WATER WORKS!

With an eye for design and a passion for globetrotting, Aleem Kassam, co-owner of Kalu Design Interiors walks us straight through his closet, and into the bathroom bursting with ideas to create a spa retreat to rival any 5-star hotel!

Check out FortisBC for to learn about their latest rebates and information on renewable energy options.
Co-Host: Mike Freedman, owner,  AI Technology & Design
Co-Host, podcast editor: Jennifer-Lee Gunson: jPod Creations
Powered by Rami Films
Distributed by Buzzsprout

ALEEM KASSAM – PRINCIPAL

Aleem started his path in Interior Design in 2004 by obtaining a formal education at the Art Institute of Vancouver. He soon found himself with a desire for adventure and furthered his education abroad at the Art Institute of Chicago to obtain a Bachelors Degree of Interior Design & Sustainable Interior Architecture. He then attended the Domus Academy in Milan for Hospitality Design and the school of Central Saint Martins in London for Retail Design. This Global perspective inspired Aleem’s taste for design and personal style.

Aleem is a fixture in both the Interior Design Industry as well as a style icon (he was named one of Canada’s best dressed in 2017.) He has made various media appearances and has been involved in designing well-known spaces both locally and abroad.

“Design has no borders, nor should we or our interiors.” -Aleem Kassam

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Jennifer-Lee:

Welcome to Measure Twice, Cut Once, the podcast from HAVAN, the Homebuilders Association Vancouver.

Mike:

It’s Season Three, and we’re exploring how our homes can improve our wellbeing.

Jennifer-Lee:

We’ll be looking at the impact of the air we breathe,

Mike:

The water we drink

Jennifer-Lee:

and the acoustic levels in our homes,

Mike:

Smart kitchens,

Jennifer-Lee:

Award winning designs,

Mike:

And leading-edge building construction.

Jennifer-Lee:

We ask the questions.

Mike:

So, you know how to make your home work for you.

Jennifer-Lee:

I’m Jennifer Lee Gunson

Mike:

And I’m Mike Freedman. Now that you hear why not hit subscribe and you’ll never miss an episode.

Jennifer-Lee:

Hey, Mike, it’s Measure Twice, Cut Once time.

Mike:

Hello, Jennifer Lee. Yes, it is. And we’re back in the studio to meet with builders and industry professionals. I am particularly excited about today’s guest, and I believe you know him.

Jennifer-Lee:

Yes. It has been such a long time since we’ve seen each other since COVID and different work schedules. So, we have a lot to catch up on. I want to hear about his closet renovation!

Mike:

Season Three, we’ve covered a lot of territory looking at our homes through the lens of healthier living. One area we’ve yet to take a deep dive into is our bathrooms and how these spaces are advancing to improve the livability of our homes.

Jennifer-Lee:

Agreed. And knowing our guest and his travel schedule to the four corners of the world I can only imagine he’ll have some great insight and information to share, to get us inspired, to improve our living spaces.

Mike:

Well enough with guessing already let’s bring on our guest. Of course, Aleem Kassam, principal designer of Kalu Interiors.

Jennifer-Lee:

Welcome Aleem. It’s so wonderful to see you in the studio.

Aleem:

Wonderful to see you guys too. Thank you for having me.

Jennifer-Lee:

Well, I know that you’re a fabulous dresser. You have an amazing interior design company, but I would like everybody else to know that all about you and you have an awesome closet, but I did see it before the renovation. So, I can only imagine that it’s way more amazing now!

Aleem:

<laugh>, it’s bursting at the seams. I need another one.

Jennifer-Lee:

<laugh> oh perfect. Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you ended up starting your company.

Aleem:

Yeah, for sure. So, I got into interior design from a really early age, basically straight out of high school. I started at the Art Institute of Vancouver and the interior design program, and that’s where I met my future and current business partner, Phyllis Lui. And we started Kalu Interiors pretty much straight out of design school. That was God without dating myself over 17 years ago. <laugh> in 2007 and then shortly thereafter finishing, the art Institute program in Vancouver. I knew I wanted to kind of further my education and get more worldly experience. So, I actually also attended the Domus Academy in Milan for hospitality design. I did Central St. Martin’s in London for retail design. And then I finished my bachelor’s degree at the Art Institute of Chicago. And I was in actually in Chicago for a few years and moved back to Vancouver just over 10 years ago. And we’ve pretty much fully focused on Kalu Interiors ever since and grown our business to today.

Mike:

So, what sort of projects does Kalu Interiors do? Because every designer works in a different space. What do you guys like to work in?

