Stairway To (Sauna) Heaven

It can be one of the most useless spaces in any house – that space underneath a set of stairs.

Sure, you can wall it off and use it for storage, but between the slant from the stairs, the location and the width, that closet is usually dead space to just hide clutter.

Or, you can get creative and turn that dead space into something that makes you feel more alive. Which is exactly what we delivered for a recent client.

A regular at the local gym, Maureen got hooked on relaxing after her workouts in the sauna on site. And it was during one of these relaxation sessions she wished she could have one in her home. The only issue, she felt, was space.

“As a realtor, I can get very creative on maximizing a space,” says Maureen. “I have several walk-in closets in my home. Once I decided [on the closet under the stairs], I did some research online, and in about two weeks after calling SE Leisure, they came out to look at the space.”

It wasn’t much space – honestly, it would be one of the smallest saunas we’ve ever built – but our team was up for the challenge! Working with Maureen, we designed a custom sauna for the unique area that we had, which required a fully custom build. We built out the wall, framed a flat spot for the ceiling at 7’ because of the sloped stairs, ran all new electrical wire, and modified one of our usual western red cedar kits to fit the space. It definitely wasn’t easy, but we managed to get two benches in so it was the perfect one-person sauna (or two if you felt like getting very cozy with someone). And the end result completely blew away our customer.

“The quality of materials they used was excellent, and the aroma of the cedar is AMAZING,” Maureen says. “The sauna came with all the bells and whistles, including Bluetooth speaker with a great sound, mood lighting that changes, and a touch screen pad on my wall. Also, an app I can control the sauna right from my phone, including setting a timer or schedule to power it on.

“I use it all the time after my workouts and sometimes simply for relaxation. I couldn’t be happier with my sauna and the great customer service!”

In a week from when we first arrived onsite, an unused closet in her basement was transformed into her own, personal place of solitude and relaxation.

Not bad for the typical waste of space, huh?