The (Every) Day Spa

Opulent Showers, Lap Pools, Massage Rooms: The Resort Getaway Comes Home

When Paul Villella and his wife, Kerry, designed the master bathroom in their new five-bedroom Fairfax home, they wanted all eyes on the shower.

So they asked the builder, Winchester Homes, to install four shower heads, three body sprays and clear glass from floor to ceiling, making the larger-than-normal whirlpool next to it look understated in comparison.

The couple and their 3-year-old daughter like to start their day by bathing at the same time, so they wanted it to be as relaxing as possible. To complete the spalike look they were going for, they painted the ceiling a light blue and the walls beige.

"It's a really warm environment, but it's brightened and softened in a way and has that spalike feel," said Paul Villella, who runs an executive recruiting and technology consulting company in Reston. "This is sort of our dream bathroom."

As houses become bigger and homeowners spend more time in them, people increasingly are creating in-home spas like the one the Villellas designed. Interior designers and builders across the country say they are being asked more frequently to replicate spas and hotel bathrooms visited by their clients. Features are as elaborate as exercise rooms, massage rooms, juice bars, saunas and wading pools, and as simple as recessed lighting and walls painted in soft tones.

"I think what's happening in the whole residential sector is that people are wanting amenities they have in hotels," said Sue Firestone, an interior designer in Santa Barbara, Calif. "People are building almost their own resorts rather than their own homes."

The spa industry in general has seen enormous growth in recent years. In 2005, the industry generated $9.7 billion in revenue, up from $7 billion in 2003, according to the International Spa Association.

The movement into the home also reflects a trend toward more creative uses of rooms that were once utilitarian. Basements have become hubs of entertainment. Bathrooms have become retreats. Kitchens have become a gathering point for the family.

Especially in a traffic-clogged region such as Washington, people are making their homes more comfortable so that they can spend more time in them, builders and designers said.

"Why not avoid getting into a car and going to a health club or spa where you're one of many clients?," said Riley Williams, a designer for Winchester Homes, of Bethesda. "It certainly doesn't have the same feel and convenience."

Plus, the people with the most money to spend -- baby boomers -- are typically more focused on taking care of their bodies.

"Aging baby boomers want to treat themselves nicely," Firestone said.