Fancy a home sauna? They’re a barrel of fun
Hopping into your very own baking spa room is the latest way to chill out at home, reports Gareth Rubin
THE Scandi influence doesn’t stop at pared down neutral colours and an aversion to clutter. All of a sudden, we’ve gone wild for saunas.
Indeed, major brands beloved of celebrities have been unable to keep up with demand — Iglucraft, which sold David Beckham his sauna, doubled its sales in 2020 compared with the year before; while Lady Gaga’s favourite, Sunlighten, reported inquires surging by 50 per cent as soon as lockdown was announced. Sweating away in a sauna is a great way to relax. Some people swear they can feel toxins pouring out their pores, while many athletes say they are highly effective in healing overworked muscles and tension in the joints. It’s also good for encouraging bloodflow.
There are two main types: traditional saunas and the steam room. Saunas of the Scandinavian design are usually made of pine, hemlock or cedar; and heated by an electric or wood-burning stove containing about 20kg of volcanic peridotite rocks, which then produce an intense dry heat.
To increase humidity a little and bring out the sweat, cold water is poured on the rocks. Stoves usually take half an hour or more to heat up the room.
A medium-sized Finnish sauna would cost about £15,000.
A modern version is the infrared Finnish sauna, where panels placed around the sauna shine on you to raise your body temperature. They don’t have the option of sprinkling water to boost humidity, but they heat up much faster, so some people find them more convenient. The heating elements are made of carbon or ceramic, with ceramic generally considered better.
They are usually more energy-efficient than stoves because they heat the body directly, instead of raising the room’s ambient temperature. There is little difference in cost between infrared and stove-heated designs.
Steam rooms, meanwhile, tend to be more visually interesting — people often go for stylish colour designs, mosaics and expressive lighting designs. You can have aromatherapy, too — nice smells to mix with the steam. Overall, steam rooms tend to be larger and more expensive, so you’re talking £20,000 upwards for a medium-sized design.
You don’t need much space for a sauna or steam room — you could squeeze it all into a large cupboard if you really want.
For something fun, a barrel sauna, a traditional round hut design, can be built in a reasonably sized garden. They are often cheaper than having one constructed inside the house itself.
Neil Hassall, who owns a waste disposal company, had a sauna and steam room installed by Anapos (anapos.co.uk) in December in an outbuilding of his Georgian house in Chester, where he lives with his wife and son.
They took six weeks to install. ‘It was for health reasons — especially during Covid,’ says Neil. ‘My wife, Zoe, wasn’t comfortable going to a gym, for example.
‘It gives you time out to slow down and de-stress. You definitely feel revitalised and energised after you’ve come out and had a shower.’
Neil’s sauna fits about six people and the electric stove is partly powered by solar panels on the roof.
‘We’ve only had it a week and a half, so we’ve been using it every other day, but I expect that will wane when the novelty wears off. My son plays semi-professional football and he swears by it for recovery after matches.
‘After using it we have to walk from the barn back to the house, which isn’t far but you certainly feel a chill. Let’s say it livens you up.’
Harpist Valeria Kurbatova and her husband, Toby Clarke, bought a cedarwood barrel sauna for their back garden in North-West London in September 2020 from the Cedar Sauna Company (thecedarsaunacompany.co.uk).
Imported from Russia, it is 2.6m long, 2m in diameter and made from Siberian cedar. Prices for the model, the smallest in the range, start at £8,224.
‘I grew up in Russia with saunas — banya, we call them — and this brings the memories back,’ says Valeria. ‘Ours is like a little burrow. It’s extremely cute and we went for a woodburning stove because you get the smell and steam and you can get it really hot.
‘It fits four people comfortably, but you can get six in.
‘Mentally it’s been a saviour for us in lockdown. You sweat out all the negative emotions and relax. We always make an event of it. And we use whisks — large oak or birch twigs with leaves on that you use to massage each other.
‘It’s not painful — they’re quite soft. After that you feel ultimately relaxed. Everyone should try it.’
SoME home trends last the course (think sustainable design and open-plan living), while others are, thankfully, fleeting (goodbye matching furniture and round beds). But there are a few we can count on to stay the distance this year.
So here’s what we think will be in vogue for the next 12 months.
SOFT SHAPES
CURVES, spheres, lozenges and circular silhouettes reflect our current desire for a greater sense of flexibility in the way we merge work and play.
