My Bathroom, My Self

Indulge yourself after a stressful day. Schedule a Zen-like experience. Escape for some spa pampering. In other words, go home and spend some time in the bathroom.

Suitably dubbed the "bath suite" in show-home circles, the master bathroom is undergoing an extreme makeover. Custom showers are sexier, often with no doors and multiple body sprays. Toilets are doubling as bidets. Spa tubs are positively effervescent and lavatories, or basins, are works of art.

In new and remodeled homes across Central Florida, state-of-the-art bath suites even come equipped with custom TVs, stereo systems and cappuccino machines.

"I believe people are taking care of themselves a little bit better, and they're using the bathroom area for relaxation purposes," says Carmen Dominguez, owner of Homes by Carmen Dominguez in Orlando. "It ties into a healthy diet, yoga and exercise-people want to have private moments and enjoy them in beautiful areas."

Customized tile patterns, chandeliers, marble and stone vanities and wallpapered ceilings are just some of the touches Dominguez has included in master bath suites.

Other designers and builders agree that homeowners are clamoring for a "Zen experience." So they're creating bathrooms complete with steam rooms, back-to-nature outdoor showers and spa tubs with jets that can accommodate the multitude of aromatherapy products now on the market.

The master bath has evolved over the years, beginning as a small, utilitarian room in which lingering a while was unthinkable. In the 1980s it ballooned to a gargantuan, space-wasting expanse before shrinking just enough to be the roomy, yet cozy, haven found in most new homes today.

As designers and builders cater to homeowners' dreams of the ideal spa-like retreat, products for bathrooms have become increasingly sophisticated, says Rick Caccavello, owner of Central Kitchen and Bath in Winter Park. "There are a lot of things happening now," Caccavello says. "Vanity cabinets are on feet to make them look like furniture. TVs are behind mirrors. Exotic woods like Brazilian hardwood and (African) wenge are kicking in. For countertops, granite is still huge, but concrete is catching on."

State-of-the-art showers that provide "the full car-wash effect" are high on homeowners' wish lists, says Kelly Gaeger, director of design for Expo Design Center in south Orlando. "Steam showers are definitely popular," Gaeger says. "Many master bath showers have two heads, body sprays, a rain dome and, of course, the steam, with possibly even a hand-held shower-all in a frameless shower enclosure with a nice bench."

The glam factor even applies to the toilet, says Caccavello. "They're coming out with real nice designs for an Old World look or a contemporary look-any era you want, you can find a toilet that matches."

And, with increasing frequency, those designer toilets are being placed in separate rooms also known as water closets. In fact, some homebuyers are insisting upon his-and-hers water closets, says Karen R. Kassik of Lucia, Kassik & Monday of Winter Park.

"A lot of husband-and-wife pairs have their own toilet rooms so they don't have to share," says Kassik, whose firm specializes in custom home design, remodeling design, architecture and interiors. And many clients want a bidet to match the toilet-or at least a toilet complete with bidet lid and heated seat, she adds.

When it comes to the most frequently requested home remodeling projects, master bedroom-bath suites are second only to kitchens, Kassik says, with costs ranging from $20,000 to $40,000 for bath suites alone. The options for customizing are endless.

For example, in many modern bathrooms, the two-basin vanity has been replaced by separate vanities in separate parts of the room. And although spa tubs are popular, many homeowners forfeit tubs in order to build fanciful, walk-in showers. Oversized rain- and- waterfall-shower heads are hot right now, and shower floors and walls can sparkle with elegant touches that include river rocks, semi-precious stones, granite and marble.

"There are endless sources for decorative wall and floor coverings now-both man-made and natural products," Kassik says, adding that master bath suite color schemes are taking on new hues. "The vanilla houses or beige castles are gone, for the most part, and people are welcoming color. It doesn't have to be bright red or yellow, but they like to have the ambiance that color creates." Rainbows of color are being added to bathrooms in the shape of tiny glass mosaics and other decorative glass tiles in a variety of sizes.

Today's master bath suites also set a mood through use of music, strategic lighting and other sensory touches including warming drawers for towels, heated flooring and heating lamps above showers.