Aleem:

Yeah, we’re kind of a unique animal. I’d say we started off like a lot of design boutique firms, mostly in residential, so renovations. And then over the years we started moving into new construction, single family homes. Multi-family dwellings kind of got our fingertips and took some commercial contract in retail spaces. So today we do everything from condo towers, multifamily town homes, duplexes, condo, and townhome renovations, single family, home, new builds, and still retail and commercial spaces as well. So, we’re kind of everywhere in the field and we’re also all over greater Vancouver.

Mike:

And, just for our listeners, we’ve been spending a lot of time talking about residential construction. Can you quickly talk about the difference between residential commercial construction? Just so our listeners better understand the differentiation between the two.

Aleem:

So, in our kind of single family and residential projects, we’re doing a lot more custom work than you would typically find in more of like a commercial or a contractor or even multifamily scenario. So, in the residential spectrum, we’re dealing with end users typically. So, everything from young couples, growing families and a multitude of spaces and sizes.

Jennifer-Lee:

And you’ve lived around the world, you’ve traveled. What type of trends are you seeing for bathrooms? Because I think the bathroom is kind of the room that, hey, a lot of us do spend a lot of time in, it’s kind of like the underrated room. Nobody’s like, ah, got to make my bathroom. Everyone’s like, I want my bedroom to look great or my office, but let’s face it. We’re in that bathroom a lot.

Aleem:

<laugh> exactly. So, like a lot of things in design, to be honest with you, I always find that in North America we’re always kind of a few steps behind the trends in what’s happening in other areas of the world. So, a lot of design inspiration, you can really look to markets like Europe and Asia that are kind of really bringing new design trends, functionalities, materials, and technologies to the forefront of the industry. So, from my travels, and obviously traveling a lot, the pandemic put a little bit of a crunch in that plan, but we are traveling again, and you really get to kind of see where the movement of design is going Europe and Asia have always been huge forerunners in really true wet rooms. And we start to see design gravitating towards that finally in Canada and the US and North America overall.

Jennifer-Lee:

Yeah, because during COVID, I think a lot of people want a place of relaxation and that sometimes, usually is the bathroom. So now I do notice more people are putting more time and attention into like, oh, okay, I want a steam shower, or I want a luxurious tub where I can relax. And because we’re not going out as much as we used to. And, and we’re spending a lot more time at home,

Aleem:

That’s definitely true. And that goes to, with really all areas of the home ever since the pandemic kind of hit, but yes, we are seeing way more attention to the design of our bathrooms and the time that we spend in them.

Mike:

I’m not trying to make light of any of this, but for people who live with families or other people, that’s usually the only part of the house where you can be truly alone to have privacy. So however, much time you spend there doing what you got to do, it should be a really nice experience.

Aleem:

Exactly. It’s not uncommon that we’ll have a client, especially, you know, for instance, like a wife. And she says Aleem, my only time away from the kids is in the bathroom. I lock the door and I shut my brain down and it’s my rest and relaxation period. So, we really focus on making those spaces as luxurious, fulfilling, and spa feeling for our clients.

Jennifer-Lee:

So, what are some spa elements that you’ve seen recently that you’re putting into people’s homes? Anything really unique?

Aleem:

Yeah, for sure. It’s interesting because really with the advancements in technology and products that has really opened the gates for so many opportunities and functions within bathrooms. So, we’re seeing everything from steam showers and incorporating into steam showers, you have chromotherapy music therapy that we’re incorporating, hydrotherapy, freestanding tubs, as well as even just bidets or washlet toilets. We’re doing a ton of those these days. So, you know, like a heated seat, really fun functions where you walk up to your toilet and the toilet lid opens itself. And those kinds of attributes are kind of interestingly timed, I’d say with the pandemic as well, because we’re seeing a lot of touchless features. So, occupancy sensors, when you walk into bathrooms, the lights will automatically come on. Like I said, the toilet lid opens by itself, sensor faucets, or motion sensor faucets. So, you just basically hold your hand out under the faucet and the water will automatically be automated and turn on. So those are interesting factors again, related to the pandemic because we’re not really touching and interacting with these items as much and they’re intuitive.

Jennifer-Lee:

And can I just say that I’m so excited that more and more people, especially in North America are getting used to the idea of having a bidet, because I grew up with one and everyone thought we were crazy <laugh> but honestly it was like the best. I would have to take all my friends up to my parents’ bathroom <laugh> and show them the bidet because I honestly think it’s a feature that, you know, it’s popular in Europe, but I was like, why did it take us so long to adapt?

Aleem:

Totally. I’m sure your friends were thinking, why does she have a water fountain in her bathroom?

Jennifer-Lee:

We used to get in trouble for turning the knobs and making the water shoot to the roof too. <laugh>

Aleem:

Luckily there’s been a lot of advancements in bidets, so the water won’t turn on unless there’s a weight.

Jennifer-Lee:

Oh really?

