Since we dedicated some time and attention to our older "Age-in-Place" demographic last week, this week we thought we might zoom into the future a bit with some help from this recent article on freshome.com called, "The Latest Technologies for a Smart Bathroom".  While we've dreamed up several ways Alexa could make your master bath smarter, but not all the technologies listed below will be compatible with current smart home automation systems, so please research your options or benefit from our expertise by contacting Diamond Bath today!

High Tech Toilets: While no one has taken us up on the $10,000 toilet we wrote about back in January, Asia seems intent on improving the porcelain throwns we've grown comfortable with during the past century.  Recent advancements include temperature controlled water fed to spritzing wands followed by automatic dryers.  For those not yet ready for car wash bidet experience, you may want to consider a simple toilet seat warmer, or motion sensors that will raise and lower lids without needing to touch anything that might contain germs. Going one step further, some germaphobes might opt for a self-cleaning toilet with an antimicrobial seat!

Digital Faucets: Unlike the creature comforts recent toilet advancements might provide, digital faucets may prepare us for a future when water is a resource deserving further conservation.  Beyond being able to adjust for flow and temperature, many new faucets use sensors to determine when your hands are under the faucet and can also use short-term timers for showers and faucets to help make a few us more efficient with our water use. 

Geeky Gizmos & Gadgets: Sometimes there is a fine line between geek and sleek, so in the interest of keeping our past clients and future customers aware of all their current technology options, pay close attention to LCD shower panels that will empower you to adjust water temperature, water flow, stream location and chromotherapy (lighting). But what good would all of this shower water perfection be without either music (yes - bluetooth speaker/shower fan combinations are a wonderful thing) or a waterproof TV?  Finally, we don't want to push last year's shower beer meme too far, but now it seems some contractors are getting requests for refrigerated bathroom cabinets to store wine, beer or medicines that should be kept cool. 

Just be sure to save some space for a small recycle bin in your next bathroom design! 

While we hear the term "spa-like" nearly everyday, we never gave much thought to how this recent bathroom design trend gained momentum.  Then we read this excellent article from Construction Dive called "Breaking the Mold: Why bath remodels are becoming an ultra-custom job".  The author, Debbie Reslock, has clearly done her research, citing sources such as Houzz and HomeAdvisor about recent increases in bathroom remodeling projects and increasing average costs.  She clearly documents that costs are increasing because most families who travel seeking the "spa-like" features and the "personal retreat experience" they enjoyed while traveling or on vacation.  When you start to add new features like multi-function shower heads, heated floors and digitally controlled lighting, water and music to the basics like cabinetry, counter tops and a new toilet, "average" remodeling prices are certain to rise. 

A few new future trends also identified within the article, labeled as "age-in-place" features, are clearly targeted toward an aging demographic seeking contemporary styles, but wisely including larger, no-threshold showers to allow for walker or wheelchair access, reinforced shower walls so grab bars can be added if needed and electrical outlets installed behind toilets to easily add self-cleaning mechanisms in the future. 

Regardless of the features and functions you expect from your new bathroom today and for the future, Diamond Bath stands ready to assist and make your remodeling investment a dream come true. Contact Us Today! 

With our brand new Crystal Lake Selection Center scheduled to open later this Summer, Google has suddenly given Diamond Bath a lot more online love! Our website has moved up the search ranks for important keyword searches locally, like "bathroom remodeling" and we even have a pin point on the McHenry County map now - even though we aren't officially open to the public quite yet.  One thing that is missing though is we have ZERO reviews for our business on Google! While we have started to send individual emails to our past customer database, we have nearly 1,000 customers and it's taking us some time.  So we thought we would be a bit more social and post this open request on our blog, our Facebook account, our Twitter account and LinkedIn account: HELP!

If Diamond Bath has completed a bathroom remodeling project for you at any point during the past five years, please click this Google Review link - it will take you directly to our Google profile and allow you to click a "Write a Review" button (see photo below).  We would LOVE for you to share a picture of your bathroom if its possible, especially if you or your family are actually IN the bathroom (decent of course)! Bathroom selfies work for us too! We appreciate your kind (hopefully) words, even if its just a few. Mention what year your project was done, what city you are in and whether you would hire Diamond Bath again in the future! 

Jennifer, Jim and your Diamond Bath team, including Melissa, Rick, Bob, Ed, Len and Eric, truly thank you for the few minutes this will take and genuinely appreciate your support of our local business! 
​
​