Showers of Luxury

Over the past few years, elaborate multihead shower systems have become a fixture in custom home master baths. Manufacturers boast an enormous array of spray devices, sleek designs and beautiful finishes combined with technologically enhanced flow and temperature controls to create a bathing experience tailor-made for each individual.

With the barrage of home improvement television shows, magazines and websites available today, consumers are more educated than ever on luxury home products. In a custom home, a single showerhead is unacceptable and a complex water delivery system is usually desired. A master bath must now include a shower that is visually appealing while offering the choice of an efficient shower, a soaking deluge, a relaxing massage or a mixture of all three. Vertical spas are completely customizable using a combination of body sprays, showerheads and hand showers. According to Mike Reffner, Moen product manager, “When it comes to vertical spas, there are three things people are concerned about: water flow, temperature control and flexibility.”

Manufacturers responded to these interests with an abundance of devices that can be mixed and matched in any number of configurations. “Typically, no design is more popular than a one piece because it provides the ultimate in design flexibility,” according to Michael Wanschneider, senior product manager for Kohler. “High-end customers are focused on the experimental side of the system. For the adventurous, there is a variety of products that allow them to create their own shower system.”

Blame it on the rain

For a real downpour, nothing beats a rainstorm. Since storm clouds aren’t available for in-home use, showerheads emulating the natural experience of rain are in high demand.

“Over time we’ve noticed a throw-back to how people remember showers. In the ’40s and ’50s, people would often flock to the beaches to enjoy the sun and surf. Many people have memories of how the vintage showerheads would wash away the sand and how the overflow from a torrent of water made them feel,” says Ramon Lopez, technical solutions provider for Santec. “People still desire that feeling, thus the size of the ‘beachheads’ [as they once were called] continue to grow.”

Kohler’s WaterTile product line now includes the WaterTile Rain ceiling panel. WaterTile’s innovative design, which is nearly flush to the wall, makes it possible to install the body sprays in a number of different ways in the showering space: on the wall, ceiling or at an angle at the intersection of wall and ceiling. The product is designed to complement both modern and traditional décor. The direction of the WaterTile sprays is adjustable to create a targeted water experience in terms of warmth and water coverage.

Moen’s new Velocity rain shower showerhead channels water pressure for a total-body, rain-soaking experience. This new 8-in. showerhead features the company’s Immersion technology — a self-pressurizing system that increases the force and flow of water delivery. The Velocity showerhead features a convenient lever to adjust the water delivery from the spray nozzles — concentrating it into 30 nozzles or expanding the flow through as many as 100.

Hansgrohe’s air-injection technology is available with the company’s Raindance AIR products. “We are unique in offering this technology, which pulls surrounding air inside the shower-head or hand shower, mixes it with the water and produces larger, more voluminous water droplets,” says Jason McCain, communications manager for Hansgrohe. “The feel replicates the feeling of natural rain, giving the water a different texture, and the sound of the air being pulled in and the water falling actually sounds like a rain shower. It is very relaxing and sensual, appealing not only to your sense of touch but also to sound and visual stimulation.”