Aleem:

On the toilet. So, it won’t fling you in the face, I guess, anymore.

Jennifer-Lee:

Yeah. Mine needs to shoot high, but <laugh>

Mike:

Yeah, I got a quick question. We are talking a lot this season about high efficiency homes and there are certain areas where that’s more relevant than others. We don’t talk about the bathroom near enough to begin with, but are there any areas where proper bathroom design can aid the goals of a homeowner? Who’s trying to build a high efficiency home?

Aleem:

Yeah, for sure. I mean, there’s certain features, especially, again, for instance, if we’re talking about a steam shower, you have to ensure that you’re doing your proper calculations in volume capacity, given a full sealed shower and unit so it’s being fully efficient. And then just even with different technologies with faucets and things, even like I touched upon earlier with the sensors, those things are going to ensure that water’s not being wasted. Even tub fillers, there’s been new advancements with overflows, so where you can fill the tub, essentially, it’ll come to a certain point and then the water will shut off and then the drain will automatically ignite and then close off the water as well. So, there’s efficiency aspects that are being integrated in all areas of the plumbing industry today.

Jennifer-Lee:

And obviously a lot of these features require water and power. So how do you work with the contractor to ensure that you’re still keeping the design aesthetic as well as you’re keeping all the bells and whistles that people want to have, but you’re able to run them as well?

Aleem:

Yeah, for sure. I mean, that really just comes down to hiring the right professionals, which know exactly what they’re doing, especially the sub trades with the plumber and ensuring that they’re running the correct lines and even just even heating bathrooms. So, a lot of the times today we’re doing, you know, heated, radiant floors in bathrooms, and then you don’t need other coupled heating elements such as, you know, baseboard heaters or other areas of the bathroom. So, you can ensure that you’re being efficient in the construction of the design.

Mike:

How do you keep the design of a bathroom fresh? And what I mean by that is there’s usually three or four elements, right? They’re laid out a certain way. How do you lay them out differently to create a different space? Like there’s only so many places a toilet can go. How do you get around that?

Aleem:

Yeah, that’s right. Mike. So, with the layouts of bathrooms, I mean, people for so many years have always felt okay, we’re restricted to here’s the tub. You know, here’s a 60″ by 30″ tub, here’s a pony wall, here’s a standup shower next to it. Here’s where the toilet goes. And then here’s a double vanity. So gone are those days. I mean, obviously there’s going to be limitations if you’re doing a renovation on either end of the spectrum, but both in renovations and new construction today, the way that we’re tackling bathroom designs are a lot more unique than what we have done in the past. People are more open to, no pun intended, more open layouts and bathrooms. So, for instance, I’ll give you a couple ideas. We’re doing free standing tubs in walk-in showers. So, people can really expand the width and the length of their showers to encompass a larger area.

Aleem:

We’re doing a lot more walk-in showers, so that’s where you might have a water shield, but no door. Curbless showers where you’re just walking straight into the shower, which is also a great ADA accessibility feature. Linear drains, so you can encapsulate water in different areas of the room versus just a singular point drain in the middle. And then also, even for instance, right now we’re designing a new construction home where the free-standing tub is directly in the middle of the entire bathroom. So, kind of turning those notions on their head and making things a little bit more fun, extravagant if you want. And vanity designs that incorporate a lot more interesting storage features. So, we’re doing like pullout cubbies, where for instance, there can be a hair iron and a hair dryer, integrated power and electrical into these vanities. So, you can conceal and hide a lot more items. Medicine cabinets are also a great way to do that within integrated lighting. So again, with a lot of these advancements in technology and product availability, we’re able to do a lot more unique layouts within the bathrooms themselves

Jennifer-Lee:

And some of the products that people choose to require you to place them in different areas of the room. Like I am such a fan of the Japanese stone tubs, the big circular ones. And you can’t put that up against the wall. You’re going to have to put it as your show piece in the middle.

Aleem:

Exactly. It’s funny. I just walked through a residence last week and they had one of those, the Japanese stone tubs. It was right in the middle of the bathroom and the water filler actually was from the ceiling. So, it was so fantastic. I love things like that. And that’s really the way people can improve their day to day lives, because imagine walking into a bathroom like that in the morning and just feeling already rested before your day even started.

Jennifer-Lee:

I don’t think I’d ever leave. Another concept that I like that you said that you found on your travels is the wet room. Can you explain what that is?

Aleem:

Yeah, for sure. I think that’s one of the things that we’ve been so behind in North America. So, in Europe and Asia, this is a very common design application and that’s the idea of having everything lifted off the ground and having a true wet area. So, your vanity is lifted off the floor, it’s floating. Your toilet is a wall mounted toilet it’s lifted off the floor. Those aspects really allow you to wash down your entire bathroom floor and then everything drained through a central point drain.

