THE POWER OF WATER – hydrotherapy at home

The benefits of drinking water and hydration are well documented along with natural mineral waters for therapeutic use. Having lived in Bath I am reminded how much the Romans taught us about ‘taking the waters’ to harness the natural heat and minerals of those hot spring waters for our wellbeing. 

Fast forward to now with WFH, this period in our lives has underlined how vital our wellbeing is. Seeking a balance between living, working, exercising and relaxing is key as is using each square meter, especially in London homes. Hot tubs in the garden were like gold dust during those hot summer months.  

Technologies are continuing to bring us a diverse range of products designed to make wellness and spa-like bathrooms accessible to many. It’s now possible to add spa features to the smallest of spaces. 

We have pulled together current trends and tips designed to whet your appetite on how to incorporate these water therapies and harness the power of water to sooth and invigorate. 

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Bathrooms as spas 

This shift to maximise our relaxation space has led to bathrooms being redesigned to include spa features using water in different ways to create wellbeing experiences. This trend has been evolving with wet rooms, hydrotherapy baths and products such as rainwater style shower heads to drench and give you a more gentle shower experience. Environmentally they also use less water as the water is aerated in the showerhead.

C P Hart has introduced a luxury body jet shower – jets with adjustable pressure are installed in a cubicle shower, offering a thorough cleansing experience and can really pummel aching muscles, while wallmounted shower spouts enable you to relax and unwind totally with a waterfall style shower flow. Meanwhile, Kelda is launching a bubble shower, which promises a fabulous new way to shower.

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Steam showers & rooms

You may have enjoyed sitting in a steam room to ease tired muscles, cleanse your skin and clear your airways with the invigorating scent of eucalyptus leaving you feeling really warm and relaxed.

You may be surprised to know that this technology can be installed in an existing shower enclosure with space for a shower stool or wall mounted seat, used as a normal shower to energise in the morning and a relaxing steam to wind down at the end of the day. A touch control panel easily enables you to control the steam, temperature and add mood lighting, music and dispense aromatherapy oils – this small space is a cocoon like experience. A drenching waterfall style shower head just adds to the soothing feeling. Upgrading your shower in this way not only gives you a wellness spa experience for family and guests but also adds value to your home. The steam outlet and air flow elements are unobtrusive. We strongly advise using an experienced professional team for installation.

Large steam rooms can also be installed or a standalone cubicle if you are taking on a new build. They are also a fabulous addition to a pool room for a deluxe and social space alongside a pool, outdoor shower and hot tub. Garden rooms can of course be used to house these alongside outdoor cooking and dining spaces.

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Hammams

A hammam experience can be created in a steam room too for those seeking the deep scrub and cleanse found in Turkish Hammams. To make this space truly authentic and completely waterproof, Moroccan tadelakt delivers a highly polished stunning decorative coloured plaster finish. The smooth seamless finish is very tactile in a wellness space and, importantly, grout free so a very practical alternative to tiles especially in home spas, steam showers, wet rooms and pool houses.

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Pools and pool houses

Looking ahead to warmer months our gardens immerse us in nature and with biophilic benefits and alongside swimming outside this is such a tonic. If space allows, a sauna followed by dowsing head to toe in iced water is an incredible feeling. Or simply an outdoor shower to refresh.

Indoor or outdoor pools and pool houses can include many of the trends we’ve reviewed. If you have a smaller space you can install a plunge pool. New materials such as carbon ceramic composites provide a huge choice of shapes and sizes which can be lowered into place, installation is much faster than the more traditional concrete style. This highly durable material has a smooth finish thereby requiring less chemicals to keep clean and importantly is more efficient to heat.

Caroline Clark is an interiors expert at Decorbuddi.com