lisacoopland nijjcr

John Whipple - By Any Design ltd. Great baths! Is there a reason they are all square or rectangular in shape? Is that custom as well?

JW

Some fun history on this link http://www.gallowglass.org/jadwiga/herbs/baths.html

olldroo I would be terrified of walking down those timber stairs with wet feet.

hometipster Some really beautiful designs. I really love the first one by Concreteworks. It's nice and modern with a wonderful contemporary feel.

Becky Shankle That first tub is drop dead gorgeous. Very, very nice how the practical is integrated with the beautiful. I would LOVE to have this thing along with a sauna in my house!

RusticSinks.com Great article-So relaxing John, They can be round also! Japanese style copper bathtubs are used for soaking more than bathing. A round Japanese soaking tub-http://www.rusticsinks.com. Great even for outdoors.They are made to be mounted directly on the surface of the floor and they offer you a seat so you can relax while enjoying the hot water. They hold 54 gallons of water, so they can give you the full experience of immersion without the high volume of water that is required for larger tubs.

Mackenzie Austin Design Very nice...but the amount of WATER needed to fill them!!

lomaxarts In Japanese households, the soak tub water is not drained for each use, hence the shower before each soak. And the tub is used as a way to get nice and warm on a cold evening.

Yagoona Design We built something like these in our house.

vanwyk22 In Japan, a heater is usually part of the tub allowing the water to be used by the whole family without it getting cold. Water is replaced daily unlike a jacuzzi. Water stays clean if you wash before getting in the tub.

djbittle Do you have to climb to get in these?

RusticSinks.com The round Copper soaking tub has a built in interior step/seat.

kandrewspa They're beautiful in the home decor as art sense, but I wonder how comfortable they would be since most of them are rectangular with straight sides. I recently added a master bath to my house and selected an oval tub with a slanted, heated backrest that is actually comfortable to sit in. I like my fixtures to be fully functional as well as attractive!

gurukaram I love my Japanese style tub!! We installed an octagonal one person size soaking tub and use it in the traditional way - quick shower followed by a long soak so we can share the water. Ours only takes about 65 gallons to fill and it stays hot forever without a heater. It is much more comfortable than a regular tub because you sit on the built-in seat with hot water up to you chest or chin depending on how much you sink down. Tall people like my husband can soak fully without his knees sticking up out of the water like in a regular tub and a short person like me can soak fully without constantly sliding down in the too long regular size tub. We have a lovely open walk-in ADA shower at one end of the space and the tub at the other.

Mackenzie Austin Design I like them more knowing there is the option of adding a heater to it (and therefore having to fill it less often).

ejly I love these and hope to have one in my home someday!

Dasal Architectural Lighting Nice to see our lighting in the last picture (from the Fairmont Hotel in Vancouver)

rashard1 those are nice

Cline Architects We designed this sunny corner with a view for a custom Sitka cedar soaking tub, shown with its lid.

RusticSinks.com Very nice! What is the interior or lining of the tub?

Cline Architects The interior is bare wood. When not in use, you have to keep a few inches of water in the bottom to keep it from drying out and developing leaks. The cedar has a wonderful, soothing aroma.

jagunk Excelent bath

Fine Art & Portraits by Laurel John, they squat in them, don't recline. This is my problem, terminal westerner that I am. Ever since I learned to love baths, I want to recline and soak, do the mermaid thing.

Fine Art & Portraits by Laurel Whoops, forgot to ask, how sanitary are wood tubs?

Diamond Spas Japanese Tubs are the hottest trend in bath tub design. You either love them or don't. The tubs are deep-usually up to your neck and they give the bather a deep soak. If you like to lay down in the tub, this is not going to be for you, but if you like a deep hot soak, you will love it. Japanese tubs can be made in many shapes as seen here. Ours our all custom made with a built in bench and can be made with water jets for massage benefits.

monalisastone All of these are beautiful but don't look very comfortable. I wouldn't want to be resting my head on a square edge!

mmsalg This is the only way to bathe. Here are a few great makers who would love to build your custom ofuro http://custm.co/hz/116

Coates Design Architects Seattle Great story! Thanks so much for featuring our work. Check out the rest of this LEED Platinum certified home here:

Susan Mills Design John, if you would like to experience a round Japanese soaking tub, you can at River Run Cottages in Ladner, they have one on the deck to one of the cottages. You can sit and watch river life while soaking in the tub sipping champagne. It used to be one of the inns featured in "Best Places to Kiss in the Pacific Northwest". Very nice!

Coates Design Architects Seattle regarding comfort: prior to executing the final cast in place concrete ofuro, we measured our clients and built a plywood mock-up to ensure a proper and ergonomically correct fit. they love it!

simps214 Between our large clawfoot slipper tub upstairs and the ofuro-style tub in our master, the latter is actually a surprise winner for relaxing. We got the Victoria and Albert Sorrento and its actually a bath we both love to use! Here's what it looks like...