Jennifer-Lee:

So technically every, just so I can paint in the picture for the audience, but everything’s lifted and then it’s so you can clean underneath?

Aleem:

Exactly. And I mean, obviously different markets are going to have different restrictions based upon codes and, you know, permitting processes. So, the way that we’ve actually been able to get around that in certain jurisdictions is we’ll have an internal drain within the shower itself, but we’ll add a secondary drain in the main area of the bathroom floor. And that’s typically appeased inspectors in the City of Vancouver and we can have a true wet room.

Jennifer-Lee:

They’re always ahead of us. <laugh>

Aleem:

Exactly.

Jennifer-Lee:

Just wonder why we’re such late adopters of some of this stuff if it’s working for many, many years efficiently in other countries.

Aleem:

Yeah. I think part of it, one of the biggest part of it is always distribution and accessibility. And unfortunately, just in our market, we’re just latest to receive a lot of things. And that comes down to our regulations as well, right. With having to have everything approved by our country and, and those types of you know, standing regulations.

Mike:

I also wonder if it has a lot to do with space. I mean, you look at Europe and Asia, they’re typically dealing with smaller homes or smaller footprints, and they have to be a lot more efficient. Whereas we have these big sprawling homes in comparison, and we can put whatever size toilet we want in there because it really doesn’t matter.

Aleem:

That’s exactly correct too.

Mike:

Well, it, it’s a great conversation segway as well, because when we’re talking about planning a bathroom or also planning where we’re at right now, where we’re going to be in a bunch of years, so what you just outlined is a great aging in place scenario where people aren’t going to have to step into a tub or, or try to get into a shower when their mobility issues start to creep up as we all age out as well. Are there any other efficiencies that you look in, in a bathroom design for that scenario where you have a multi-generational living situation or an aging in place situation?

Aleem:

Yeah, for sure. We’re usually actually tackling that a lot in our new builds. And we do have a lot of multi-generational clients and families that we are working with. So, we will tackle different bathrooms with different design features based upon how that family’s going to grow within that home and space. And sometimes I’ll, I mean, one of the questions that I always ask our clients is how long do you foresee being in this home as well? Because not only for their immediate needs and future needs, we need to forecast how long they suspect that they’ll be in that home too, because we have to then consider potential resale for the home as well, which is an important consideration.

Jennifer-Lee:

Yeah. It’s always important to think too, ‘how would I be able to resell this property if I had to, or how do I age in place if I had to’, it’s a lot of things that a lot of us don’t think about. We’re just like, what is the end result at the moment?

Aleem:

Exactly. Or what do I want now? <laugh>

Jennifer-Lee:

But you’re investing a lot of money. Like a lot of these things, like if you’re going to go with the wet room technology or other things like a Japanese tub, they cost money and you’ve got to think about like what it is the longevity of these products, or what is longevity of this spatial design. And is this something that I’m going to be able to live with?

Aleem:

Yeah, exactly. Another actually thing based upon that point too, is we’ve seen a huge gravitation, pull towards more ensuited bathrooms. And that kind of speaks to that multi-generational aspect and also for resale. So, we’re doing a lot more bathrooms adjoining to bedrooms. So, there’s not just, you know, back in the day where you, you know, you walk into your home, you have, you know, two guest bathrooms, you have a powder room and then you have a primary ensuite. Now we may be doing three primary ensuites with adjoining primary bedrooms. So that allows, you know, the mother and the father of the household, perhaps there’s grandparents in another room. And then the other on suite, a bathroom could be for one of the kids and it allows them to grow into, you know, teenage years and they’re not sharing it with another sibling, for instance,

Jennifer-Lee:

That sounds like a dream. I had to share with my brother. So, another type of ensuite too, is you can walk through your walk-in closet to the bathroom.

Aleem:

Yes. That’s another huge trend that we’re doing. Kind of based upon that more open featured floor plan that we talked about, being able to walk into your shower, the same thing goes for, you know, dressing rooms and walk-in closets. That’s a huge layout feature that we’re incorporating into design, where from your primary bedroom, you can walk through your walk-in closet and then walk through to your bathroom. Um, and typically more in an open plan with no doors. So it just kind of keeps everything really open Lux. Um, and the trend that you can kind of attribute to that is kind of think about, you know, those Luxe boutique hotels in, uh, Europe or Asia, um, or even in south America, I’ve been to some really cool ones where you’re just in this hotel room, it’s a true primary suite. You have beautiful, uh, large walk-in closet open to the bathroom, and you really maximize every square inch that way, rather than, you know, incorporating walls and doors at every turn. I

Mike:

Have a quick question is a water closet, the same as a bathroom?

