A long soak in luxury

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A long soak in luxury

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A current bathroom trend includes patterned wallpaper, marbled finishing on floors and a whirlpool bathtub. [JoongAng Ilbo]

Imagine you are in a palace. Which room would you want to check out first? Would it be one of the spacious bedrooms, the grand ballroom with a crystal chandelier or the expansive diningroom with marble floors?
If you are a home-styling guru, you would probably check out the bathroom suites first. They are bound to be drenched in luxurious fittings that emphasize looks over practicality.
That’s not to say that the bathroom lacks practicality, but that the fittings, the accessories and materials are far from the basic basin and bathtub that most people in Korea have been used to for some years now.
But times are changing, and recent blueprints for bathrooms now include carpets, ergonomic bathtubs and a water-jet massage inside the shower room, among others, as homeowners turn their bathrooms into private spas.
A strong commitment to well-being is fueling this latest trend, and spending quality time in the bathroom is crucial to the way Koreans view happiness.
The average number of minutes a Korean clocks up in the bathroom is 55 minutes a day, according to research carried out in 2005 by Hankook Research, a market research company.
The company’s data also suggests that they are likely to be spending even more time there as bathrooms become the kind of places you don’t want to leave.
New bathroom designs on the market in Korea focus on dramatic color schemes and extras like massive bathtubs, and the bathrooms are selling strongly.
Construction companies specializing in private residences are fueling the trend. They surveyed customers about their concept of an ideal bathroom design during the construction process and then incorporated their findings in the final apartment layouts.
The notion of having two bathrooms must have been a popular request, as some buildings are squeezing two into a 33-pyeong (109-square meter) flat, which typically would only have room for one.
Another rising trend is a design suite, which is a package that creates custom-made bathroom accessories including toilet seats, bathtubs, showerheads, faucets and sinks.
Hangnam China Ware, a local ceramic-maker, has launched a new bathroom-ware brand called “Koohn,” which uses high-class bone china made from 50 percent pure cow bone, a material that is both strong and light.
American Standard, a well-known brand for bathroom goods, attracted publicity after it commissioned high-profile European designers including Thomas Aigle, the winner of Red Dot Award, to design six bathroom suites.
“Koreans are looking to bathrooms as a way of adding style to their homes,” says No Mi-rang, the marketing consultant at Bathhaus, a showroom for American Standard that opens in May.
Other companies are combining traditional elements with Western-style bathrooms.
The biggest difference between Korean and American bathrooms in private residences is the location of the drainage system.

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New-style bathtubs are ergonomic and include features like heaters.

In a typical Korean bathroom, water drains off the tiled floor, allowing users to splash water around and keeping the floor clean, if a little slippery.
But Western-styled bathrooms almost never have a floor drainage system, and water is kept in the shower or the bathtub. This is why you can decorate Western bathrooms with carpets and patterned wallpaper, which would quickly ruin in the wetter Korean washroom.
Another trend filtering into the Korean market for bathrooms are old-time powder rooms, where women can apply makeup, and a wider selection of creative designs for faucets. In 2000, the government revised a construction law in 2000 to allow homeowners to install water-saving equipment, which spurred a growth in interest in different kinds of water pipes.
Greater awareness of water conservation has led to an increase in the variety of shower-heads on the market, which can adjust for water pressure.
But if you like your early morning, or late night shower to be a blast, American Standard has released its “sunflower shower,” which places the shower head higher than usual to create stronger jets.
Whirlpool bathtubs are also popular nowadays. Virtually unheard of in private residences until recently, homeowners are buying up ergonomics whirlpool bathtubs that offer bubble massage options. Space used to be an issue but now whirlpool bathtubs are built to fit into the corner of a bathroom, taking up as little space as possible.
Other added features that are now seen are bathtubs with built-in heaters that keep the water warm, so you so you don’t have to replenish the tub with hot water if you want a long soak.
With all these additions, it is no wonder we want so spend more time than ever in the bathroom.


By Seo Jeong-min JoongAng Ilbo [estyle@joongang.co.kr]
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