What is a wet bath and why would you want one? (2024)

If you toured the Parade of Homes earlier this year, you might have spotted a trending feature in the award-winning Lititz entry by Pine Hill Building Co.

Billed as “the embodiment of livable luxury,” the $1.3 million home at 697 Fleetwood Drive included a primary suite with a wet bath — a large, glass-enclosed and tiled area that contained not only a shower and built-in bench but a freestanding tub.

In its 2024 U.S. Bathroom Trends Study, the home improvement platform Houzz reports that 13% of upgraded bathrooms this year are wet rooms. Among the reasons for their popularity, the study cites better use of space, universal design, aesthetics and ease of cleaning.

As the name implies, wet baths are bathrooms — or areas of bathrooms — that are designed to get wet. In larger bathrooms, like Pine Hill’s Parade home, a wet bath may be confined to just a section of the room, and it may be glass-enclosed or partially enclosed. In a true wet room, the entire bathroom space is completely open and waterproof.

As Houzz puts it: Think of the open-concept floor plan coming to the bathroom.

“Wet baths definitely make a strong design statement, offering a minimalist and modern feel that sets the home apart from others,” Nicole Enck, sales manager for Lititz-based Pine Hill Building Co., writes in an email.

READ:Check out these 7 hot kitchen and bath trends

Enck says Pine Hill has incorporated similar wet baths into larger homes built without a specific client in mind, and they have been well-received by the eventual homebuyers.

While wet baths may feel trendy now, Enck says they offer long-lasting benefits that will likely keep them relevant even after we’ve moved on to the next design fad.

Aside from their spa-like feel, the open design of a wet bath can make cleaning easier and bring additional light into the bathroom, especially if there is a window in the shower area, she says.

Another advantage is accessibility.

Of the nearly two-thirds of homeowners in the Houzz study who said they were addressing special needs with a bathroom renovation, 83% cited aging in place concerns, either now or in the future.

“Wet baths can be a great option for aging-in-place or universal design, as they often allow for barrier-free entry into the shower area,” Enck says.

Jared Erb, senior designer and partner with Quarryville-based Custom Home Group, says his firm has yet to install a wet bath in one of their homes. They’ve had several requests, he says, but the clients eventually changed their minds.

Although he sees the appeal of wet baths, Erb cautions that some of their positives could also be viewed as negatives depending on personal tastes.

“I think it does feel nice and open and spacious,” he says. “You don’t feel like you’re confined in a small 3-by-4 shower.”

And if little ones are playing with their bath toys, there’s no worries when they slosh water out of the tub.

Some people, however, might feel uncomfortable with the openness of these luxury versions, Erb says, likening the effect to a high school locker room.

“Say your spouse or partner is taking a long bath or reading a book and you want to take a shower,” he says. “I just think it’s super awkward.”

READ:6 trends in Lancaster County retirement living

‘A true wet bath’

Not all wet baths are meant for spacious luxury. Some are more practical. Consider that most RVs have wet baths, says Lancaster architect Suzan Matos. It’s a way to fit all the necessities of a bathroom in a very tight space.

Matos says she saw her first wet bath in Italy some 40 years ago and kept the idea tucked in the back of her mind.

“I have a lot of older clients,” she says. “I always try to get them to do some kind of shower or bathtub on the first floor. Any number of things can happen that you can’t do the stairs.”

Such was the case for the older owner of a 1908 city row home, where Matos converted a first-floor powder room into a wet bath.

“It just made more sense to do something like that rather than adding more space to the bathroom to accommodate a regular shower or bathtub,” she says.

In under 30 square feet of completely open space, the bathroom includes a shower, a toilet, a custom concrete sink suspended on the wall and a corner cabinet made from water-resistant white oak with a recess to hold the toilet paper — and keep it dry. Matos also added hooks behind the door, out of the line of spray from the shower. The floor slopes, directing water to a linear drain.

“If you’re doing a true wet bath, everything should be able to get wet in there,” she says.

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