Aleem:

No, a water closet’s different. So, a water closet is essentially it’s a toilet room. So, we are doing those these days as well. It’s kind of a luxe feature for sure, because it shows you have the space, first of all, to incorporate that. And it’s a personal preference as well. So, we have some clients where it’s not very important to them to have, you know, the water closet or the toilet room for that privacy feature. But I would say most clients do prefer the water closet because it’s usually, you know, a husband or, and a wife saying, well, I don’t want to see them on the toilet. So <laugh>, we throw some glass around it and we call it a day.

Jennifer-Lee:

<laugh> Glass. You can still see <laugh>

Aleem:

Frost

Jennifer-Lee:

Oh, frosted, you know, water closet. I am starting to see more and more of those as well in a lot of different bathrooms. And I always think, yeah, you want to be able to have the toilet closed? You need some privacy if somebody’s, you know, brushing their teeth on the other end <laugh>.

Aleem:

Yeah, exactly. No, that makes sense for sure.

Jennifer-Lee:

Another trend I’m wondering, because I know a lot of people don’t talk about it. If you have the money to do both, sometimes you do, but are tubs making a comeback or are you still seeing a lot more showers predominantly?

Aleem:

So, the primary focus for a few years now and continues to be a focus, showers are still the most important from what I’m seeing with our clients and the projects that we’re working on, but people still are doing free sending tubs. I mean, they love them. The only issue in a lot of instances can be obviously sizing and placement, which is why the trend has moved to kind of combine both of those functions into one area. Um, because most people, whether a single family or a condo application don’t have the room for a large walk and shower and also a large free-standing tub. So, by doing one large walk and, uh, shower with a free-standing tub incorporated within that quote unquote wet room allows people to achieve both in a lot of instances.

Mike:

Are there any other luxury items that you’re seeing in bathrooms right now that are maybe more prevalent than they used to be, and more importantly are making their way into more average traditional homes like they’re scaling down?

Aleem:

Yeah. So, one of them that I touched upon is we continue to see a huge strength still with washlets people just love that additional feature and function and that their toilets can actually provide to them. Another thing as well as lighting. You know, people aren’t just doing your standard, you know, 18 x 24-inch vanity light above the vanity anymore. We’re incorporating really cool decorative fixtures in way of, you know, ceiling pendants, wall sconces, a lot of L E D accent lighting, which improves user and occupancy. So, under vanities, incorporated into shower niches and it makes bathrooms sexier too. So, it’s just a really great way to have different levels of low and highlighting in a bathroom space.

Jennifer-Lee:

Well, I never can understand why nobody thinks about the lighting in the bathroom because like, as a woman trying to put makeup on in the bathroom, all the bathrooms have been in have terrible lighting. So are you seeing a lot of things to help people who want to be putting on makeup and do it better.

Aleem:

For sure. And exactly to your point. It’s something that I don’t get a ton of questions or clients asking about because they’re not thinking about it. So usually, I’m bringing that up in conversation if it hasn’t been discussed already. And they’re saying Aleem, yes, absolutely. We need to address that. So that’s where we’re incorporating sidebar lighting or incorporating lighting into, for instance, like a medicine cabinet and having LEDs at eye level, which is going to give the best even lighting, especially for people putting on makeup.

Mike:

I have a quick question for you. Indoor air quality in a bathroom. And I’m thinking about steam. I’m thinking about my kids and everything else. And the way traditionally it’s done is one ceiling fan in the bathroom. You turn it on. It does its thing. How are you guys managing indoor air quality, both from a comfort and just from like too much steam and things like that as well.

Aleem:

Yeah, for sure. So, one aspect in a steam shower, it’s always important to incorporate a pivot clear story panel that allows you to pivot the glass open in the fully sealed shower and allow the steam to escape. We’re also doing duplicate fans a lot; exhaust fans in bathrooms. So not just one centrally located one, we may have one within, you know, a water closet and in the main area of the bathroom as well. And ensuring a lot of the times in renovation, it might be more difficult, but especially in new construction, ensuring that there’s ample air returns in these spaces as well.

Jennifer-Lee:

I have an interesting question. I want to know, because you were saying body jets are popular earlier, but the problem is if you have people using like different people using the shower and maybe you’re different heights, body jets don’t really necessarily work because I have been in somebody’s shower that is quite taller than me <laugh> and the body jets shot me in the face. <laugh>

Aleem:

Yes. You raise a good point. Whenever I have a client, especially if there’s a major, you know, difference between let’s just say a couple, for instance, one’s 6′ 6″ and the other one’s 5′ 6″, I always think to myself, okay, this is going to be an interesting design challenge. So, I always pray for the clients that are similar heights and then we’re usually through the gates at that point. But as an example, for instance, we just did a home husband and wife, quite different heights. They wanted body jets. So, we customized the heights of the body jets on both sides of the shower for each individual. Of course, that’s a very custom feature that is specific for them may not work for another, you know, occupant within that shower. But this home was for them, and this bathroom was for them long term.

