How to turn a bathroom into a personal wellness center

In November of 1979, the news program 60 Minutes aired a feature on a health movement that was poised to sweep the United States. Future CBS News anchor Dan Rather introduced the segment by saying, “Wellness - there’s a word you don’t hear every day.”

In the 40-plus years since, the term “wellness” has been mocked, elevated, appropriated, promoted, misunderstood, marketed and worshipped – all in equal measure. Four decades later, it’s still hard to pin a firm definition to the word, but we can certainly associate other terms with it: health, self-care, longevity, fitness, mindfulness, nutrition and maybe even Gwyneth Paltrow.

As of 2023, we can now connect bathroom design to it as well. Earlier this year, we mentioned incorporating health and wellness into bathroom design as a trend to watch, and more recently, NKBA has highlighted wellness in its takeaways from KBIS 2023. “It’s clear that baths are being transformed into wellness centers and oasis retreats for both the body and mind,” writes Seth Ellison in his NKBA Insights column, “with many designers crafting spa-like environments.”

Devoting space in a bathroom to better self-care will not be a hard sell for most. And designers have several options to take advantage of this trend while providing their clients with the means to improve their overall health. It’s a win-win situation.

Forbes identified exercise recovery as its number one wellness trend for 2023, and the recent hype surrounding cold water therapy certainly supports their claim. Cold water immersion, long practiced by professional athletes to relieve muscles and joints, has become the practice du jour for evening gym-goers and weekend warriors.

Big soaker tubs are a wonderful way to incorporate this trend in bathroom design because with so many styles and options available (from modern white porcelain to ornate, cast-iron clawfoot tubs), designers don’t need to sacrifice a bathroom’s theme to give their clients a wellness option.

One of the innovative products NKBA mentions in its KBIS 2023 report is an immersive steam shower system that incorporates therapeutic options like aromatherapy, chromotherapy and audiotherapy.

Formerly, such a luxury item would only be found at a spa, but one of the reasons to get excited about the wellness trend for bathroom design is that products that could once only be found in professional settings are becoming more affordable and accessible for home-use.

That’s certainly the case for saunas. The health benefits for both mind and body from extreme temperatures have been well-established by researchers, but it’s only been recently that electric and infrared saunas have been widely available for home use. Again, what used to be a luxury only found in professional settings or mansions is growing increasingly accessible.

While smaller saunas are available for regular-sized bathrooms, one of the other trends found at KBIS 2023 was expanded bathrooms. If your client wants a sizeable space devoted to wellness, don’t feel restricted by existing dimensions. According to NKBA, “breaking down walls and taking over adjoining rooms in addition to creating more space for storage” is becoming more and more popular in both kitchen and bathroom design.

With the overall shift toward incorporating wellness trends into bathroom design, it’s likely good practice for interior designers to stay in the know on the topic. There are numerous well-regarded podcasts, blogs and newsletters devoted to wellness topics ranging from longevity to recovery. Learn what’s relevant to your clients, flex your creative muscles and impress them with products and designs that suit their needs.

Whether you’re searching for the latest wellness product for your customer’s home-use or ready to expand a bathroom’s space to devote to your client’s health, 2020 Design Live is the solution you need. No other interior design software can combine beautiful rendering capabilities with the largest collection of manufacturer catalogs in the industry. And nothing else is going to contribute to closing a deal quite like the ability to show your potential customer the actual products that will fill their newly designed and expanded space in an immersive 3D experience.

If you still have questions about incorporating wellness or any other trend into your designs, connect with us to learn more about how 2020 Design Live can help. Or, if you’re ready to win more bathroom sales with designs that keep wellness in mind try our 30-day free trial and see the difference 2020 Design Live can make in your business.