Wiring Your Washroom
Modern Bathrooms: Making Dreams Come
Have you ever dreamed of soaking in a warm bubble bath while you watch your favorite TV show? And when you belt out your favorite songs in the shower, pretending to be a rock star and using the showerhead as your microphone, have you ever wished you had a full-blown sound system and stereo equipment to go along with your musical bathing ritual? Well, your dreams are about to come true. With the advent of cutting-edge technology and the sea of hi-tech bathroom gizmos and gadgets flooding the bath industry, far-out and dated fantasies are quickly becoming a modern reality.
The Bathroom 'Hook-up'
That's right, folks. Contemporary bathrooms are getting stripped down and hooked up with the most advanced audio and visual equipment, changing the face of bath time forever. Most of these bathroom installations require the hiring of professionals such as builders, contractors, plumbers, and electricians. But if you're addicted to the techno-age and want to upgrade your bath area from 'Plain Jane' to 'hip-hop and happening' or 'too cool for school,' the expense will be well worth the effort.
Wiring Up Your Bathroom TV
Splash-Proof Screen: Flat-screen TVs are coming... to a bathroom near you! That's right: Adults will be able to watch Good Morning America as they groom for their workday; men will never have to miss that game-winning touchdown or overtime period while in the shower; kids will no longer have to scrub-a-dub-dub during commercial breaks in fear of missing their favorite show.
The key to prolonging the life of your bathroom TV is to keep it away from water splashes in areas such as the tub, shower, sink, and bathroom counter. In fact, the best place to install a bathroom TV is on the ceiling. Alternatively, you can also splash-proof your TV by designing a niche or recess for it in your bathroom wall and protecting the screen with a silicone-sealed glass frame or two-way mirror (when you're not watching TV, you'll be staring at your own reflection...). Some interior designers are even building a TV access panel right into the bathroom medicine cabinet.
Wiring: If you're designing a new bathroom or doing a complete renovation, you have the opportunity to run all the audio and visual cables you need and to install sufficient power outlets before the drywall goes up. If you are remodeling, however, the wiring becomes more complicated and should be tackled by a pro.
Plasma TVs: If you own the new Samsung wireless plasma TV, you're in luck, as it can pick up a streaming cable or satellite from a source as far away as 300 feet - which means less wiring to install in the damp bathroom area. If your house has gone hi-tech, your high-end bathroom entertainment system can be connected wirelessly through a home automation system. Toss in a waterproof remote control, and you'll be kicking back in the tub to your favorite DVDs or flipping the channels from your bubble bath in no time at all.
Vanity TV Mirror: To make modern life even simpler, Seura offers bathroom vanity television mirrors, which double as a TV and a looking glass, easily hook up to any cable, satellite, or video system, and come in a number of sizes for easy fitting into most bathroom designs.
Wiring the Bathroom for Sound
To top off your futuristic bathroom décor, invest in a set of waterproof speakers (offered by Kohler and other big players in the industry) so that you can listen to the top tunes or final scores from your shower or water jet tub. For an even funkier look and sound, you'll want to check out Kohler's popular SoundTile speakers, featuring sleek metallic square tiles that are installed directly into your shower enclosure and which double as stereo speakers.
However to really crank up the party and amplify the sounds, check out MTI Whirlpools' latest bath time innovation: the Stereo H2O bathtub, wherein acoustic transducers are embedded right into your bathtub! Simply connect the amplifier of this waterproof wonder to an iPod, home entertainment system, or stereo. You will literally be soaking up the sound waves of the future.