Soaked in luxury

Sonali Seth

Over the past few years, a bathroom has undergone an interesting makeover. From a mere utility room, it has transformed into a place where you can refresh and pamper yourself, a sanctuary where you can literally pour water over your stress and anxieties and literally wash them away. 

New bathing experiences include everything, from chromatherapy to air baths, from custom-designed showers to deep-soaking tubs. New-age designers are encouraging their clients to spruce up this special room and turn it into a slick-and-trendy space.

Feel refreshed

For many, shopping for a bathtub can be a serious business. They take into consideration contemporary aesthetics as well as its utility while making a choice. Time was when all you got was the bare stone that you installed in your bathroom and hardly ever used. Today, there is a wide variety available to choose from. From basic functionality to unimaginable luxury and extravagance, the new bathtubs are virtual gizmos, offering a dizzying range of features.

Leading companies like Kohler, Grohe, Victoria & Albert, Takeshita and others are transforming the high-end modern tub into a spa. Some come with air jets that produce bubbles to gently massage the body; others have in-built lights to create a soothing atmosphere, while some are fitted with high definition televisions and stereo systems. Designers advise that before buying one make sure that it is in harmony with the wall and floor design and creates a cheerful and relaxing mood. 

For a calming effect 

If you have the will and the money, you will be spoilt for choices. Though in earlier times, bathtubs were rectangular in shape, these now come in many forms and sizes. Some are oval shaped and tapering at both ends, others are cylindrical or round, while some are even designed like a relaxing chaise lounge. There are some that come in the shape of a boat or are crafted like a hammock or even shaped like a woman’s high-heeled shoes.  The designs too vary a lot. You can choose from freestanding and clawfoot tubs to the jetted, whirlpool, roll-top and soaking varieties. Freestanding ones, as the name suggests, are tubs that stand on a solid base or a cradle. Clawfoot tubs are designed in such a way that a person can virtually sleep inside these.  

The plush roll-top tubs usually come with feet. These are ideal for large bathrooms. The jetted and whirlpool tubs are fitted with water jets for a luxurious massage. Soaking tubs are much smaller in size but are deeper than other tubs for you to immerse yourself for a nerve-relaxing experience. There are tubs that have underwater LED lights that change colour to suit your mood. From peaceful pink to soothing blue, pick the colour you like. Others come with resonant speaker panels that send sound through the water, so that you can feel the vibrations on your skin, giving you the ultimate relaxing experience. 

Luxury at your doorstep  

The more elaborate your tub, the more expensive it will be. The high-end whirlpool-combination tubs come with a number of interesting add-ons like adjustable jets, underwater lighting, aromatherapy features, heated blowers and automated cleaning systems. These also have arm-rests, grab-bars and slip-resistant flooring.

There was a time when most bathtubs were made of porcelain but in the present times, these come in different materials, ranging from fibreglass to cast iron and stone to copper and wood. The fibreglass tub is lightweight and low cost, a cast iron one is durable and resistant to chipping, scratching and denting. You can find bathtubs in a variety of natural stone materials also like granite, marble, onyx, travertine, basalt, sandstone and more.

 Though a basic tub can be bought for a few thousand rupees, you will have to pay a steep price for those loaded with features. Whirlpool and jetted tubs can set you back by a couple of lakh rupees and some brass and copper tubs can cost upwards of Rs 10 lakh. Leading brands in bathroom design are coming up with innovative counterparts to give you a relaxing bathing experience. They are fast realising that soaking in a bathtub is considered by many a therapy and people are ready to pay a price for it. Designers thus are bringing a spa-like experience inside the bathroom.