New fixtures make taking a bath fun

"Necessity is not an established fact, but an inter-pretation." Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (1844-1900), German philosopher, "The Will to Power" (1888)

If a new bathroom is in your future, you are in for a real treat. The sinks, cabinetry, baths and showers available will absolutely delight and amaze you. Since we all believe it necessary to be clean, we might as well make getting clean special and fun.

A friend asked me recently to help her pick out all new parts for a renovated bathroom. She had lived with a dreary old master bathroom for the 10 years she had been in the house, and her husband was giving her a new bathroom for their anniversary.

The old bathroom had an old iron tub with a hand-held shower, outdated cabinets, a huge wall mirror over the sink, "Hollywood" lights and, horror of horrors, carpet on the floors. Please don't ever do this.

Since my friend lived on the East Coast, I couldn't be there to help in person, so I prowled around online and in catalogs to find things for her to look at. We could look at products together in virtual stores, and it worked. We managed to find new tile flooring, awesome cabinets, vessel sinks, a soaking tub and new shower enclosure.

Then, the most fun we had was picking a shower. You may not have given that much thought before, but getting the right shower fixtures can "change your life," according to my friend. How many showerheads and what size and shape are the main considerations.

Some of the most unusual and amazing ones I found for her were from Jaclo (www.jaclo.com). The company has been around since 1961 and manufactures decorative plumbing products and advanced shower solutions. You have to see some of their shower surprises to believe them.

The most unusual product I found is the Dream Light Rain Canopy. According to the promotional material, "Jaclo's Dream Light Rain Canopy enables bathers to experience revitalizing color while fulfilling a daily ritual." The canopy features LED lights that illuminate the falling water. Just imagine enjoying a rejuvenating shower and having a light show at the same time. My friend decided against the color, but did go with one of the company's other products, called the Dream Rectangular Light, which has no color, just light.

If you are lucky enough to get a new bathroom, pay attention to those pieces that are important to you. In my friend's case, she chose the shower to be a luxury item and had definite ideas about what she wanted.

If lights in the shower are just a little too much for you, Jaclo makes many others to choose from -- as do many other manufactures. Do your homework, perhaps by visiting local bath or home-improvement stores, and select those items to make your dream bathroom special.

Carolyn Muse Grant is the founding president of the Architectural & Decorative Arts Society, as well as an interior design consultant/stylist specializing in home staging. Her Inside Spaces column appears weekly in the Home section of the Review-Journal. Send questions to creativemuse@cox.net.