Joanne Cannell Designs Most of the examples look like accidents waiting to happen to me. Ideally you should be able to sit on the edge of the tub and swing your legs in.

swarg Simple modern n beautifullllllllllllll

momlauren I love it I would get one of these is a second

momlauren I love it I would get one of these is a second

ooopppooo I live in Japan, and there's not a single house with a bath like these. I have seen apartments smaller than these bathrooms.

jagnicholas The Kohler tub shown in the last photo is beautiful. However I wonder how deep it is. US tubs are too shallow for Japanese-style bathing. Manufactures say the US consumers like to recline when bathing. That's not what I hear. People hate being half exposed when soaking; manufactures hate to retofit or create new products. All they do is change the shape: oval, square, rectangle. They add lights (boo hiss), music, TV....all stimulus we need to AVOID when bathing. Get with the program, guys!

gurukaram We ordered our "Nagano" tub from these folks. Nice and deep, no bells and whistles. The only thing that I forgot to do was put a sprayer faucet on it for easier cleaning.
http://woodentubs.com/catalog/7

caroline150 I think goodjo

David Roady Toto USA needs to bring some of the 'system bathrooms' from Japan to the US market. These are easy drop in installs with heated recirculating tubs, insulated covers, floor, drain, shower fixtures, electronic controller panels... all kinds of lovely. Some photos for reference on Toto Japan's website:
http://www.toto.co.jp/products/bath/mansion_remodel_bathroom/setplan/index.htm

jagnicholas Oh, my gosh, who do we need to contact to get this done? I will write TOTO pronto. We should start a letter-writing campaign ASAP. I am still amazed by Westerners who prefer reclining as opposed to sitting in water (up to your) neck. I know that half their body has to be floating out of the warm water & into the cold air. I see those jetted tubs on TV & wonder where those jets hit their body; the water is so shallow! Thankx for the heads up!!

Sveta Xu We have Kohler Cube, and we love it!

jagnicholas Sveta, how deep is yours? If you are seated on the bottom does the water come up to your chin? armpit? or, lower? Is it installed on the floor or below floor level? Does it have a heater? Lots of questions, I know! Any information you can provide will be gratefully accepted.

Sveta Xu jagnicholas, I think it said 25" on the factor sheet for the tub. I am short (5'1"), if I sit on the floor of the tub, you wouldn't see me from outside of the tub, there also 2 cornor benches came with the tub, one is higher than the other. The higher one is about 10"-12" tall, I use it as a step when i get in the tub...we installed ours on the floor because it is in the second floor bathroom, but if you can, i would install it below floor level since getting into it take a stepping stool and someone might find it scary...We got the basic model so no heat, but i believe heater and air bubble massager thing can be added...if you decide to go wth it, i would make sure the floor is strong enough since it is a 2 person tub....My kid loves to "swim" in it...We searched for about 2 years for a soaking tub, and this model was new when we saw it on the web last summer. I didn't want a wooden tub and didn't want to spend a forturn on it, this was perfect for us. Let me know if you have other questions.

jagnicholas Wow, that's very interesting. I always look for tubs that are, @ least, 42" deep. I'm short as well....5' on a good day. I live @ the beach, so my home is built on a slab; I don't think the weight of the tub will have any affect, but it can't go below floor level. I could probably have a carpenter create a surround. Hmmm. Something to think about.

Sveta Xu jagnicholas, don't quote me on the depth....now you say 42" i am not sure about my number anymore.....anyway, seem like you are the same size with me, then you will have no problem sitting in it and get a good soak! I hated have to hold on the side of the traditional tub cause i keep slide down...we use a wooden bench to get in the tub, then i sit on the edge of the tub ( we tiled it wide enough to sit on), swing myself into it....if you have space, a step would be better of course.

mark8016 Test

jagnicholas Test what

Joseph F. Yencho, Design/Builder Just finished a bath with a soaking tub, with airjets and hot water recirculation

jagnicholas Very nice! Can you post pics of just the tub? How was the entry to the tub handled? Is this a custom built bath? Really interested to hear more details about this project. Thankx

Joseph F. Yencho, Design/Builder Hi jag. I'll see if I can find you some stand alone pics on that tub. There is a small 12" teak step stool the clients use to step into the tub, the built-in seat inside acts as the step out. I would have liked to recess the tub a bit, but didn't have the ceiling heights underneath. The overall size is 10'6" by 20'2"and is a new construction on top of existing space. The cabinets are custom built and hand finished teak. Designed by Timothy Burke Architects in Boston, it took approx. 4 months to complete.

Joseph F. Yencho, Design/Builder Other features include a wet bar, built-in flat screen TV, stacked washer and dryer, ironing board, dual shower heads and heated flooring.

jagnicholas Wow, what a fantastic job. Thoughtfully planned. I especially like the inclusion of the stacked w/d. I happen to be a 70 year old widow who lived in Japan as a child. My life is nowhere near the level of opulence of your client. However I do know what I like & am willing to prioritize in order to get what I want. The bathroom I would like to renovate is not tiny, but there is certainly not room for the TV or the wet bar. I would need to compromise on the shower area. Intriguing ideas. Thankx for the great info.

jagnicholas The underfloor heating is a MUST! What an invention. Nothing worse than a cold bathroom floor. Nothing!