The Latest Line of Products Equip Bathrooms to Entertainment While Performing the Essentials.
Showers that sing, toilets that play original music, and bathtubs that vibrate with light shows are all aimed at keeping you entertained while engaging in the essentials. With the latest line of products, the bathroom is becoming the most entertaining room in the home. Do we dare say that the bathroom is the modern media room?
Over the years, we’ve witness the evolution of the bathroom from a practical, utilitarian space into a spa retreat. This latest trend takes the loo to another level… Want a bathroom that you can boogie in?
Here’s a look at bathroom three fixtures built to entertain:
The MoxieTM Showerhead:
The Moxie showerhead by KOHLER® takes singing in the shower to a new level. Remember those shower radios that stick to the shower wall? Well, imagine a whole dance club experience with a showerhead that is both DJ and Disco Ball. The Moxie showerhead has a wireless speaker with Bluetooth® technology that streams music from your smart device. Not only can you dance and sing your heart out in the shower, you are the DJ streaming your own playlist or songs from IHart Radio, Pandora, or any MP3 player. Now, if you want shower time to be an intellectual pursuit, you can even stream audio books through the Moxie.
Last month, I met with the Kohler folks at the 2013 International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas and experienced the Moxie showerhead firsthand. Leslie Bronson, Kohler Product Manger, says the Moxie showerhead integrates technology and the need for music in all areas of someone’s life….and I do mean ALL areas.
It’s a concept Kohler takes literally with a rollout of other products that keep that music flowing seamlessly in all areas of the bathroom. Priced at $199, the Moxie showerhead is selling well, Kohler reports.
VibrAcoustic® Bathtub:
If you prefer a bath to the shower, no problem, the bathtub can transform into your personal boombox complete with massaging sound vibrations. The VibrAcoustic bathtub by Kohler plays music in sync with vibrations while you relax in tub. “Because your body is primarily water, you feel those vibrations moving through you to give you a deep sense of relaxation, massaging you inside from the inside, out,” explains Jen Bryan, Senior Market Analyst in charge of Kohler Bathing Products.
The VibrAcoustic tub has six preprogrammed music experiences or you can stream your own music wirelessly or with an AUX cable.
Kohler had a sound therapist design the six preprogrammed music experiences to help the user relax and lower the heart rate for a Zen-like, spa experience. In addition to the music and massage, the VibrAcoustic throws in a little mood lighting to complete the sensory experience.
Kohler calls it chromatherapy lighting and the VibrAcoustic has eight color options that are choreographed to work with the sound and vibration experience. The user can cycle through all 8 colors or pick a color for mood lighting and ambiance.
NuMi® Touchless Toilet:
You can take the music to your toilet too with NuMi, a smart toilet with every technological bell and whistle you could image. The NuMi plays your favorite tunes from two speakers in the back. You can connect your MP3 player to the remote to play your own songs, listen to the radio or the NuMi’s own original composition designed to evoke a relaxing, spa-like ambiance.
Nick Grant, Senior Market Analyst for Toilets and Bidets at the Kohler, calls it the “touchless toilet.” Upon entering the room, the NuMi seat sensor lifts the lid. A blue light on the right side of the toilet allows males to tap their foot over the light to lift the seat up. NuMi also flushes itself after it senses 90 seconds of no motion. For the complete experience, the NuMi features a front and rear bidet wand, remote-controlled by the touchscreen and a dryer for what Kohler calls a “gracious user experience.”
For additional comfort, the NuMi has a heated seat, a foot heater and even deodorizes itself. The NuMi has its own night lite that makes the toilet bowl glow in the dark. Did I mention that the NuMi speaks 12 different languages? The NuMi retails for $6,390 and despite it’s luxurious price tag, Kohler says it’s doing very well in the marketplace.
Kohler says these new products “embrace the demand for constant connectivity.” So it seems the “bathroom break” has become more like a multimedia continuum of our daily lives.