Jennifer-Lee:

So, there are solutions if there’s a really tall person and a really short person to have the body jet. Well, Aleem, I’m loving this conversation. Your travels and knowledge on bathroom trends are so inspiring. We need to dive into products and finishes a little bit more. We’ve touched just a little bit on them but first we’re going to take a quick break to think our sponsors.

Mike:

Measure Twice, Cut Once is grateful for the support from our podcast partners, FortisBC. Their knowledge helps us share expert knowledge and resources like you’re hearing today from Aleem Kassam to help you design and build the right home for you.

Jennifer-Lee:

Speaking of resources, the BC Energy Step Code program is a provincial standard that is moving the entire home building industry forward to build better homes to better energy efficiency standards, which means better comfort, health, and safety. Be sure to check out www.betterhomesbc.ca where you’ll find a variety of rebates for construction materials, home, energy evaluations, plus mortgage and tax refunds.

Mike:

Now let’s get back to Aleem. I am learning so much and I can’t wait to continue this discussion.

Jennifer-Lee:

Okay. So, we covered wet rooms a little bit ago, but I just want to kind of know a bit more about the idea of the wet room, like why did came to be, do you know, like, it seems like a really cool concept.

Aleem:

Yeah, so a lot of these advancements that happen in design in general really come from necessity. So, and then they start at a commercial or more contract application and then find their ways into the residential market. So, on the true wet room concept, again, I use the example of like Asia and Europe who are markets that are always ahead of ours, um, started in more commercial spaces. So, whether it be, you know, an office building or in hospitality, this is just for turnover. Someone can come in, clean the bathroom efficiently, quickly, properly sterilize it, and we’re onto the next occupant.

Jennifer-Lee:

Oh, it’d be great during this time, especially in commercial spaces, as we’re dealing with COVID, and more and more people are going back to the office space. I never even thought of that.

Mike:

Well, I have a question for you about technology in the bathroom. We see it throughout the rest of the house. Can you talk a little about some of the technology that you’re seeing in bathroom designs that not only improve the experience, but improve the comfort and the enjoyment of the experience for those who are in there?

Aleem:

Yeah, absolutely. So, one of the things that we’ve been doing, you know, for a while now, and we continue to do is on the lighting aspect, we’re doing occupancy sensors. And one of the reasons why that’s really helpful is for instance, one of the individuals in a home gets up in the middle of the night, wants to go to the bathroom. You know a light will automatically flick on maybe it’s an under-cabinet vanity light. And then it just creates a nice ease of aggress into the space without waking up the other person. So, it’s a low level, indirect light, other things like voice activation, there’s voice activation, both for faucets, even toilets. So, we’re seeing that happen, large LCD and touchscreen, functions like steam showers, which will incorporate everything, like I mentioned earlier, chromotherapy music, and your steam functions as well.

Aleem:

Even freestanding tubs. They’re incorporating, you know, hydrotherapy and other functions and even also chromotherapy actually as well. We’re just seeing a lot of advancements in technology overall. Actually, another thing was also medicine cabinets. I was shocked. We did a couple medicine cabinets for a recent project, and I knew that it had integrated power and all those things, but I didn’t realize that when we opened the door, there were additional switches and an infrared sensor that could actually like detect your face and turn on the light and swivel cosmetic mirrors inside of those. So, the functions are kind of endless these days when it comes to bathroom design.

Jennifer-Lee:

And I love that lighting system. I actually got to experience it with the one where you walk in, and it guides you. I went to a newer hotel before COVID in Boston and I couldn’t figure out when I woke up in the middle of the night, why the bathroom was automatically guiding me like through it. But it’s a really good system if you can do it because it’s also, it’s very low light, so you’re not blinding yourself. You know, when usually you go to the bathroom, you turn a light at three in the morning. You’re like, Ugh, <laugh>.

Mike:

But this loops back into our aging in place in multi-generational living too, because a great number of accidents happen in the bathroom because it is dark. It’s got a lot of pointy, sharp surfaces. It’s often slippery as well. So, anticipating where problems might happen, allows us to safely stop those problems from happening in the first place. And it’s great to see how you’ve leveraged technology to do what you do at an even better level.

Jennifer-Lee:

I want to talk a little bit about chromotherapy because it’s something that I’m not sure familiar with. Can you tell us a little bit about that?

