For Northern Virginia, single family home and condo owners, the quintessential master bath provides a spacious and relaxing retreat from the stresses and worries of their hectic lives. No longer do homeowners need to retreat to an expensive spa to gain that same sense of relaxation and comfort. Many of the luxury features that make spa treatment appealing can now be incorporated right into your own master bath. To create that in-home comfort in your master bath, consider adding some or all of these features into the bathroom design.
1. Towel Warmers. There’s nothing like have a warm heated towel to wrap your face in after a shave or following your facial routine. Stepping out of the shower or bath and being able to wrap yourself in a soft warm towel just adds to your sense of rejuvenation. Adding towel warmers to your master bath can provide that added little bit of luxury to refresh you and open up the pores of skin. Towel warmers come in a variety of styles, sizes and prices. There are portable, plug-in types, though most of towel warmers are hardwired into your electrical system. Many of them are simple rows of metal bars that you hang your towels over to warm; others are wall-mounted sheets of glass. However there are also smaller coiled versions for your hand and face towels. Pricing can range from a few hundred dollars to several thousand for the more elaborate systems. They are an easy add to any bathroom remodel.
2. Radiant Floor Heat. If you’re grabbing a warm towel from your towel warmer, you don’t want to be standing on cold tile floors. Designing your master bath with in-floor radiant heat provides a warm floor to step onto, not only when you step out of the shower, but also when you’re wandering around in your bare feet first thing in the morning, before that first cup of coffee while you watch the morning news for Washington DC. Radiant floor heat is generally provided in one of two forms: Electrical or hydronic. The hydronic heat system uses heated water flowing through tubes that have been installed in a concrete floor or underneath the surface of typical wood construction floor. Electrical radiant heat is installed under your flooring, either as cables or a preformed mat. The cable system or mat is connected to a thermostat for easy, single room control.
3. Whirlpool Tub. You will be missing out on a key feature if your in-home spa does not include a jetted whirlpool tub. Soaking in swirling warm water is the perfect stress reliever a long commute in Washington DC traffic. Jetted tubs can come with air jets or water jets and each has their positive and negative points. With water jets, you’ll be able to receive that true water jet massage and can request specific placement within some tubs to target those achy neck and back muscles. The negative to this type of whirlpool is that you cannot use bath salts or bath oils because the water is actually recirculating through the tub. A whirlpool with air jets is simply pumping air bubbles into the water to keep it moving, so bath salts and oils can be used with this type. The sizes, shapes and features of today’s whirlpool tubs giving you plenty of options to choose from.
4. Customized Showers. Gone are the days of a single showerhead. For the full body experience, North Virginia homeowners have several options. They can install an overhead rain showerhead, multiple body jets or a shower panel and have a variety of handheld shower options to choose from as well. In addition to the water action, showers can actually become a beautiful centerpiece to a master bath. Clear glass walls and doors can show off beautiful tile work. Glass block walls can allow light into the shower while maintaining privacy and adding texture and interest to the bath layout.
5. Mood Lighting. Ask any artist or interior decorator, lighting is a very important factor in every room of your home. Lighting that has several different levels and light sources is often referred to as ‘mood lighting.’ There is a legitimate reason for that. Lighting does affect your moods! When your massage therapist dims the lights, the therapist is doing so to create a relaxing atmosphere without distraction. Providing a variety of lighting options for different areas of your master bath will add to the ambiance and allow you to have full bright lights for makeup application and shaving, while still being able to turn it down to a warm glow for your candlelit soak in the tub.
At Select Kitchen & Bath, we’ve enjoyed working with North Springfield, Virginia homeowners and Washington, DC condominium owners developing transformational bathroom designs that turn their own homes into a true place of retreat. We’d be happy to discuss how a bathroom remodel could add a new level of comfort to your lifestyle. Call us at 703.866.4224 or email us via our website contact page. We’d love to hear from you!
