The Ultimate Bathroom of the Future
Here at ukBathrooms we are always looking for the latest bathroom innovations, from state-of-the-art showers to the newest bathroom technology advances. This sometimes means that we imagine what we want from our bathrooms in the future and look at how changing technologies and developments in design will change the way we use our bathrooms.
As part of ongoing research into what we expect from our bathrooms we polled homeowners asking them how they use their bathrooms, what they are to them and how long they spend in them. We also asked them to look twenty years into the future and choose from a range of features and state what they would like to see in their bathrooms in 2034. We chose the most popular answers to create our Bathroom of the Future.
1. Touch screen multimedia centres in bathroom mirror and shower screen to listen to music/watch DVDs etc – (78%)
2. A sensor- and voice-activated self-cleaning toilet- (64%)
3. A whirlpool bath with spa features – (43%)
4. An enclosed all-in-one aromatherapy shower with steam room and sauna settings – (34%)
5. Stow-away space-saving toilets and sinks to create more bathroom space – (21%)
Technology is now such an integral part of our lives, it’s no surprise that many more people would look to incorporate it into their bathroom of the future. The bathroom is the one place in a house where we can escape our worries and relax in privacy and we found for many people (67% of those we polled) they feel the atmosphere in their bathroom is very important to them.
Also the bathroom is one of the rooms in their property that they feel most relaxed in (65% of those we polled). As bathrooms are the place we seek sanctuary it makes sense that we want to add luxury touches to them, such as whirlpool bath with spa features or all-in-one aromatherapy shower with steam room and sauna settings.
But it’s not just little bits of luxury people want it’s also to have space saving bathrooms. As the UK has one of the smallest sizing standards of housing it’s important that we get all the features we want, whilst not taking up lots of space, or be able to fit these luxury items into smaller bathrooms. So we were not surprised to see many respondents choosing stow-away space-saving toilets and sinks.
Our company director, Peter Gregg, said: “With this research, we wanted to find out exactly how our bathrooms could look twenty years from now and what Britons want from the ultimate futuristic bathroom. With the ever-improving kinds of technology we are witnessing around us, the modern bathroom has already entered into a digital age. The truth is, technologies like those featured in our concept image are likely to be introduced into the market well within the next two decades, if not within the next five years or so.”
The feedback enabled us to imagine what a bathroom of the future may look like and create this fantastic concept image. It feels and looks futuristic enough however we have been careful not to include, way out there technology. This is a bathroom that could conceivable be seen in twenty years’ time in most peoples bathrooms, with much of the technology in development now.
We picture the Bathroom of the future to cover these key aspects:
- Technology Based
- Eco Friendly
- Luxurious
- Space Saving
Our influences came from products which are available now and we looked how these could be developed.
We imagined a toilet of the future would be eco-friendly, use technology to monitor your health and also be space saving. It would recycle grey water from the sink and other water pipes a development of the Roca W&W which reuses the water from the basin to flush the toilet. It would also feature a sensor which would automatically close the lid, and recede back into the wall a development on the Auto Close Toilet Seat by Pressalit.
Showers are already using light therapy to help create a relaxing or invigorating environment. We want to add aromatherapy as well to allow you to have an at home spa experience and ultimately create a room which is not only functional as an everyday bathroom but also somewhere where you can go to escape. Sieger Design have created the Sensory Sky for Dornbracht, which uses light and aromatherapy. It is available for bathrooms now, although relatively new as technology develops it certainly could become something which would be standard in many bathrooms.
For space saving aspects we chose to have a shower and bath combined, the egg shape allows you to use the base for the bath and the curved arch over, means water can be sprayed from different angles, allowing for more massage functions and of course the aromatherapy. You will also be able to change settings on the shower for user’s individual preferences and it will also include retractable smart glass multimedia. This will allow you to watch TV when you bath or catch up on news and weather during your morning shower.
Our other main feature is the multimedia centre mirror, again technology which is available now, however we are sure it’s something we will see with more functions in the future in everyone’s bathroom. We already stock TV mirrors from Aquavison, in 2034 we predict they would also be interactive, gesture control, with the ability to scan in face. You will be able to try new hairstyles/ beard styles onscreen. You will also be able to access grooming tips from shaving various styles of beards to makeup and hairstyles. It will also have zoom function, for precision grooming and also be an access point for you bathroom multimedia.
Most of all the Bathroom of the Future we envisage is one that not only works for the whole family but also individual needs, whether from young children, to the elderly and disabled. We also want it to make life easier, more comfortable and luxurious without costing the earth, figuratively and literally.