Aleem:

Yeah. So, it really is the basis of light and color. So, what it’s meant to do is enhance or move mood towards an area that you want. Typically, it’s calming relaxing. It’s usually quite standard in a spa environment and we’re seeing that now in the residential spectrum. So, in a tub, you’ll have, you know, the water filled and then the water can be, the light can illuminate within the water itself to a color and temperature of your preference that can enhance again calm. And your mood within that is within a steam shower. It’s usually incorporated within the ceiling shower head. And you can illuminate the shower, you know, in a light violet tone, um, or calming green. As you imagine, you kind of have four sounds in the background coming from the speaker, mist coming out of your steam with essential oils that you really love. It could be a lavender field. Imagine that coupled with lavender light, you can really gravitate and enhance the mood of what you want.

Jennifer-Lee:

Oh, sounds amazing. I I’m going to end up spending too much money after this episode.

Mike:

<laugh> no, but that’s going to explain why it now takes you two hours to get ready. <laugh>

Mike:

I think it’s great that we’re doing a lot of this stuff in the bathroom and making it a more useful space as opposed to a place. We just go because literally we have to. I want to switch gears a little, because we’ve been talking a lot about concepts and technology, but the materials themselves have a huge bearing, not only on the aesthetic of the bathroom, but also the, the feel of the bathroom and how we interact with that. Can you talk to us a little bit about materials and how the whole process of what you determine goes into that bathroom and why?

Aleem:

Yeah, exactly. So, like a lot of things in our lives, especially in the North American and western market, things just get bigger and bigger and bigger. Over the years, our TVs are getting bigger. Our kitchens are getting bigger, and our bathrooms are also getting bigger. So then when we’re talking about materials, materials have also scaled accordingly. So, you know, it wasn’t that long ago, everyone thought a 12″ x 24″ tile was, you know, this nice large format tile. Now it’s like almost a mosaic tile in a bathroom. We’re going much larger than that. So, the kind of, you know, quote unquote small standard of a tile size these days is like a 24″ by 48″ tile. But we’re even going larger than that. People really love stone clad bathrooms, but because technology is really advanced so greatly, especially in, you know, quote unquote imitation products like porcelain, they managed to make it look so realistic with technology today and digital imprinting.

Aleem:

So, we’re seeing a huge movement in the industry towards porcelain slab. And people don’t have to afford marble slabs for instance, for their bathroom anymore. And also, those require a lot of maintenance. They have to be resealed. They are a porous material and not the greatest to maintain long term. So, with the advancements in porcelain slab and technology, we’re seeing a lot more fully cladded bathroom floors, fully cladded bathroom walls. And from a user standpoint, that’s also beneficial because there’s less grout lines, so there’s less maintenance and it makes the bathroom a lot easier to maintain and clean.

Mike:

Going back to what we were talking about earlier, injuries in the bathroom, porcelain is also going to be a lot less slippery than marble as well. So, the likelihood of a slip and fall has been dramatically decreased as a result of talking to someone like yourself, who’s steering us towards the right materials, not just for the aesthetics, but again, how we interact with it as well.

Aleem:

Exactly. And you can also basically source almost any texture these days in a lot of materials. So, we have everything from matte polished honed, and those aren’t just offered in natural products anymore. They’re offered in manmade products like porcelain or quartz materials.

Jennifer-Lee:

What’s your favorite material to use? <laugh> I want to know.

Aleem:

Well, personally, I just did a renovation not long ago and I ended up using porcelain for everything. So, I did large format, porcelain tile on my floors and my walls. And then for all my stone, so for instance, for countertop shower niches, I ended up using a Silestone product. I love these products because they require no maintenance, and they always look great.

Mike:

So those are the finishes. What about the appliances in the bathroom itself? I mean, there’s different shapes of toilets and different functionalities of toilets. Can you talk a little about all those bits and pieces and how they all go together and factor into this greater discussion?

Aleem:

Exactly. So outside of, you know, kind of the canvas of the bathroom, which are your hard surfaces, like the tile or your stone, the other aspects are exactly what you said, it’s the fixtures. And the other elements, and these have really come so far, especially in the last two years. So, with plumbing units themselves just like freestanding tubs or toilets, they’re offered in a lot of different finishes and colors these days. A few manufacturers are even offering them in custom RL colors. So, you know, we’ve done, you know, black tubs and black toilets, which is a huge trend right now. And the plumbing fixtures themselves so long are the days of just, you know, polished chrome and polished nickel and stainless and brass. Now there is living brass, there’s brush brass, there’s antique brass, there’s bronze, there’s matt black. So, the fixtures themselves can really be customized according to the design brief that’s happening within the bathroom itself. And you can really customize your bathroom accordingly to your color preference and finish.

Jennifer-Lee:

Yeah. Brass fixtures are a lot different than they used to be. <laugh> yeah, they’re a lot nicer. What is a, I know you mentioned this already, but what is a, washlet

Aleem:

A washlet is basically a toilet with integrated features. So, think of a washlet like a toilet married with a bidet.

