21st century remodels: the latest technology for your bath

From a device that can make phone calls and play full length films to a remote control in your car that can turn every single light in your home on with a single button, technology is always inches away. The one place we thought we could escape this grip is a room where we perform some of our most intimate activities: the bathroom.
Experts in the design industry recommend that bath environments be updated or remodeled every 8 to 10 years. If you are about start a bathroom remodeling project, get inspired by browsing through consumer tips on the National Kitchen and Bath Association web site. In the past, a bathroom remodeling project called for changing out old style tile and plumbing fixtures for more current styles. The process was simple.
However, today technology presents a whole new meaning to making it current. Here are some of the latest ways that 21st century bath home remodel is not how it used it be.

• Warm Floors: Never again will you get cold feet by wander into the bathroom in the middle of night. New mesh style, electrical under floor heating with thermostatic controls allows you to customize the floors the way you like it right down to the exact temperature.


• Toilets: The leader in new bath products, Kohler, has developed the Purist Hatbox Toilet, a revolutionary tankless piece that uses an electronic flushing system.


• Showers: Kohler has done it again with their lines of Digital Thermostatic Valves (DTV), electronic control systems that allow users to customize and save their steam and/or shower temperature settings. The system can save up to 6 different preset settings and can be operated by the push of one button. Other options include bringing in music and stress release with the use of chromatherapy, or light therapy.


• Tubs: Chromatherapy is also being integrated into whirlpool style tubs to create a spa like experience at home. This therapy uses different spectrums of light to either relax or rejuvenate the body.


• Televisions: We continue to mount LCD TV’s to bathroom walls for our viewing pleasure but what if you want the TV to disappear when not in use. The solution: wall mirrors that allow anyone to see the images on an integrated television screen through the mirror when turned on. Once it is turned off, out of sight out of mind.