For many people doing a bathroom remodel or replacing their built-in tub, getting a jacuzzi is a high priority on their shopping list.
If you’ve ever wanted to turn your bathroom into a homemade spa, you should know that you have plenty of company. At Hydro Massage, we get dozens of customers who approach us with this goal in mind, and many think that having a home spa is an impossible dream.
Thankfully, that’s not true at all. When it comes to creating a spa-like bathroom experience, there are plenty of ways to get there, and making a deep soaking tub the centerpiece of your “spa” is one of the best.
What follows is a deeper dive, literally and figuratively, into how to use a deep soaking tub to create your personal version of the ultimate home spa experience.
Why a Deep Soaking Tub is Perfect for a Home Spa?
Tub selection is the first question you need to answer if you want to turn your bathroom into a home spa. Rest assured that there are plenty of options, from freestanding tubs that incorporate a variety of styles and colors, to whirlpool and jacuzzi tubs that use soothing air bubbles to help relax you at the end of a long day.
Deep soaking tubs offer a unique experience, however. With a minimum depth of 19 inches, they go deeper when you slip into a soaking tub for that ultimate relaxation experience.
Why? Because that extra depth means a lot when it comes to extra coverage. You can soak your shoulders and neck without having to shift around in an awkward position, and those areas are where many people tend to hold stress.
Selecting the Right Soaking Tub: The Basics
Before you consider the design elements of your new home spa bathroom, it’s important to get the basics right:
Tub Size
How big is your bathroom, and where do you want to locate your deep soaking tub to maximize the feeling of luxury? The bigger your bathroom, the more choices you have, but you don’t necessarily need to have a huge space.
Sometimes, though, it’s more about getting creative. Smaller bathroom spaces lend themselves to intimacy, and that’s a major part of what you want from your spa experience.
Bathroom Layout for a Deep Soaking Tub
Maybe you already know that you want your deep soaking tub to be the centerpiece of your home spa, but you still need to finalize your layout. That means you need to ask a few more questions.
Specifically, do you want your deep soaking tub in an alcove? Are you going to use lighting to highlight the tub? What kind of luxury touches do you want to add once you have it all in place?
Answering those questions will help guide you through the layout process, and in many bathroom spas it can create a lightbulb moment that will make your home spa completely unique and special.
Plumbing and Your Bathroom Space
As you’re getting creative with your design ideas, make sure you remember to check the plumbing. Not to see whether it’s functioning properly, of course—this particular check is about what your plumbing can support.
That means you know your pipes and plumbing system can get the water to where it needs to be if you’re choosing an unusual location for your tub, and it also means checking the weight of your flooring. Soaking tubs hold more water than conventional tubs, which means your subfloor will have to be strong enough to handle the extra weight.
Believe it or not, your doorways and halls are part of the process as well. Your best-laid deep soaking tub plans will be ruined if you plan to buy a great tub, only to find that you can’t get it in the door or down the hall without having some major work done.
Heating the Bath Water for Your Home Spa Deep Soaking Tub
When you talk to a plumber, make sure you also ask about your ability to heat the amount of water you’re going to need. In addition, find out if your septic system can handle the amount of water you’ll be using when you drain your deep soaking tub.
Don’t Make the Most Common Mistakes
Luxury isn’t just about spending money and getting the most expensive products and the right flourishes. It’s also about avoiding the common mistakes that can happen when creating a home bathroom spa, as they can make you waste money and hinder the luxury experience.
There are several pitfalls you need to keep in mind when you’re adding a deep soaking tub. Here are a few of the most common ones:
- Avoid an Awkward Slope in Your Deep Soaking Tub: One of the most important things to keep in mind when you select the tub itself is that it has to feel right. That means having your back supported so you can completely relax and enjoy the soothing experience.
- Make Sure Your Spa Space Doesn’t Include Slippery Floors: You definitely want to be able to easily slip in and out of your deep soaking tub, but you don’t want it to be a slippery experience. Check the flooring materials around your tub when you go to make your purchase, and make sure you can get in and out of the tub easily without any risk of a slip-and-fall.
- Get the Size of the Tub Sides Right: The size of the sides in your deep soaking tub are a huge factor when it comes to comfort and luxury. You want to feel comfortably enveloped when you enter your deep soaking tub, not overwhelmed to the point where you wonder whether you’re going to be able to get out or not.
- Insulated Materials Will Hold More Heat: Everyone has their preference when it comes to water temperature, heat and comfort, but no one wants the water to go cold in the middle of a soak. Check the properties of the material when you do your shopping for your deep soaking tub, then make sure they match up with your needs and preferences.
Luxury Spa Touches to Add to Your Heated Deep Soaking Tub
Getting a great tub is a great start to creating a spa experience, but there’s more to it than that. There are luxury touches that can make a world of difference, so here are some of the best ones.
Heated Floors
Adding heated floors can be a great luxury touch, especially if you’re sensitive to cold or you live in an area where cool or cold temperatures are common.
It’s easy to underestimate the sense of luxury that heated floors can provide, so if you have the budget and your bathroom is set up so that your floors can be heated, don’t hesitate to go for it.
Natural Materials
Are you a fan of nature? If your answer to that question is yes, make sure you use natural materials in your flooring and walls to reflect that interest. That means things like natural wood, stone tiles and anything else you can think of if that says “you.”
Surround Sound for Your Deep Soaking Tub
Some people forget the aural part of the spa experience, but this is a mistake. Think about spas you’ve visited—most include meditation music or nature sounds, but when you’re in charge you get to pick the music, so whatever relaxes you the most is the best choice.
Towel Warmers
This is another small touch that can pay off big time when it comes to creating a luxury experience. The combination of walking across a heated floor and grabbing a warm towel when you’re done will help you feel pampered, and it will enhance the feeling of relaxation.
Candles
Candles can be a polarizing design element for some when it comes to the right tone of your spa experience, but don’t just rule them out by giving them a try.
They may not fit right in the rest of your home, but if you save them for that special spa time and get the scent right, you’ll thank yourself after you’re done with the spa experience.
Lighting
Think back to the best experience you’ve ever had visiting a luxury spa. Chances are you encountered special lighting that was warm and designed to highlight the most spectacular spa feature.
Now think about recreating that experience in your own home bathroom spa with lighting. You can use color, brightness and filtered lights to highlight your deep soaking tub, feature your alcove space, or anything other part of your bathroom you think deserves the attention.
Shelves and Storage
These may not sound all that important, but if you want the home spa experience, you need to pay attention to the little things. If you have any add-ons that help create the luxury experience when you slip into your deep soaking tub, you need to have them close at hand, and you can even use shelves and storage to add personal touches.
Get the Ultimate Home Spa Experience with a Deep Soaking Tub from Hydro Massage
At Hydro Massage, we’ve helped many of our customers design their own home spa with a deep soaking tub. We can help you analyze your space, make the appropriate recommendations, then install a tub that will give you years of relaxation in your home spa.
Contact Us Today!
To find out more, call us at (303) 356-7427, and you can also got to our Contact Page or the homepage, where you can do a live chat to talk about luxury and the specifics of how a deep soaking tub can help get you there. We also have some great videos and blog posts that will fill you in on the benefits of hydrotherapy and give you all the necessary information you need.
