Sauna bathing relaxes, regenerates, and restores our inner balance. The positive qualities of sauna bathing and its health-promoting effects on body and mind are undisputed. More and more people are therefore choosing to create a wellness area at home with a sauna, infrared cabin, or steam bath. Those with a large bathroom, a converted attic, a basement, or a little space in the garden or on the terrace are fortunate. Often, however, the problem is precisely the lack of ideal space. In the attic, sloping ceilings can be a problem; sometimes there are windows exactly where a sauna could go. Or there is simply nowhere to put one because the apartment is too small.
But none of this is a reason to give up on having a sauna and wellness area in your own home. In the following article, we’ll show you what options and solutions are available and where they can be implemented in your home, explain the differences between sauna models and sauna bathing styles, and show how you can personalize the design and materials of your sauna with different equipment options, tailored to your individual needs and preferences!
Custom solutions
You enjoy sauna bathing and would like to do so without being dependent on the opening hours or rules of a public sauna. You’ve made up your mind: you need your own sauna - but where should you put it? The damp vaulted basement is out, as is the tiny bathroom. That leaves the attic!
Sloping ceilings and unusual floor plans
When dealing with challenging spaces such as sloping ceilings, wall projections, or curved walls, you’ll need to gather and clarify your exact ideas and special requests.
Wood can be worked and shaped in many different ways. For example, sauna elements can be adapted to existing curves.
Before a sauna is built, the space is carefully measured so that the ceiling or wall elements match the angle of the sloping roof exactly and fit the room perfectly. This means the area beneath the slope isn’t wasted space, but can still be used as a place to lie down. Wall projections and corners that extend into the room can be incorporated into the sauna, but must be taken into account when designing and arranging the heater and sauna benches inside.
Connecting a window to the sauna
Windows have the advantage of filling a room with light and creating a pleasant atmosphere. You can bring this brightness into your sauna by fitting a window reveal. The window must be suitable for sauna use, with tempered safety glass, untreated wood, and silicone seals. A wooden frame connects the window to the sauna, preventing heat from escaping. One advantage of this option is that the window can still be opened as usual. If you don’t have a sauna-suitable window, for example, if you have a plastic-framed window, a frame with a sauna-suitable window can be fitted in front of the existing window. If the opening is large enough, the original window can also be opened for ventilation and cleaning.
Limited space
Especially among younger people, the trend is toward flexible room layouts and space-saving, compact solutions. Small apartments, tiny bathrooms - it’s not always easy to find room for a sauna. But saunas can also be installed in alcoves or storage rooms, even with a very small footprint. If you like to sauna lying down, be sure to take the bench length into account. You’ll also need to allow enough space for the sauna heater. For those who prefer a more basic setup, it’s possible to sauna sitting down or with your legs bent. Anything is possible! A sauna and infrared cabin can even be combined in a very small space.
Accessible design
People with disabilities often face the problem of entrances being too narrow and the available space too limited to relax comfortably in a wheelchair. Wider, wheelchair-accessible doors and cutouts in the interior fittings can help. Both saunas and infrared cabins can also be fitted with practical accessories such as handrails or step stools.
Different sauna models and bathing styles
When deciding to buy a sauna, you’ll first need to answer a few questions. Should I choose an prefabricated panel sauna, or would a solid-wood sauna be a better choice? Do I prefer to sweat in a Finnish sauna, or am I the type who likes it a little less hot and prefers a bio sauna? You can see that sauna bathing isn’t all the same! Sauna bathing comes in many forms!
Panel or solid-wood saunas
A panel sauna is assembled from several prefabricated wooden elements. It is built using the so-called “sandwich construction”, with multiple layers, and the prefabricated elements are joined together. The combination of wood and specialized insulation elements gives the panel sauna optimal thermal insulation.
For the same effect, a solid-wood sauna relies on the physical properties of “Mother Nature” - optimal thermal insulation is achieved entirely through solid wood walls and ceilings, making a special insulation system unnecessary. The wood absorbs moisture, creating a pleasant atmosphere and releasing fragrant resins and essential oils. It creates a cozy, welcoming ambiance with a “feel-good guarantee.”
One of the panel sauna’s greatest advantages is its varied appearance, achieved through the use of different types of wood. A solid-wood sauna, on the other hand, stands out with sauna walls made from naturally grown spruce, which look beautiful and make exterior cladding unnecessary.
Finnish sauna, bio sauna, or a combination of both?
When choosing a sauna heater, you’ll first need to decide how you want to sauna. Does your body start sweating at high temperatures, or do you prefer it a little less hot?
The Finnish sauna has high to very high temperatures and low humidity. The dry air makes it possible to tolerate the heat. Pouring water over the sauna heater stones can briefly increase the humidity and intensify the heat. The essential oils in the sauna infusion release their pleasant fragrance throughout the sauna.
In a bio sauna, on the other hand, you sweat at lower temperatures and with considerably higher humidity than in a Finnish sauna. Many people who find the Finnish sauna too hot enjoy the gentle warmth of a bio sauna. A herb basket over the bio sauna’s vaporizer, where you can loosely arrange herbs with different effects, adds a pleasant, relaxing scent experience.
Combining a sauna with infrared heat
More and more people want to relax in an ever-wider variety of ways. A combination of two heat sources with different effects is ideal: sweating in the sauna and soaking up warmth from infrared rays. If you’re thinking about getting a sauna but don’t want to give up the occasional infrared heat treatment, you can have infrared heaters installed in your sauna. These heaters can be installed in a sauna either as ceiling-mounted radiators for a relaxing lying position or as an infrared seat. You can select the desired program - sauna or infrared - using the sauna controls. For evenly cozy warmth in the sauna, you can also set a base temperature on the sauna heater when using infrared.
Unusual design and material ideas
With various optional features, you can customize your sauna using a modular approach. This lets you add accents and turn your sauna into a truly personal wellness space. Here are a few examples:
If you like to lie down while sauna bathing, you can relax on an ergonomic, contoured lounger. Its soft, flowing lines are not only a treat for the eyes, but also provide soothing relaxation for your spine and muscles. An additional bench for sitting would be ideal, since the contoured lounger isn’t suitable for sitting.
Spacious interiors, bright rooms, and an open view of the garden or blooming meadows call for large glass fronts, through which you can gaze at your surroundings while sauna bathing. It would be a shame to block this view with heavy wooden elements. Large glass fronts create a sense of lightness and calm.
Floating benches take deep relaxation and a sense of weightlessness while sauna bathing to another level. They are meticulously crafted, with no visible fixings, in an elegant finish and a simple, recessed design. The open space beneath the sauna benches makes the sauna feel more spacious and airy.
You can create another eye-catcher in your sauna by using different types of wood. For example, dark reclaimed wood fronts paired with light-colored wood create an attractive contrast. You can also use different types of wood inside the sauna - birch, aspen, or Canadian hemlock, to name just a few, can be combined with different profile boards or slatted profiles. The possibilities are endless.
Conclusion
As you can see, many things that seem impossible at first are actually possible. With a little imagination and some individual ideas, you can achieve a lot - even if space is limited, the apartment has an awkward layout, or the attic consists entirely of sloping ceilings.