6D
REAL ESTATE/Charlotte
Thursday, October. 5, 2006
PHOTO/ARA CONTENT
Bathroom improvements are among the projects more American homeowners are
turning to in order to make their homes more liveable.
More Americans prefer
improving to moving
ARTICLE RESOURCE ASSOCIATION
Does the thoirght of rising real estate costs
scare you? Are you comfortable in your
nei^borhood and dread the thought and
stress of moving? Do you love your home but
need to upgrade? If so, you are in the same
situation as a lot of other Americans who are
choosing to stay in thdr current homes and
“improve rather than move!”
“Home values have appreciated so much in
many parts of the country in recent years that
to buy another home would cost too much. So
a lot of people are choosing to stay put and
use the equity in their homes to remodel
instead,” says Joan Stephens, president of the
National Association of the Remodeling
Industry.
The agency is antidpatir^ a big boom in
home remodeling projects in 2005, and with
the inaeasing popularity of home spas, the
bathroom is expected to be one of the most
popular places to start. Bathrooms built in
the 1970s and 80s were so small, there’s
barely enough room in them for a shower and
toilet, much less a luxurious bath; so these
days, people are taking space away fiom their
master bedrooms to make the bathroom
bi^er. And in keeping with the home spa
theme, more and more often, the}fre
replacing their- old tubs with luxiuious
massaging air baths.
“Air baths offer a much different massage
tlian jetted water systems do because of the
way they work. Rather than directing a high
pressure water jet at an area of the body, air
baths create convection currents throughout
Ihe bath and masses the whole body In
addition the voltrme of air can be reduced to a
constant stream of massaging bubbles that
giaitly caress musdes helping them to relax.
Air baths offer a fuU-body massage,
pr-ornoting drculation and lifting the bather’s
spirits,” says Scott Thnnant of AcrylLne USA,
a New J^-sey company that spedalizes in
massaging bath systems.
The NARI is predicting 4.9 million baths
will be remodeled in the United States in
2005; and that homeowners will spend an
average of $10,088 to update an existing 5-by-
9-foot bathroom. These days, more and more
people are bu^eting the m£gority of that
money on upgraded batiiing systems.
One that’s getting a lot of attention fixm
those in the remodeling industry ri^t now is
Acryline’s Nirvana Bath. Just introduced at
a builder’s show in January 2005, the bath is
designed for remodels as well as new
construction. It is five-feet long, the same
length as a standard bath, but features a
larger recline end (42”) that is shaped for two
bathers. The bath tapers to the drain end to
a customary width. This shape allows a
remodel to include a luxury system bath
without giving up any space for lavatories
and sinks.
“The Nirvana is one of the most versatile
baths we offer,” says Tfennant. “It is
constructed for right or left hand installation,
has a front full access pand that offers easy
access to the unit’s control system
components, and is available in both of our
system technologies, as well as our Ultimate
System.”
If you want a bath that offers a gentle
massage, the Aquamasseur System is the
way to go. It directs warm air to strategically
located air injectors at the bottom and back of
the bath releasing a flood of massaging
bubbles for a subtle to intermediate massage.
The Healthmasseur System offers an
intermediate to highly vigorous massage for
the very athletic or those involved in an
occupation that fatigues their body on a daily
basis. The Ultimate System combines the
two systems allowing bathers to design then-
own personal bathing experience.
Tfennant points out that in addition to
offering more massage options than
whirlpools, air baths are more sanitary
“They’re easier to dean and maintain than
jetted water system technology” he says.
For more information about Acrjdine USA’s
Nirvana and other massaging baths, log on to
www.acrjdineusa.com or call (800) 441-3990.
REALTORS
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Estate/Classifieds for only
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ext 104
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