The bathroom was once perceived as a maintenance room or a space of pure utility. For the modern family, however, the bathroom is so much more.
Nowadays, your bathroom tends to be the space that bookends the day and also provides a safe haven when you need solitude and privacy. You can’t overestimate the importance of this room, which is why it ranks high on the list of places in your Seattle home to consider for renovation.
With a few essential bathroom upgrades, you can not only increase the function of your bathroom but also transform it into a peaceful and luxurious environment that improves the quality of your daily life.
What Do You Put in a Luxury Bathroom?
While it's easy enough to recognize a luxurious bathroom when you see one, most people don’t stop to think about what specific components are involved. But when you are designing an upscale remodel for your bathroom in Seattle, those details are exactly what you need to identify and incorporate into your project.
While your home remodeler can provide plenty of insight as you develop plans for your bathroom makeover, here is a list of luxurious elements to give you a head start:
1. Creating a Steam Room
One of the ways you can create a high-end bathroom is by turning your traditional shower into a steam room for a spa-like environment. You can convert your shower to a steam shower by purchasing and installing a steam generator, such as those manufactured by KOHLER. Additionally, you’ll need to install specific steam room doors that contain a vent panel. With all the electrical, plumbing and design work involved in crafting a bathroom steam room, you’ll want to bring on a professional to help with this upgrade.
2. Installing Heated Floors
Another luxury element that works for a bathroom of any size and style is a radiant floor heating system. No longer do you have to experience the discomfort of stepping barefoot on a cold, hard tile or wood floor first thing in the morning or after a warm shower. You can even take your heated floor to the next level by adding a smart thermostat that gives you to the power to automatically warm up your floors to your preferred temperature at a specific time of day, day of the week, and/or season. For example, with an automated system, you can make sure your floors are nice and warm each morning when you wake up.
3. Building Custom Cabinetry
Proper storage is a critical component of a functional bathroom. However, when setting up a high-end space, it’s not only about having storage but having the right kind of storage for your particular needs. Don’t settle for clunky cabinetry or ill-fitting vanities. Instead, work with a professional to design custom-built cabinetry that is tailored to the specific layout of your bathroom, as well as the types of personal accessories, toiletries, cleaning products, linens, and other items you generally like to keep in this space.
4. Integrating Smart Audio
When you’re cultivating a specific atmosphere, music is an important element. Yet it’s risky to have your phone or tablet in the bathroom, what with all the moisture accumulated in this space and water that gets splashed around. One solution is to install a product like a KOHLER audio system that is designed specifically for the bathroom. From high-fidelity SoundTile shower speakers to the Moxie showerhead and wireless speaker or wall-mounted speakers, there are numerous options for integrating audio capacity into your bathroom so you can listen to music, podcasts or audiobooks while you’re bathing or getting ready in the morning.
5. Using Varying Shades of Light
Along with audio, lighting also is one of the greatest contributors to the ambiance, which is what your luxurious bathroom in Seattle is all about. However, your mood changes and you may desire a different atmosphere depending on the time of day or what you’re doing in the bathroom. To give you more control over your environment, install a designer system that includes different types of lights or even ones that can change colors to set the right mood at the right time.
6. Ensuring Automatic Hot Water
Most of the time, you have to wait for your water to heat up to the right temperature, which can be an inconvenience. Not so when you use a hot water recirculation pump instead of a tank-type water heater. With hot water on demand, you have automatic and immediate access when you need it while also saving energy and decreasing your family’s overall water consumption.
7. Adding a Heated Towel Rack
Wrapping up in a warm towel after a shower or bath is one of life’s little luxuries, and it can make all the difference in terms of your comfort. To that end, you should consider putting up a heated towel rack as part of your Seattle bathroom remodel. In addition to giving, you a spa-like experience every time you bathe, this feature also serves a practical purpose by effectively drying off your towels and preventing mildew.
8. Choosing an Anti-Steamer Mirror
Steam is an unavoidable byproduct of most bathroom functions. Anytime you run hot water for an extended period of time, or even when you lean into your mirror for a close-up look, the glass inevitably fogs up. You can help mitigate this issue by installing an anti-fog or fog-free vanity mirror that deters condensation from collecting on the surface and enables you to shave, put on makeup or accomplish other tasks, even in a steamy bathroom.
9. Integrating Your Laundry Room
If you’re already planning a major upscale bathroom remodel in Seattle, use this opportunity to incorporate laundry facilities into the space. There are several benefits to combining these two areas. For example, most household members remove their dirty clothes before showering or taking a bath, so they will already be collected near your wash machine on laundry day. You also can throw a towel in the dryer before rinsing off, making it nice and warm when you’re done. If you decide to go this direction, make sure your HVAC system is up to the task or think about adding a better ventilation fan or an extra window.
Designing a Luxurious Bathroom in Seattle
Successfully creating a functional, upscale bathroom is a two-part process. First, you want to select the right luxurious elements to suit your particular needs, and next, you need to incorporate them into a cohesive and attractive design. Our team at Innovative Home Renovations can assist with both goals. During the bathroom remodeling process, we contribute design services, as well as industry knowledge and our professional insight to help you select the ideal features, materials and finishes for your luxurious bathroom.
See also: Shower Heads 101 - Breakdown of Both Size and Function
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by Bennett Bottorff