"It's more of a retreat now than it used to be," says Scott Green, president of Castleworks in Orlando, which built the award-winning "Coo Coo Ca Choo" bath suite in the 2003 Street of Dreams home at Windermere's Lake Butler Sound. "People want something that's functional and makes sense, but with lots of natural materials to warm it up and with elegant features like chandeliers, sconces and faux painting. The spaces are more practically sized and more extravagantly finished."

The much-admired Coo Coo Ca Choo bathroom is earthy and warm and features a glass-encased curved Corian tub that spills onto rock. Black granite countertops, stone flooring and a curved slate shower convey natural elegance.

In addition to impeccable style, homeowners are looking for every comfort and convenience they can imagine.

Many men are asking for urinals-yes, urinals-in their toilet rooms, Green said. Those who prefer shower doors are rejecting mildew-collecting metal tracks and choosing no-frame glass enclosures. Outdoor showers, built in courtyard-like settings for privacy, provide a back-to-nature bathing experience. And spa tubs are often enhanced by gas fireplaces nearby, making a leisurely soak on a chilly night all the more inviting.

Many new homes also have morning kitchens adjacent to the bath suites. That way, while preparing for work, owners can grab a glass of OJ or a cup of coffee and be just steps away from a hot shower.

Not surprisingly, people who plan to spend so much quality time in the bathroom usually don't scrimp on entertainment. Televisions and music systems have become more important than ever before in the bath suite equation, says Andrew Gingold, audio-video consultant at Absolute Sound in Winter Park.

Gingold estimates that 75 percent of the complete Absolute Sound systems installed in homes include a television in the master bath. Homeowners are clamoring for flat panel LCD TVs and even large-screen plasma screens that hang on the wall, he says. And custom systems are built with TV screens seemingly hidden behind a bathroom mirror but viewable through a section of the mirror when power is on.

Other conveniences include cabinetry that caters to a population that has grown taller over the decades, says Gaeger. Instead of the 30-inch-high cabinets and vanities of years past, 36-inch cabinets are the new standard, he notes. In addition, "comfort-height" toilets with chair-height seating are popular bath suite choices.

As the bathroom evolves into a homeowner haven, the master closet is a key element in suite design. Closet space often can be increased by building access through the bath suite, says Kassik, thus allowing enough room for a closet to become a furnished dressing room.

"Closet size has increased greatly-most people today, whether they're 25 or 65, want massive closets," adds Kassik, who estimates that an ideal closet space shared by partners to be about 12 feet by 12 feet.

And closet interiors are more elaborate than ever as they match the elegant theming of master suites, according to Loyda Woods, owner of the Orlando-area franchise of California Closets, headquartered in San Rafael, Calif.

"We've done a lady's boudoir with couch, TV, stereo and fridge-she's a busy, successful executive, and this is her sanctuary where nobody bothers her," Woods says.

Closet cabinetry is more sophisticated as well. The basic white, bisque or almond closet is being replaced in many homes by maple- and- cherry-grained melamines (engineered wood finished like a laminate) or by real maple, cherry and other woods with crown molding. Black lacquer is also big, says Woods, who's even filled requests for Lucite cabinetry.

Homeowners also are spending more time adding personality to their closets or tailoring the details to suit their needs. Benches and settees provide comfortable seating while heirloom pieces of furniture set a tone upon which designers can build.

For convenience, switchless entry lighting is in high demand, and hidden spaces are created for the safety of jewelry and other valuables.

From the stylish spa shower and tub to the elegant dressing room or handy morning kitchen, today's bath trends are a direct product of a fast-paced, stress-filled lifestyle that makes people want to stop and smell the rose-infused bath oil.

But to avoid a stressful bathroom remodeling experience, it's key that you research and hire the right designer, says Caccavello. Or seek advice at a one-stop-shopping home center like Expo, where Gaeger says two of the staff's eight designers focus solely on bathrooms.

And if a complete remodeling job is out of the question for now, consider other upgrading options. For example, purchase a sleek new shower tower with several heads and sprays that can be removed and re-installed in a future home. Decorate with colorful tiles. Hang that TV screen on the wall.

Then sink into a tubful of bubbly bliss to leave your worries behind.