Out Of The Tub, Into The Shower

As Options Increase, Custom Showers Are Replacing Fancy Tubs In Popularity.

September 8, 2002|By Molly Millett, Saint Paul Pioneer Press

Showering isn't just about getting clean anymore. Instead, it's therapy.

"It's not just a shower. It's a mood enhancer," says Gary Pember, Moen's group product manager for the bath. "Where people used to go to a spa to pamper themselves, now they want to integrate those features into their own homes. It's part of looking at the whole therapeutic value to water. Today's shower does a whole lot of things for the psyche."

Homeowners can now choose custom shower features that include steam units (with aromatherapy options); body sprays along the walls that make the shower feel like a "vertical whirlpool"; larger and multiple showerheads that offer settings ranging from a misting rain to a hydromassage, and some that even offer mood lighting; shower benches and built-in storage space for shampoos and soaps; and natural decorating materials such as marble or slate or other fine stones, as well as ceramic tiles.

Improvements in shower technology -- a better ability to control the water's force, frequency and coverage -- have played a key role in the evolution of the American shower in recent years.

"When you look at the shower, until recently it hadn't advanced a lot from the days when you filled a bucket full of water, let the sun warm it and punched holes in it so a thick stream of water was delivered in a static way," says Pember. "Now, we have more control of the water."

That includes Moen's Revolution Hand Shower, which spins each water drop, then twirls the entire stream, resulting in options ranging from a rainlike shower to a deep, therapeutic massage.

As shower options increase, professionals in the plumbing and building trades say the custom shower is replacing the deluxe whirlpool bathtub in popularity.

"Everything you can get in a tub, you can now get in a shower," says Pember.

The rethinking of the American shower also has to do with the typically time-crunched American.

"People have told us that every day they need time to relax, but they don't have time to fill up a soaking tub every day," says Scott Edmunds, Kohler's senior market analyst of showering and Body Spa, a luxury shower unit. "Instead, they want to bring that feeling of relaxation into the shower."

Builders and remodelers see the shower trend happening in a big way.

"We're seeing less tub, more shower," says Craig Plekkenpol, who owns a remodeling company and is president of the Builders Association of the Twin Cities. "It seems to be a lifestyle thing. People are on the go; a shower is a quick and easy thing."

Mark Peterson of M/A/Peterson Designbuild in Edina, Minn., says he has seen clients even rethinking having a tub in the master bathroom, typically the spot for a whirlpool bathtub.

"People say they still want one tub somewhere in the house, and that can be a standard or a deluxe tub, but they're not always putting them in the master bathroom anymore," says Peterson. "Often, they want a nicer shower in that room."

Bruce Lyons of Remodeling Dimensions in St. Louis Park, Minn., agrees.

"For years, the priority in the master suite bathroom was the whirlpool tub, and the shower was complementary," Lyons says. "This is something that's changed people are not using the tub, perhaps because of the amount of time it takes to fill it, or the time it takes to take a bath, or the effort of cleaning the tub showers are more practical and now, instead of a common, basic thing, people are going to a two-person shower, or a larger shower, with more interesting glass panels or glass blocks, or with benches."

That matches with what is happening nationally in the building trades, says Edmunds.

"Traditionally, builders would throw in a whirlpool tub as a perk to owners," Edmunds says. "Now, more and more of them are coming to us, wanting to push a custom shower as the perk."

Kathryn and Richard Johnson of Plymouth, Minn., consider their new custom shower a perk in their life. Plekkenpol Builders recently finished remodeling the couple's guest bathroom, which was a typically dark, small bathroom in the lower level of the home. Now, the bathroom has a frameless glass shower unit by Kohler with tile that resembles granite in shades of camel, blue-gray and black. The showerhead is extra large and can convert into a hand-held unit too.

In the next remodeling phase, the couple's master bathroom will get a steam shower with a bench.

"People wouldn't believe all the options out there for showers," says Kathryn Johnson. "I used to be a person who liked both the bath and the shower, but I think I'm becoming a shower person."