Beyond Baths

The lowly bathroom has reached new heights, and it’s safe to say the once functionally designed restroom has truly become a rest room, with sitting areas, soaking tubs, and plenty of space to luxuriate in comfort.

“With the hectic lifestyles people are living, they are finding it nice to have a retreat in their home,” says Mike Brotman, project coordinator for Kyle Hunt & Partners in Deephaven. “We’ve gone from a space that was designed to be purely functional to a space that is functional, yet so much more. Today, high-end baths are basically in-house spas without employees.”

Big Lake. “You used to hear, ‘It’s just abathroom.’ Now people say, ‘I want to feel good when I walk into the bathroom.’” And feel good they can with the installation of a wide variety of amenities and custom features designed solely to pamper the senses.

Grand Scale
“What really sets high-end baths apart are their size and the amenities,” says Gary Kraemer, president of John Kraemer & Sons in Edina. Kraemer’s firm has been installing luxury bathrooms for twenty-eight years, and he says it is not unheard of for someone to spend upwards of $100,000 on a bathroom remodel. “Certainly the grand scale is important,” Kraemer notes. The largest bathroom he built was 350 square feet.

“Today’s high-end baths are more spacious, more roomy,” says Lamont Steinwand, president of Aarbor Homes in Lakeville. “In the old days, builders crammed everything into a small space. Today, we are creating baths with more space—baths that are more free flowing, more comfortable.” Steinwand is currently building two lavish baths, both closing in on 300 square feet.

“Generally, size is proportionate with the whole house,” says Tim O’Connor, project manager with Steiner & Koppelman in Deephaven. “As the house gets bigger, more space is added to all of the rooms.” The last thing homeowners want is to feel cramped in a small space. “Usually two people are running around in the owner’s suite bath and they don’t want to be running into each other,” O’Connor adds. “There’s also an expectation when you have a high-end home, certain things need to be included.”

Pure Comfort
There’s no doubt homeowners today are spending more money on their bathrooms than they did a decade ago. Brotman says the amount of money going into newly constructed bathrooms has increased dramatically in the past five years. With so much money being earmarked for a room that was once considered purely functional, homeowners want the space to be cushy and comfortable, and that means ambiance is a must.

Natural light is an important part of the overall feel of the room. “Most high-end bathrooms have windows with a view of something nice—a lake, golf course, pond, woodland, or landscaped yard,” Kraemer notes. “People set their homes up to have beautiful views from the owner’s suite, including the bath.”