‘You can expect to see more organic shapes coming to the forefront in terms of furniture,’ says the dining Chair Co’s Amanda Huber (diningchair.co.uk). ‘Curved designs feature softer lines, creating a less strict and more informal setting.’ Check out the gracious shape of Soho Home’s Luciana sofa, £2,495 (sohohome.com).
PLAYFUL PIECES
THE latest interiors don’t take themselves too seriously — the idea is to elevate simple materials or use them in a creative way.
Think wide, jaunty stripes on an overscaled armchair (take a look at Buchanan Studio’s Studio chair, £2,394, for inspiration), halflength linen café curtains used as cupboard skirts, and trims, tassels, bobbles and fringing on curtains, lampshades and upholstery.
Relaxed, unfitted kitchens also feed into this look: Buster + Punch’s latest foray into freestanding cabinetry is designed to easily adapt to lifestyle shifts (busterandpunch.com).
COLOUR CONFIDENCE
MoRE of us are experimenting with colour — whether that’s mixing bold primary tones, colour washing our walls or choosing confident finishes such as all-gloss or soft plaster. Warm hues and nature’s tones are set to prevail, from rich terracotta and sand to olive and deeper greens.
This calming, earthy palette suits our renewed connection to nature during the ebbs and flows of the pandemic, when ‘home’ has become a byword for sanctuary. Look out for calming and uplifting bright blues.
HANDCRAFTED APPEAL
ITEMS that feature the hand of their maker inject individuality, such as the beautifully detailed pieces of Galvin Brothers: the Bobbin Side Table, £375, or the Fluted Cabinet, £4,800, both future design classics, which take inspiration from the shape of ancient columns (galvinbrothers.co.uk).
Introduce handcrafted appeal through lighting, too. Susie Atkinson’s (susieatkinson. com) Plato lamp bases, inspired by 1940s conical leather lamps, are coated in high gloss colours. They work well with a hand-painted or trimmed shade; Rosi de Ruig’s are a timeless option, priced from £60 (rosi-de-ruig.myshopify. com).
MINDFUL DESIGN
LESSEnInG our impact on the planet remains key. ‘Sustainability is not a trend, but a key design principle,’ says Kelling designs’ Emma deterding (kellingdesigns.com). ‘It’s about changing our mindset to embrace upcycling, reupholstering and repairing.’ This also translates into buying fewer but better pieces and researching provenance.
‘Seek out items made from recycled materials, such as outdoor furniture produced from recycled aluminium, upcycled fabrics or fabric leftovers for upholstery, and recycled glass for tableware and tops,’ says interior designer Claudia Ludwig (claudialudwig.co.uk).
FLEXIBLE LIVING
WITH many of us required to work from home at a moment’s notice, our living spaces need to accommodate relaxing, escaping, cooking and working. So quality joinery is high priority.
‘All of my projects focus on it, from library style shelving and desks to concealed storage,’ says interior designer Louise Robinson (louiserobinsoninteriors.com).
‘Another trend that has become hugely popular is open-plan layouts and indoor/outdoor living, which is set to continue as we try to reclaim our homes from pandemic living,’ says Fionnuala Johnston, senior home designer at John Lewis (johnlewis.com).
TRY TEXTURES
THE trick is to look for less obvious ways to introduce these familiar elements. Try opting for warm oak internal doors rather than ubiquitous Crittall; lining front door surrounds and frames with richly veined marble or using tactile Zellige tiles in bathrooms and kitchens.
Check out Bert & May’s new Ric Rac collection with designer Samantha Todhunter, whose pattern is inspired by the ric rac ribbon she used to sew onto the Spanish dancing skirts she made as a child (bertandmay.com).
GLOBAL INTERIORS
ARMCHAIR travel is on the rise as many are reluctant to take risks.
That translates to confident interiors that are embracing global design motifs, from deeply pictorial wallpaper such as osborne & Little’s Portovenere, featuring retro Ligurian village scenes, £94 per roll (designerwallpapers.co.uk), to patterned flora and fauna soft furnishings.
CHARMING CERAMICS
SPAnISH and Italian handmade pottery
is enjoying a resurgence. See the vintage collection at The Edition 94, from £40 per plate (theedition94.com) and the range of decorative jugs, plates and dishes by traditional maker Cerámica J. Marín, available at Liberty (libertylondon.com).