“The Bathroom Is The New Den”

Or so claims Christopher Solomon of MSN Real Estate. “More and more, people are going to the bathroom to relax and even luxuriate after a day in the rush-rush world, say home remodelers and designers. Homeowners are upgrading the rooms — outfitting them with everything from soaking tubs to heated floors — to make themselves comfortable. But peace and quiet aren’t the only motivating factors. An upgraded bathroom helps sell a home and can be a good investment.”

Experts agree. “One way to ‘get away,’ and at the same time enhance a home’s value is to turn the bathroom into an in-home retreat. In fact, making the bathroom a place of retreat is one of today’s most popular home remodeling projects, according to Homestore.com, as homeowners look for relief from hectic lifestyles and choose to spend more time at home.” This makes sense to anyone who reads the news. “As the country faces tough times, homeowners are focusing their spending on the home to make it a secure, comfortable environment according to a Unity Marketing study” (source: ABathroomGuide.com). “‘Homeowners want a beautiful, relaxing space they can call their own,’ says Gary Uhl, director of industrial design for American Standard, the world’s leading plumbing products manufacturer and distributor. ‘To make the bathroom a personal retreat, homeowners are expanding the size of bathrooms and adding whirlpools and more decorative fixtures.’”

Whether you are designing your dream home or remodeling your bath, here are some things to keep in mind.

Add More Color

“‘The bathroom is becoming more of a centerpiece in the home with design trends ranging from the bold and colorful to the simple and elegant,’ says Jim Krengel, one of the first certified bathroom designers…’Adding a little color to a bathroom is as easy as a hand-painted sink or a new paint color to the walls…The latest color trends are running the gamut. Natural colors are the most versatile, but designers are incorporating some bolder colors such as red and blue as well as deep forest and emerald green and terra cotta and rust. These colors are used in everything from the paint to the sink to decorative tiles’” (source: ABathroomGuide.com). Designer Allison Bergamo agrees: “I’d like to see people embrace more color in their living spaces. It’s so easy and relatively inexpensive to try a new paint color or bring in pillows, area rugs, artwork, etc.”

The Unique Sink (And Tub. And Shower.)

In a recent episode of This Old House, Plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey and host Kevin O’Connor found that innovation is the name of the game in bathroom trends, and that is especially true where the fixtures are concerned. On tap (pun intended) for 2010 include “vessel sinks with water-spouting faucet inside of wall…Ceiling-mounted faucet provides unique way to fill bathtub…and Bath lavs come in wide variety including, traditional farmhouse sinks to contemporary clear-glass vessel sinks.”

Gary Uhl agrees. “Another hot trend in fixtures is above-counter sinks that serve as a sink as well as displayed art.” From floating sinks to vessel sinks, to every kind of faucet imaginable, the sink has become more of a centerpiece to the bathroom than just a place to wash hands.

Take, for example, the showerhead faucet. After a recent trip to Sushi Wabi in Chicago, The Bathonista reported that “After using it, I can’t say a showerhead is any more functional than a normal sink faucet, but if you’re going for style points, or “I have to have something totally different than all of my friends” points, this is something to consider.”

Heat It Up

“‘The big thing in bathrooms is steam,’ says [Richard Landon, of Richard Landon Design in Bellevue, Wash.] ‘People are discovering how wonderful it is to come home at the end of the day and de-stress.’” In fact, according to This Old House, “An integrated, multipurpose shower stall contains showerhead, handheld sprayer, adjustable body sprays, aroma-therapy system and steam heads.”

Beyond the sauna/shower, direct-vent fireplaces are all the rage in larger bathrooms, providing not just ambiance but added warmth (source: This Old House).

And finally, radiant heating under the floor is now “…creeping its way towards becoming a necessity” according to Erin Loechner. “Although radiant heating is a high cost up front (expect to pay between $15 and $20 per square foot), the benefit of floor heating extends beyond warm toes to economic benefits. Once floor tiles heat up, they continue emitting heat long after the radiant elements have shut off.” According to Christopher Solomon, “Companies such as Nuheat sell a mesh that is placed under the tiles when they’re set, and then is connected to a thermostat on the wall. ‘It’s not thousands of dollars. A bathroom could be just hundreds,’ (depending on the market) says [Sandy Hayes, a kitchen and bath designer in Portland, Ore.].