New innovations are turning standard showers into luxurious rituals.
True innovation in the world of home décor is rare, but the newest shower technologies and features—from temperature memory to mood lighting to showers you can take lying down— are making a bold, luxurious splash.
Among the innovations are Ametis, Graff’s polished steel wall-mounted shower system, fitting in nearly any size or style bathroom (graff-faucets.com). An attractive wall-mounted steel bar “U” shape, approximately 63 inches in length, is available in chrome, black, and white finishes. Four spray settings, including rain, waterfall, body sprayer, and hand- shower options, summon thoughts of rainforests, as mood lighting in red, green, and blue—illuminating from within the shower’s ring—cater to any mood. Designer David Oppizzi of Graff has described it as “a symbol of the fusion between the universe above and the oceans below. Its unexpected shape seems so beautifully simple; the continuous line of the shower column never stops, the solid shapes and dynamic elements meld together harmonically.”
iPhone addicted? Us too. That’s why we love Brooklyn, NY-based Watermark Designs’ in-shower Luxury Shower System, a built-in touch screen menu that operates as a kind of headquarters for your shower (watermark-designs.com). Program in your name and preferences for lighting, music, and precise water temperature, and you can control and time your shower water usage. Following suit, ThermaSol, a maker of luxurious steam shower systems, released a Solitude mobile app controlling for steam flow, duration, lighting, temperature and music in its models. It’s the most convenient way to regulate preferences (just remember not to check your email, even though you can).
Among our favorites is luxe fixtures designer Dornbract’s Horizontal Shower technology, a masterful expression of cutting-edge design and comfortable opulence (dornbracht.com). This shower features six Water-Bar sprays designed to stimulate the neck, shoulders, back, legs, and feet. Three spa-like shower programs are on tap: Balancing, Energizing, and De-Stressing. The first program, Balancing, “simulates the deep strokes of a massage and utilizes rain showers of alternating temperatures and water pressures, beginning at the soles of the feet and converging at the body’s mid-section. The result is a gentle caressing of the body for a wonderfully equilibrium effect.” The second program is Energizing, where the bather would lie face-down with “invigorating cascades of water sprayed in varying directions across the body, from the shoulders to the soles of the feet”; and for De-stressing, which is enjoyed face up as a “light, constant shower progresses from the shoulders to the feet, while changing water temperatures and volume creates a wave-like, sweeping flow for gentle relaxation.” Finally—technology that helps us relax.
The Get: Mirror Image
Take the tech a step further with Pennsylvania-based Robern’s M Series With TViD medicine cabinet. The chic, mirrored bathroom medicine cabinet allows owners to stay abreast of the news, weather, traffic, or their favorite story line while applying makeup or shaving, thanks to an eight-inch LCD TV that is discreetly embedded in its lower corner. (The LED-backlit LCD is even optimized for angled viewing in the bathroom.) The M Series With TViD is available in two widths, two heights, and two depths, and with right- or left-hinged door swings. Luxe extras like door defoggers and night lights make us actually look forward to our morning get-ready routine. robern.com.