Room for two

Couples that bathe together... Bathrooms for two are the latest in private space, though some people don't mind entertaining in them.

Most home owners would be alarmed if guests at their parties chose to sit and sip wine in their bathroom. Preeti and Richie McConkey don't bat an eyelid.

That's their mission accomplished. When they started to plan their bathroom, complete with cosy love seat, whirring wooden-blade fan and clawfoot bathtub, they intended for it to be less utilitarian ablution chamber and more a seamless extension of the Moroccan-Moorish aesthetic that dictates the rest of their home.

Clearly, bathrooms aren't what they used to be "" dim, poorly ventilated, always wet and never available to public view. Previously the last place people would imagine wanting to share, couples are turning to them, as retreats, for some peace and quiet.

"People's lives are getting so cluttered, the bathroom is one of the last spaces that remain as private domains," says Pinakin Patel, a noted interior architect, based out of Alibaug (a coastal town across Mumbai's harbour).

The bathroom that Anjali Shah shares with her husband, Ravi, has a custom-moulded amorphous bath. When it is filled, water continuously and smoothly spills over the sides and is channeled back into the tub, giving it the look and sound of a waterfall. On one side of the tub is a teak bench where one sits and talks while the other soaks....

Patel attributes some of this emerging spirit for communal cleansing to the hurried lives people lead. "Sometimes it is a necessity; you are both back from work at the same time, have to get dressed and leave for a party."

Sharad Mathur, VP (India) for the Kohler brand of bathroom products, says they are having to keep up with the requests for twin-sized whirlpools and bathtubs.

Kohler has just whipped up what it believes is a winner "" a tub that defies gravity and lets you float in temperature controlled water, while specially designed air jets generate bubbles. The tub is designed to colour the water in kaleidoscopic hues at the touch of a button.

Bathrooms today aren't just larger, they're designed for two, with specially designed baths so legs don't bump into each other, often two sets of wash basins, showers and cabinetry. And couples aren't just grooming in tandem, they are also shrugging off the day's stresses, kicking back and relaxing...on chaise lounges, with plasma screens and CD players that no longer raise eyebrows. Bathrooms have become the new dens.

In cities like Delhi, where space is not a constraint to artistry, people's bathrooms turn into revitalising spas with open air jacuzzis, steam rooms, even massage chairs, atop which they perch while pedicurists and coiffeurs pamper them.

When plenty of space is available, some people even opt for showers that are usually ensconced in sequestered gardens screened off by a low wall and shrubbery. "You can recreate a whole monsoon these days," says Patel, "with shower heads that are 3x3 ft." He adds, "You can keep perfecting the whole spa bathroom look, with scented baths, coordinated his and hers bathrobes...it's endless."

Another Delhi-based couple, who'd rather remain anonymous, have custom-designed a bathroom which can be entered through their dressing room that also houses a gym.

The bathroom itself contains two sets of showers in glazed cubicles, two sets of WCs and a jacuzzi. Together with the bedroom, the whole occupies an entire floor of the house. "I have a sneaking suspicion that people are spending a lot more on their bathrooms than their bedrooms," says Patel.

Karan Thakur wanted as little space possible separating his bathroom from his bedroom, so there's just a sheet of glass between the two. "The wall between the bedroom and bathroom is so longer sacrosanct," says Patel, "people are dismissing it without a second thought."

Esha Thakur, Karan's sister adds, "It's a little embarrassing for guests who use his bedroom in his absence. They assume the glass is opaque from the outside. My mom has finally insisted on curtains."

"When space is an issue, knock down the walls and air-condition the entire space," says Hosi Wadia, a Mumbai-based interior designer. Wadia's recent client has done exactly that. He's also giving her a bathroom that has computerised mood lighting, so the ambience never clashes with her disposition.

"Consumers are increasingly looking for aspirational brands in the bathroom," says Mathur. Kohler's products range from Rs 1,600 and go up to Rs 5.9 lakh. "It all started with the easing up of import duties on foreign home products. From then there was no stopping the wish-lists," says Wadia.

But no matter how outlandish the requests get, WCs, even when there are two of them, are rarely laid bare to shared areas. They're still being tucked away in discreet chambers with sliding doors, made of opaque glass. After all, some things are better left private.