New Products Transform the Most Private Room—the Bath—Into the Most Connected
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For tech lovers and Luddites alike, the most private room in the house is being transformed by a trend that’s not so private: smart-home products. Blame it on modern living. Clients are more aware of the effect stress has on their physical and mental state—their Apple Watches may have told them so—and are looking for ways to cope. Technology may afford solutions in the home’s innermost sanctuary. “We have several clients that are very savvy and comfortable with new technology; some of them even expect it,” explains designer Ariana Lovato, owner and principal of Honeycomb Home Design in Pismo Beach, California. Client concerns—like multitasking or de-stressing—take precedence over simply speccing the market’s latest and greatest. “I ask questions during the initial consultation to determine the needs of the client, and then I will spec based on those needs,” Lovato says of her approach to tech.
But even technophiles may need some persuasion to see how a new product like a smart shower system, a breakout category at this year’s KBIS, can enhance their experience in a room set up to be a haven from outside distractions. “People are more open to the idea of smart products once they’ve tried it,” says AD100 designer Michelle Nussbaumer, owner of Dallas showroom Ceylon et Cie. “It’s important for them to see it, and have a little bit of a training session.”
Technology works best in the bath if it’s not the focus, as Lovato points out: “Incorporating natural materials, textures, and variances of color, and allowing the entire space to stand out, rather than highlighting the display panel or the thermostat, is a way to achieve balance.” AD100 designer Alexa Hampton, who has integrated features like radiant-heat floors and high-tech Toto toilets into bath projects, advocates using mirrored jib cabinets, articulating magnifying mirrors, LED strip lights in cabinets, extra-deep shower niches, and thermostats inside medicine cabinets as “some tricks to [let products] remain hidden, but useful.”
Indeed, manufacturers are catering to the budding technophile with intuitive, built-in solutions as well as upgrades to the traditional. Case in point: Kohler’s newly updated Moxie showerhead, which launches this summer, incorporates Amazon’s virtual assistant, Alexa. As with a standard Alexa, a homeowner can request music, inquire about stocks, or order more conditioner. But Moxie is designed to be waterproof and is formatted to overcome the white noise of running water in the shower. It’s also an entry-point product for the tech-hesitant, since many are already familiar with Alexa’s capabilities.
While tech shouldn’t be the focus, it also can’t be an afterthought. Overcome installation challenges, Lovato advises, by printing out all specs in advance for contractors and other tradespeople. “I share with them any installation videos that may help,” she adds. “Communication between the trades and suppliers is very important.”
The best products don’t necessarily look high-tech. Instead, they seamlessly incorporate innovations to help create a modern sanctuary that aims to reduce stress, not promote it. For example, one of Nussbaumer’s go-tos is a vanity mirror embedded with a connected screen: “It allows you to use social media, download apps, and check the weather,” she says. “What else could a girl want while she’s putting on her lipstick?”
Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
