More than 50 percent of Americans favor home upgrades that are beneficial to health and wellness. That’s according to a recent lifestyle survey conducted by McKinsey and Co. This goes some way to explaining the rising popularity of home saunas in the US. Despite challenging economic times, this is a market that is growing at a compound annual rate of more than five percent.
If you join the millions of Americans who are installing a sauna in their home, you will want yours to stand out from the crowd. That doesn’t have to mean spending tens of thousands of dollars on a bespoke design. Let’s find out more.
Start with a simple prebuilt sauna kit
You can keep the costs of your home sauna project under control by starting with a simple prebuilt kit. US suppliers such as Saunaplace have a wide choice of sauna styles including cabin saunas, barrel saunas and more.
These prebuilt kits are delivered to your door and are designed for home assembly. It’s a task that anyone can tackle if they have a standard toolkit and some basic skills and experience in DIY projects. If in doubt, it is the kind of job that is well within the abilities of a local handyman. Putting the kit together generally takes three to four hours, although this can vary depending on the size and style of the sauna you choose.
Most home sauna kits use an electric sauna heater. So also remember that you will need to call in a qualified electrical engineer to install this and connect it safely to your domestic power supply.
Choose a sauna design that suits your style
We mentioned that sauna kits are available in different styles, so choose one that suits not only your needs but also your personality and that of your home. For example, a cabin sauna is the classic style. This is understated and will blend in to a traditional garden setting. A barrel sauna, on the other hand, stands out due to its unconventional shape and is a fun addition that will certainly get the neighbors talking!
If your outdoor space is more contemporary in style, you could consider a square sauna or even a pod design. The former has a sleek look and is typically glazed on the front, while the latter is a futuristic design that is ideal for smaller spaces, as it demands a smaller footprint but uses greater height to still give a feeling of internal space.
Accessorize for the finishing touches
Prebuilt sauna kits are affordable because they use a set number of standardized designs. However, each can be made to look unique by accessorizing – it is all about the fine details. There are a number of areas you can look at here, but some of the most popular are as follows:
- Add mood lighting with LED bulbs. These can create different atmospheres depending on whether you want to relax, detox, soothe muscles and so on.
- Install luxury towel warmers from a premium US brand such as Hudson Reed to add an extra sense of quality.
- Incorporate aromatherapy accessories to make the sauna even more relaxing and to address specific needs, such as bergamot to relieve headaches or chamomile for better sleep.
- Look into options for in-sauna sound, multimedia or even TV for entertainment while you sweat out the cares of the day.
You can also consider external features that will make your sauna stand out from the crowd. For example, while each kit comes with standard parts, you can opt for alternative sauna doors, made of either a different type of wood or even from plastic, metal or glass. You can also look into different glazing options depending on the size and style of sauna, for example with either frosted or tinted glass to facilitate privacy for users.
