Transform Your Bathroom into A Personal Home Spa

If your mind, body and soul are in desperate need of renewal, where will you turn for help? The automatic response used to be, “I’ll be at the spa for a couple of hours, dear;” but with a day at the spa costing upwards of $400, nowadays many people are turning to another place for peace and tranquility. Instead of spending a small fortune on each spa visit, consumers are transforming their bathrooms into home spas that can be used over and over again -- right in the comfort and familiarity of their own homes.

Transforming a bathroom into a home spa can be as simple as adding a foot massager and CD player, or as complex as renovating the entire bathroom. According to a recent Remodeling Magazine Cost vs. Value Report, if you choose the latter option, you’re sure to eventually recoup most, if not all of the money you spent. The survey found that homeowners who invest in upscale remodels -- which involve changing the lighting, flooring, bathtub and shower -- can expect a 92.6 percent return at sale.

So where do you start? The first step in creating a home spa is to compile a list of amenities you want to include. Generally, a home spa offers a space for grooming and hygiene, along with areas devoted for relaxation and exercise. Whether you come up with the design yourself or decide to work with a professional, you’ll need to take into account the need for new lighting, flooring and wall paint. And you’re going to need a bathtub and shower anyway, so why not go all out and get a relaxing whirlpool enhanced by a massaging shower?

Whirlpools once were best described as oversized bathtubs with jets. Today they are extremely customizable, offering bathers the ability to control their water experiences at the touch of a button. Kohler whirlpools and BubbleMassage baths offer a multitude of water experiences, from soothing relaxation in an overflowing bath for the person who has had a long day at the office, to invigorating massage of targeted jets for the man or woman who just came home from the gym with sore muscles in need of pampering.

If soaking in the tub for hours is not your thing, you could instead spend your money on a custom showering system that provides massaging bodysprays or multiple showerheads. “For many people, this makes a lot of sense,” says Michael Wandschneider, product manager of showering for Kohler. “They’d rather invest in something they use everyday -- or even two or three times a day.”

If you want a hydro-massage, a Kohler BodySpa will provide the equivalent of a whirlpool standing up. If you want to choose your therapy -- a tropical downpour, cascading massage or gentle spring rain -- the Kohler WaterHaven shower tower is for you. “Kohler has developed and refined the technology to deliver more water more creatively,” says Bob Giese, a human factors specialist at Kohler. “In the past, most home showers wouldn’t have been able to drive more than one showerhead, but our WaterHaven can deliver and distribute water to several at one time.” All the heads in the shower tower are ergonomically friendly as well, meaning they can be adjusted up, down and radially.

In addition to a new massaging bathtub or shower, many people also install sound systems in their bathrooms so they can enjoy the soothing accompaniment of Beethoven or Bach as they soak in their tubs. For those who appreciate a chromatherapy experience, or light therapy, you can add that option to select Kohler whirlpools. Research shows color has a tangible effect on a person’s emotional state -- warm colors are stimulating, cool colors are calming. Now at the touch of a button, you can set the lights to cycle through a series of eight colors. The progression starts with neutral white light followed by three relaxing colors -- purple, indigo and aqua blue. The water then appears green, which serves as the balancing color, then three warm stimulating colors -- yellow, orange and red -- before beginning the cycle again.

A popular and easy feature to add to the shower is the Kohler Steam Generator, which brings steam into the shower in an attractive and affordable way. The Steam Generator also has an aromatherapy option, which really comes in handy when you have a cold. A drop of eucalyptus oil in the well can be very soothing.

“A home spa is about getting a break from the fast pace of our lives. With cell phones, voice mail and e-mail, we’re always multi-tasking -- we can always be reached, but if you add a Kohler whirlpool or massaging shower to your home, you can close the door on the world and turn off the ringer,” adds Giese.