Jennifer-Lee:

So, it’s like a car wash for you.

Aleem:

It’s a car wash for you. <laugh> there’s different levels of washlets I guess at the very, you know, bare minimum, it’s a toilet with a spray feature. But there’s other features that can be added onto that. Like a heated seat. I mentioned earlier automated lifted lifting lids. There’s even some toilets out there on the market that have heat blower fans at the base of the toilet. So, when you’re sitting on the toilet, your feet stay nice and toasty.

Jennifer-Lee:

Oh, I thought it was going to dry you.

Aleem:

Oh, there’s also that function inside the toilet.

Mike:

Okay. Go back to the heated seats cuz when I was a kid that was like James Bond stuff. How prevalent is this? Is this finally the point with scaling to all of our lives?

Aleem:

It’s not every, you know, it’s not in everyone’s home per se. We’re not doing it in all of our projects, but I’m doing it in a decent amount. Let’s call it, you know, 30 to 40% of my clients in our projects today that we are incorporating these types of really cool technologies and features. I have it personally my own home and I find myself being, how do I put this, the first world problem, I guess so, because I’m so accustomed to now having a heated seat at home, if I may be out in public or at someone else’s home and I sit in the toilet and it, I just said, oh, I’m like, oh my God, that’s freezing. I feel like I’m an Antarctica. So, I re caught myself feeling this way and I thought, okay, this is a change.

Jennifer-Lee:

Well, we get so comfortable and you’re making the home so much more cozier that it’s hard for us. Like I will never go back to a car without a heated seat.

Aleem:

Exactly. And that’s what is, it’s all relative right to what we’re experiencing and what we expect.

Mike:

Look, we got to spend a certain amount of time per day in there. Right. And as we talked about, it may be the only respite from our families. We get however much, or however little time we spend in there should be good quality time. It should be pleasant. It should be aesthetically pleasing, and it should be comfortable. And I’m really glad we’re having this discussion because we’ve really transitioned between the basic functionality of, I have to have a bathroom to what can this space be and how can it serve what I want beyond the basics of how I use it. And I think that’s fantastic. It’s award season. And are you up for any awards?

Aleem:

Yeah, we have a few projects that were entered, and we were lucky to be nominated as finalists in., To be honest with you, I don’t remember all of the categories. I believe we’re up for eight awards. We’re up for one new build, two condo renos. One of the condo renos were up in four categories. The new build two categories I believe. And the other reno, another two categories.

Jennifer-Lee:

I saw you at the last award ceremony before COVID hit and you guys won a few awards. So, you guys do really beautiful work and you’re the best table to sit with.

Aleem:

<laugh> We know how to have fun!

Jennifer-Lee:

A lot of fun. Awesome. Well, thank you so much Aleem for joining us today on another episode of Measure Twice, Cut Once diving into the concept of spas and upgrading the concept of the bathroom and master suites in our home to enhance our lives is so exciting. It is a room that should never be overlooked when planning to build or renovate.

Mike:

Oh, I totally agree. As a dad of three, I appreciate the practical applications of a wet room and also the idea of having some place to go to regenerate or escape. Wait till I go home and tell Pam what we’re doing this afternoon. We’ve learned so much today. Some of the things we talked about that really, I think were important discussion points where the fact that the bathroom is a room where the space is expanding, and the expectations are growing much like a lot of other parts of modern homes, open concept and freestanding are trending. And it’s all about the ease of use when cleaning in a wet room, advancements in technology are making the bathroom experience far more user friendly. There are advancements in plumbing, fixtures, and even finishes, which creates an experience in the homeowner’s bathroom that can rival that of a five-star hotel. It’s all about good design.

Jennifer-Lee:

And Aleem, I have one more question before you go. Do you have one tip to share our listeners?

Aleem:

So, this is something that I always kind of preach and tell clients is never try to fit all the bells and whistles in everything you want into one space. Take an idea, take a concept and run with it. And that can be really in anything. It could be in a finish, a material, a function, a style. Take that and do it well rather than making a space look disjointed with all of your best assets and ideas.

Mike:

I’ve really enjoyed this episode. I’ve learned a ton and I just want to say best of luck at the upcoming awards. To our listeners, if you’ve enjoyed this episode and this podcast, please consider liking, following, or sharing us with your family or friends, the more followers we have, the more people will find our podcast and the excellent resources that our guests are sharing. If you want to check out other award finalists and winners, head to havan.ca/awards

Jennifer-Lee:

And for notes and links to everything mentioned on today’s episode, including pictures of Aleem’s amazing projects, go to havan.ca/measuretwicecutonce. Thank you for joining us.