“Sauna trends” in the 21st century

For us Finns, the sauna is an important part of any building or renovation project. In fact, there are more than 2 million saunas in our country. What kind of saunas do Finns want to build in the 2010s and what kind of design are they looking for? These are always the burning questions of the day for people and companies working in the sauna industry, so I decided to give a brief presentation of the current Sun Sauna collection in this article, while at the same time asking you, dear customers/readers, for your comments and wishes. What kind of design language you would like to see on your tiles, what shades you would like to see on your wall panels, what kind of lighting and accessories you are interested in.

Sun Sauna Classic

Sun Sauna’s longest-running model in the collection is our Classic model. It can be identified by its rounded and soft design. The Classic laude is at its best in the L and U models, which feature a rounded corner element with backrest. The seat of the laude is arranged transversely to the benches. The front profile of the seat is also rounded, as is the profile edge of the entrance opening.

Figure 1. Classic board package, material: tarred alder on the board and heat-treated aspen on the panels.

Sun Sauna Relax

Nowadays, many customers want a modern, edgy design with wide boards as a design language for the ceiling. This is the origin of our Relax collection, launched a few years ago.

I think this model is a great choice especially for large sauna rooms, where the shape and massive design of the ceiling is at its best. The width of the boards in the Relax model can be selected between 120 – 180 mm, depending on the material. The sauna in the picture is a showroom sauna in our Jyväskylä store with the special feature of a water bowl embedded in the foot bath, illuminated by fibre optics at the bottom!

Figure 2. The Relax board package. Material: giant ivy for the tile and heat-treated magnolia for the panels.

Sun Sauna Wave

So the new member of our range is called Wave. It combines the rounded design language of our Classic boards with the stiff, wide board widths of our Relax model. The front edges of the upper and lower board are curved, and the boards of the seat part of the board run longitudinally. Designed by Marko Harju. Marko applied for a design protection for the board model in 2009 and introduced the model to Sun Sauna’s product range.

Figure 3. The Wave board package. Top material: tarred alder and panelling: DARK thermal alder

Sun Sauna LOG

The simple design language of the Log model suits both the log-walled beach sauna of a cottage/summer house and the sauna of the most modern stone, log or wooden house. What makes Log logs special is its fixing solution that allows you to remove the separate board planks in a twist of the wrist: the board planks are easy to wash on both sides of the logs!

Figure 4. Laude can be treated to black or left untreated. The material is spruce.

Once you have found the right model, it is also good to consider how it fits into the overall picture. For example, with Classic tiles, a “round-pointed” and narrower panel is usually chosen, while with Relax and Wave tiles, wide and sharp-pointed panels are often preferred for consistency of design language. To see the panel materials, click here. Material choices are also an important part of finding the right ensemble, which panel goes best with which tile material and which shade of glass wall will match the bathroom tiling?

What are your thoughts and wishes for your sauna, we would love to hear your thoughts, ideas and opinions in order to best meet your needs?