Ideas for a Home Sauna Room

The home sauna can be used by the whole family.

A home sauna room allows you the opportunity to enjoy the relaxation and health benefits of a sauna without driving to a gym or spa. As you design the layout of the room, consider how you can tweak the design to make it work with the layout of your house and the needs of family and friends.

Dressing Area

A dressing room is an important part of a sauna area. It provides a warm, dry place to undress at the beginning of a sauna and dress after you're finished. The room can also serve as a cooler area to relax when the heat gets to be too much. As you design the dressing area, put in hooks for clothing and shelves for storing towels and bath supplies. Use several benches or chairs for sitting and getting ready and put down rugs to keep the floor dry. The dressing area allows you to keep the sauna clutter contained instead of it spilling out into the home.

Sauna Accessories

In the sauna, use accessories to enhance your experience. Put out buckets for water, both to throw on a hot rock stove and to provide cool water to splash on your body as a respite from the steam. Because saunas tend to stimulate circulation, use loofahs or brushes to help the process. Look for scented oils that can be placed in the sauna stove to add a fragrance to the room and put a thermometer on the wall so you can monitor safe heat levels.

Multi-Level Benches

In a sauna, the hottest air hovers near the top of the room, with cooler air down below. When you are designing the room, put in multi-level benches that allow you and your family to enjoy the sauna at different heat intensities; this is particularly useful if you have children who cannot handle the warmer temperatures on top. Make sure the benches do not come too close to the stove and put a rail or gate around the stove for protection from the hot metal.

Shower

After a sauna, a shower is a way to wash off the sweat and come out clean and refreshed. Depending on your available space, place the shower in the sauna itself or in a separate shower space between the sauna and dressing area. If you have a detached sauna, you can use an outdoor shower or put the building by a pond or pool for a quick dip after a heat session. Keep in mind that an outdoor shower will not be functional in the winter in most climates, thereby limiting its use.

References

• Sauna Talk: Finnish Saunas
• Home Innovation Ideas; The Joys of an At-Home Sauna; November 2009