Diamond Spas' Bennett reports a trend toward individual expression in bathrooms. “The shift I see is in aquatic personalization. People are looking for something unique, handcrafted quality and beauty, a bath made by artisans rather than mass-produced, a bath that was made exclusively for them.” City apartment and loft dwellers often choose small, deep Japanese soaking baths that provide a space-saving vertical soak rather than horizontal, she says. This circular, one-person tub, 42 inches around by 35 inches deep, has a bench seat.
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Posted: Sep 22, 2009 Post subject:
Massage with sound
Kohler’s VibrAcoustic Bath mixes up the bath experience, adding music and sound vibration to an ergonomic tub to sooth the weary mind and body. A digital control panel lets you select tub level, water temperature and one of four instrumental compositions (Awakening, Solitude, Letting Go and Transcendence). Music is piped underwater through one stereo system and played into the atmosphere through a second. Or choose other massage presets and add your own music by operating your MP3 player through the system. Colored “chromatherapy” lights are choreographed to the music.
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Posted: Sep 22, 2009 Post subject:
Back to the future
Water-conserving toilets got a bad name in the early 1990s, but updated flushing systems like the one in this American Standard Chapeau toilet are highly water-efficient while effective at preventing clogs and overflows. This new generation of toilets flushes up to 1,000 grams of solid waste with just 1.28 gallons per flush, 20% less than 1.6-gallon models mandated by the government in 1992. (See test results for the high-performance toilets at the California Urban Water Conservation Council site.) In addition, jetted water under the Chapeau’s rim creates a siphon designed to scour away traces of paper and waste. The design of the Chapeau (hat) plays on the shape of an antique high-top hat, and American Standard’s effort at bringing furniture shapes into the bathroom harks to the Renaissance, when chamber pots often were disguised as furniture. This toilet is a great improvement on the old pot.
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Posted: Sep 22, 2009 Post subject:
Waterproof media center
Some people retreat to their home spas to shut out the world. Others want to bring it in. Make the bath your operations center with the visiPad media station, which gives you access to e-mail, SMS, Internet, telephone, radio, CDs and DVDs. Control the unit with a remote or use the splash-protected touch-screen. Made by Visiomatic, the German maker of integrated electronic home control and entertainment systems, the visiPad is offered in a range of screen sizes, from 10 inches to 46 inches across.
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Posted: Sep 22, 2009 Post subject:
High-style bath furniture
Another bath trend is to bring the look of furniture into the bath for a clean, uncluttered atmosphere. Lacava’s Aquaplane vanities exemplify the trend with a two-drawer cabinet with a Wenge finish beneath a broad basin.