The Master Bath Retreat

STORAGE 'TO DO' LIST

For kitchen designers interested in these bathroom storage opportunities, here's your "to do" list to getting started.

1. Survey the available closet system business opportunities: Select one manufacturer to represent. Add a closet display to your showroom in a "real life" setting or in an image library.

2. Partner with a boutique bath showroom or wholesale distributor’s showroom specialist who will provide you with a complete display area of bathroom products. Your showroom floor space can then be devoted to the cabinetry for these areas.

3. Expand your design creativity, as well as your image library, to move beyond the rather pedestrian straight run of vanities kitchen designers are accustomed to. Learn to create interesting stand-alone furniture pieces with uniquely shaped countertops and backsplashes for these master suites.

4. Investigate specific vanity cabinetry now being offered by many plumbing manufacturers that's far better designed for the bathroom space. Many kitchen cabinet manufacturers simply take a kitchen sink cabinet and make it smaller for the bath. This large, open cavity is not well-organized for bathroom storage. By specifically pinpointing the location of the vanity sink drain pipes, cut-away drawers and specialty shelves can be included.

5. Talk with your plumber about the furniture pieces you’re going to be designing for baths: Think through how he and his helpers are going to be able to access the vanity pipes in these "off-the-floor" cabinets. A big, burly plumber who is accustomed to laying on his back and sliding into the totally open vanity sink cabinet might be a little shocked to see the Queen Anne vanity with its 12" "off-the-floor" leg design allowing only 18" of accessible height for his connection activities!

W/C & BIDET AREA

In master baths, the optimum placement of the water closet (toilet) is in its own compartment accompanied by a bidet or enhanced with a bidet seat. Ideally, designers should include some type of storage for paper products in that small compartment so the user need not leave the area in search of a new roll of toilet paper when needed.

Although I have no confirmed statistical data, I sense we are using fewer stand-alone bidets in master suites. The frequent personal hygiene habits of North Americans leads many consumers to "trade off" the space required for the bidet for other items they deem more important.

WC 'TO DO' LIST

1. There have been so many engineering and design improvements in 1.6 gallon flushing toilets that it's important you understand what’s new on the market.

2. Design wise, there are some innovative, beautiful new toilets that conceal the tank in the wall and create an almost sculptural piece in place of the utilitarian toilet we are all accustomed to.

THE HOME SPA

It’s telling to note that the number of spas are increasing by 25% each year! Magazines such as Luxury Spa Finder, Healing Lifestyle Spas, and Spa, Healthy Living, Travel and Renewal further prove the consumer’s interest in the spa experience.

For today's luxury consumer, it's not so much about spa going as it is about the spa lifestyle. The idea of a "spa lifestyle" focuses on the consumer’s lifestyle pursuits of wellness, fitness, stress reduction, healing, vitality and – let's admit it – beauty.

The spa experience revolves around "wet" and "dry" activities.

Wet activities include:

These activities may be enhanced by sensory experiences such as: