My affection for Mr. Steam really knows no bounds. Having met Martha (hence dubbed Mrs. Stream) on BlogTour London and visiting their offices and showroom right in the heart of Long Island City, Queens I can tell you first hand that the company is comprised of incredible people that make an amazing product. Their mission is more than selling steam baths, it's helping people create home spa experiences. After all, what's more relaxing at home than a nice long steam bath, accompanied by music and even your favorite scent?
Lighting to Relax
Bathroom Lighting Concept Sketch from Losing Edison
No matter how luxurious your steam bath is, if it's part of a poorly lit home spa, you'll never really enjoy it. The needle you have to thread when lighting a home spa is making it bright enough for all of the functions a normal bathroom take on, but gentle enough to relax without feeling harshly lit.
Home owners - are you renovating your bathroom and creating a mini-spa?
Interior Designers - creating a home spa for a client? Read on for three ways to create balanced lighting.
Decide Where to Light People and Where to Light Surfaces
This is more than a tip. This is the overarching decision that must be made when it comes to creating a home spa. Once the layout for your spa has been created, think about the places where it's important to have functional light and the places where it's important to create relaxing space. That knowledge should guide your lighting decisions. Broadly speaking, vanities, mirrors and toilets are important places to have functional light, while tubs, showers and jacuzzis are places for ambiance.
When Lighting the Shower or the Bath Try to Graze Surfaces
At the Lapicida showroom, Sally Storey used linear LED wall grazers to cast a warm glow on the stone walls. The same can be done in any home spa.
Indirect lighting is your best friend when trying to create a softly lit cozy space. That's because the light source itself is always hidden within a cove or pocket. By grazing surface stone or tile you envelope the space with gentle reflected light that warms the space without harshly lighting any one spot. If the layout of a space make grazing walls impossible (a rarity) then look for wall surfaces that can be accented and washed gently.
Lighting Controls Always
Touch a button and relax.
If you read this blog regularly then you know how much I love lighting control systems. No home spa is complete without fully controlled dimmable lighting. A home spa really calls for a programmable lighting control system. The ability to walk into the room, touch a button labeled "shower" and have your shades automatically draw down, and lighting raise to the perfectly dimmed level around your steam bath seems (at least to me) to be the height of luxury.