxing spa style bathroom is to incorporate natural elements into the design. That can be anything from unfinished wood surfaces to a nice view or even potted plants or cut flowers; bringing in any kind of natural element can help make it feel like you're getting back in touch with nature, which is a big part of what spa-inspired spaces are all about. But the best spaces go a step further, actually connecting the indoor bathroom with the landscaping outside, or even putting part of the bathroom outdoors.
[caption id="attachment_13080" align="aligncenter" width="417"]Geschke Group Architecture pairs smooth, simplified surfaces and basic geometric lines with highly refined wood and stone elements to get the best of both worlds: an updated, stylish space with a relaxed, spa-like feel.
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If you're aiming to create a spa-like feel in your master bathroom on a budget, combine the benefits of a luxury custom shower and the visuals of natural wood grain with a wooden shower panel. Wooden shower panels are likely not an option you've heard of, but they're bold statement pieces that can command the feel of the room while keeping you clean for a fraction of the price of a custom-built shower. Whether you want the whole bathroom to have a wood style or just a touch of it, these multi-sprayer panels can bring the spa home to you.
[caption id="attachment_16971" align="aligncenter" width="480"]bathroom vanities - are perfect for solving the problems presented by both spaces.
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Your steam shower at home must be sealed in by vapo...
bathroom design trends are beginning to converge: bigger bathrooms, luxury master suites, an emphasis on simplicity and creature comfort. Taken together, they show a clear trend towards master bathrooms strongly influenced by spas and high end hotels. But even with the simple, open floor plan and emphasis on luxurious natural materials in mind, there are more than a few options when it comes to choosing the major fixtures for a spa style bathroom.
Geschke Group Architecture pairs smooth, simplified surfaces and basic geometric lines with highly refined wood and stone elements to get the best of both worlds: an updated, stylish space with a relaxed, spa-like feel.
[caption id="attachment_16407" align="aligncenter"...
bathroom vanities - are perfect for solving the problems presented by both spaces.
