How to Build a High-Tech, High-Comfort Bathroom

We may not have flying cars or the casual space travel many imagined for 2020 during the middle of the last century, but we do have plenty of advanced health and home helpers, from watches that track your sleep to smartphone-connected dog treat dispensers. There is virtually no corner of our lives left untouched by the high-tech tools and toys created to make our lives easier and more luxurious.

Of course, there is an adoption curve. While some of us are still deciding whether smart TVs are worth it, others haven’t manually turned on a light in months. Regardless of your tech-savvy status, the bathroom offers many opportunities for integrating comfort-bolstering, easy to use technology. From low-investment additions to full renovations, consider the following high-tech upgrades for the bathroom.

Take your bathroom touch-free

Home assistants offer the opportunity for a hands-free experience through technology that needs only your voice to function, from basic to complex tasks. By adding the Amazon Alexa home assistant into the bathroom, you can turn on WIFI-enabled lights, dim the lights or change their color, turn on the steam shower and more to fully customize your experience to your preferences in the moment. For example, if you prefer softer light first thing in the morning, just ask Alexa to dim the lights to 50%. Want to stay in bed for a few more minutes while the steam shower heats up? No problem. Just say, “Alexa, turn on MrSteam.”

MrSteam works with Amazon Alexa through the SteamLinx App, which allows the user to turn the shower on or off, control temperature settings and set the duration of the steam shower for an easy, hands-free steam experience.

Give your shower a high-tech wellness upgrade

Steam is an ancient wellness tradition, offering numerous health and wellness benefits. Give this age-old wisdom a high-tech upgrade with the MrSteam iSteam3, the most technologically advanced steam shower control available and the SteamLinx App that enables Alexa voice control.

Housed in a sleek, slimline package, the iSteam3 mounts nearly flush on the wall of your shower. This control works with all E-Series Generators. Its expert design and engineering let you take advantage of all the potential wellness benefits of steam at home.

Add sound for a sensory enhancement

For the bathroom, visual design, pleasant smells and rich textures tend to dominate the conversation. But for an intersection of tech, design and wellness, consider installing a sound system to amplify a spa-like experience with soothing sounds or pump you up for the day with up-tempo beats.

Custom designed to bring rich sound to your shower, MrSteam MusicTherapy offers two receiver options for the shower that connect with splash-proof, slimline audio speakers. The AudioSteam3 receives both Bluetooth and FM radio signals and can be controlled directly with the iSteam3 SteamShower control. For a standalone option, the Audio@Home receiver connects with and is controlled independently from any Bluetooth device. With a peak output of 60 watts, the speakers emit powerful bass and crystal clear mids and highs to deliver a great listening experience.

Turn up your toilet intelligence

No one in America could be prepared for what 2020 had in store, including the early-spring, nationwide shortage of toilet paper and subsequent surge of bidet purchases. The rapid introduction to bidets, more commonly seen in Europe or Asia, was a direct response to the TP shortage, but many bidet adopters now wonder why it’s taken so long to embrace the magic of this high-tech toilet attachment. With a variety of price points and range of features, electric bidets offer hygienic luxuries such as heated seats, retractable spray wands, adjustable water pressure and oscillation, temperature settings and more. For enhanced bathroom comfort, the electric bidet is a high-tech trend with a lot to offer.

Create warmth where you need it most

Especially if you live in a cooler climate, a cold, drafty bathroom can drain the magic out of even the most beautifully designed bathrooms. Luckily, there are plenty of opportunities for adding heat, such as an electric toilet seat, heated towel racks or heated floors.

If you’re looking on the lower end of heat investments, towel warmers may be great options for a touch of warmth. MrSteam offers the Metro Collection, with stylish, refined lines to complement the most stylish sanctuaries.

For a bigger renovation and investment, radiant heat flooring offers a silent, invisible source of heat that can be programmed to run automatically, eliminating those unpleasantly cold winter mornings.

Technology offers homeowners the opportunity to create more seamless and comfortable everyday experiences. It may not be a hovercraft, but smart bathrooms contain a wow-factor all their own.