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How does technology change the way your clients use their baths? "With the changes being made in the area of water con- servation, people can now take longer showers because they are using less water." What is your favorite technology product to include in a bath? "I like to incorporate heated foors as well as heated benches in the shower. I haven't always been a fan of heated foors, but a house we rented while on vacation had them in the bathroom. When we redid our own bath, my wife insisted we put them in, and now I love them!" JESSE MEDINA, AKBD CRESS KITCHEN & BATH • DENVER, CO What technology trends/products are you incorporating most frequently into the baths you design? "LEDS are changing light- ing by allowing us to use a lot of accent lighting, like toe-kick lighting, countertop back lighting, rope lighting, night lighting, etc. Because LEDs are lower voltage, we can reuse an existing circuit without overloading it to get more light into the space. "Digital shower valves also allow us to design visually cleaner installations, which is especially nice in showers with multiple functions, such as a fxed showerhead, rain showerhead, body sprays and a handheld. Each function has a push-button feature instead of a large manual valve that can visually congest the show- er. The valve can also be turned on remotely and it remembers the settings from the previous day so you don't need to readjust it. "Another product that has surfaced for us is the smart mirror that can hide a TV. Heated foors and towel bars are also popular, and we really like the new waterproofng shower systems that are a vast improvement over the concrete systems as far as drainage." What is driving the technology movement into the bath? "I think marketing done by manufacturers is driving technology. So is television [such as HGTV]. A lot of clients I work with also mention features they experience when staying at hotels." How does technology change the way your clients use their baths? "If you rewind 50 years, a bath was just a place to get in and get out. Now, the bath is evolving into a relaxing space where, for example, after a stressful day at work you can get out of a shower and step onto a warm foor rather than a cold tile one. The bath has become a therapeutic, relaxing, spa-like place." What is your favorite technology product to include in a bath? "It all depends on the budget, but I like the improved shower features such as edge trims, heated fooring and waterproofng systems. Those are all go-tos for me." "We are also seeing innovations in ventilation. At a bare minimum, we include a recessed can light in the shower with a fan attached to it. It looks like any other light in the house, but it has a built-in fan. You can fip it on manually when you take a shower, or it can sense the humidity level and turn on and of automatically. It removes the humidity at the source so you don't have any more fogged mirrors." What is driving the technology movement into the bath? "Much of the technology we're seeing is for products related to conser- vation…especially water. One major technological innovation in that area is the toilet, which now uses much less water to efciently and efectively empty the bowl. Showerheads are also being designed to transform water droplets to make them larger so when they hit your body, they have a bigger impact. They use less water, but you still get rinsed of. "As it relates to energy conservation, LED lighting is becom- ing more standard. Bulbs are also more afordable, their color is warmer and the selection of fxtures is larger. "Public exposure seems to be driving technology as well. People are simply seeing a lot more. They watch shows on HGTV, or they have a personal experience during a vacation such as a cruise. They come home and they want to incorporate those products into their new bath." These baths, designed by Stuart Harle, both feature heated foors and freestanding tubs made from volcanic limestone. "They retain the water temperature," he says, "which allows for longer baths." Jesse Medina included a heated foor as well as heated towel rack in this master bath, which also features a digital shower valve and a linear shower drain, making it possible for large-format tile to be used on the shower foor. Photo: Miller Photography Photo: Miller Photography 34 Kitchen & Bath Design News • February 2016 BATH TECHNOLOGY