Bathing Beauties

Trend guru Faith Popcorn calls bathrooms “mini cocoons.”

We call them a place to escape from our high-tech, high-stress business lives and demanding personal lives.

Enter the bathroom haven. It can be as simple and inexpensive as lighting a scented candle and popping a meditation melody into the CD player. Or it can be as complicated and costly as installing a bathing and entertainment center with a price tag equal to an entry-level luxury car.

The main marketplace for what’s new is the annual Kitchen and Bath Industry Show. And home improvement is big business these days, fueled by low interest rates and threats of terrorism. This year’s trade show, held in Chicago in April, broke industry records with more than 50,000 attendees. That’s about 14,000 more people than attended last year’s show.

“If anything, the events of Sept. 11 may have strengthened our industry,” says Dave Kratzke, public relations coordinator for the National Kitchen and Bath Association. “More people are looking to stay home and improve their spaces.”

If you’re thinking about improving your bathroom, here are six of the latest and most innovative ways to do it. Some are designed for McMansions and require a mega budget, but those of us without the big bucks to buy them can at least dream.

Toney bubbles

Many folks thought Jacuzzi couldn’t top itself with last year’s launch of the Private Collection limited-edition series, which featured the Vizion whirlpool. This oval tub-for-two on a pedestal featured a 10-inch flat-screen TV with DVD/CD player, stereo system and floating remote for $20,000. Each Private Collection model is numbered with a certificate of authenticity signed by whirlpool bath designer/inventor Roy Jacuzzi.

This year, Jacuzzi’s creative team has upped the ante, putting a home theater into a whirlpool bath. The new La Scala Bathing and Entertainment Center features a 42-inch, high-definition plasma monitor, surround sound system, DVD/CD and floating remote. The whirlpool contains 10 fully adjustable hydrotherapy jets, underwater lighting and side-by-side ergonomic loungers. The cost is $29,000 for the white or black finish and $31,000 for the platinum finish. It will be available in late August or early September. For more information, see

Now, if only the Jacuzzi designers could invent something to keep us from getting wrinkled while watching the TV.

Spin the wheel

If you’re looking for a more Zen-like bathing experience, the new “sok” bath with chromatherapy from Kohler may be the ultimate experience.

The original design, which was introduced last year, allows you to immerse yourself up to your shoulders in a warm, deep tub. The new chromatherapy version enhances the bathing experience with color that ranges from soothing to stimulating.

Eight hues are transmitted through four LED light ports within the bath’s inner walls. Each color is displayed for about eight seconds. It washes over the bather in a light tint, transforms into a solid hue and finally fades into the next color. The color wheel begins with a neutral white light followed by a trio of relaxing colors — purple, indigo and aqua blue. Green, considered a balancing color, comes next. The light show concludes with three stimulating colors — yellow, orange and red. If you prefer one color, just push a button to freeze the rotation.

The tub has 11 specially engineered air jets. More relaxation comes from the sound of water dripping from the rim’s horizon that overflows into the tub’s recirculating channel. It sells for $7,145 in white and $7,500 in biscuit. For more information, call 800-456-4537 or see

Easy-clean finish

Toto, the folks best known for toilets that perform well under the federally mandated 1.6-gallon flush standard, is now revolutionizing sinks.

Two years ago, the company made toilets easier to clean with the introduction of SanaGloss, a nonporous, ultra-smooth finish that is supposed to repel bacteria and minute particles of dirt with a single flush.

Consumers responded well, so the company is now offering the finish on bathroom and kitchen sinks. Twelve bathroom lavatories, everything from pedestal to wall hung to vessel styles, now have the easy-clean finish.

“You can use a cleanser on it,” says Esther Perman, Toto spokeswoman. “The point is you don’t have to scrub. The glaze does repel typical dirt and bacteria because it makes the surface less porous.”

The “Supreme” pedestal model, which is available now, starts at $223 and comes in cotton, colonial white, sedona beige and bone. Two new vessel-style models, “Alexis” and “Larissa,” will be available in July. No prices have been set yet. For more information, see

For tough jobs

Looking for a place to wash the dog or wash muddy car mats? Check out the Oceanview, a 48-inch long and 7-inch deep cast-iron floor sink by Kohler.

If you don’t want to get on your knees to do the chores, the sink, which is designed to be installed flush to the floor, also can be installed into many standard-size cabinets. Wood grate accessories, which can be used for drying wet shoes or mops, are also available. Optional bottom basin racks protect the finish against heavy usage.

The sink sells for $1,000 in white; the racks are $175 each; the sink liner is $175. It will be available this month. For more information, call 800-456-4537 or see

A touch of history

Michael S. Smith’s “For Country Collection,” designed exclusively for Kallista, combines modern technology with a classic design inspired by America’s colonial roots, such as a faucet that is clearly derived from historical silver tankards.

A well-known designer who has created interiors for a host of Hollywood celebrities, Smith also has created his own line of reproduction furniture and fabrics for Cowtan & Tout.

No matter what the product, Smith says he tries to design the kind of things that he hasn’t been able to find as a designer.

“My newest collection for Kallista reflects the need I have seen in the market for softened, yet very utilitarian fixtures that blend beautifully into many contemporary environments,” he says.

The whirlpool bath with its carved mahogany panels begs to be floated in the middle of the room. It features a marble top and a deck mounted faucet, which includes a hand shower with ceramic option, bath spout and lever handles. As shown, the bathtub is $8,697 and the faucet is $3,664.

Other items in the collection include: a wood basin with lavaratory faucet set, a console table with mirror, custom shower components, toilet, toilet tissue holder, robe hook, towel bar and wall sconces. For more information, call 888-452-5547 or check The collection is in stores now.

Showers with brains

How many times have you gone into the shower and groaned because another family member changed the adjustments to his or her preferences?

Interbath’s Ondine makes an Electronic Shower System (ESS) that remembers your favorite settings for water temperature, shower duration, pulsation and spray. Using a control panel, you can program at three different people’s preferences. The plumbing and valving for this operating system can fit into a 31/2-inch space between the 2-by-4s in the wall. A smaller “brain” unit is also hidden behind the wall. Only the control module is visible. The system sells for $3,600-$4,000 depending on the finish.

The ESS can be teamed with a variety of shower fixtures. One of the most interesting is the new Rainmaker Electronic Light Shower, a 121/2-inch diameter overhead shower head that rains down from 270 channels.

“You are getting the equivalent of water from five shower heads, ” says company spokesman Monette Moore.

Another bonus: The shower head provides illumination equal to a 75-watt bulb and has a color wheel with white, green, blue and yellow. It doesn’t have to be teamed with the ESS, but it requires 3/4-inch pipes. It sells for $3,500.

For more information, call Interbath at 800-423-9485 or check