Once I had the doorway cut, I framed it out and then Deb did the finish work. Then we painted, hung some garden-esque lattice and greenery and installed a 2-person rectangular jetted bathtub we found on sale at Menards. I took this photo while sitting in the tub; you can see the water at the end there.

This room just holds the tub, some seating and the entertainment system. The bathroom proper is through the doorway to the right behind the greenery.

The tub holds about 120 gallons when full and two people are in it; we installed a high-efficiency demand water heater to cope with the job of filling it.

Demand heaters are awesome; they don't sit there 24/7 trying to keep a big can of water hot, instead, they only heat the water as you draw it, and they save a lot of energy (and money) as a direct result. I can't say enough good things about demand heaters; I'll never buy a regular water heater again.

And yes, that's a HD television down there, complete with its own DVR and satellite receiver, DVD player and surround system. The center speaker is there under the TV, a sub is on the floor at the foot of the tub, and the front and rear speakers are at the four corners of the tub. I mean, if you're going to dedicate a whole room to a bathtub, why go half the distance? Besides, when the tub's jets are running, the TV has to be quite loud in order to be heard.

Those sculpted faces in the packages under the TV ended up on the wall above it, along with a Grecian style shelf, a fish named Syd done by the same sculptor, and some vines and other greenery. The idea is to make the place feel as much like a spa as possible in order to encourage relaxation and stress relief.

It turns out that we spend a lot of time in here, frolicking around like a couple of maddened seals when we're not watching the Daily Show and cackling at John Stewart's (considerably more insightful than the networks') rendition of the news.

I know, I know. Now you have to go wash your mind out with soap. Well, get a tub like this and the washing will be a lot more fun. Trust me on this one. 😊

#spa

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