Honeymoon memories of time spent relaxing in an open-air steam bath inspired the vision to custom design a steam room reminiscent of that beautiful hammam. A soaking tub, custom reclined seat and flat bench area were requested in a concept where the homeowners could soak and lounge while they looked up at the stars, all within an enclosed steam room with a 9-foot-high barrel ceiling.

The entire conformation of the room was custom built with cinderblock and mud along two walls using stainless and brass threaded support rods for anchoring, stability and rust resistance. A compass and square were used to create seating and a base for the custom lounger with the homeowner’s reclined dimensions used for maximum comfort.

Utilizing fiber optics and dizzying ingenuity, 400 tiny hairlike filaments in three different diameters (0.5 mm, 1 mm, 1.5 mm) would initiate from two 200-piece bundles and methodically disburse into zones throughout the 63 square foot barreled ceiling covered with the same 1⁄2”x 1⁄2” mosaic tile. The change in planes from the ceiling entry points to the surface of the ceiling, across the curved expanse of the ceiling, then peeking out of the grout joints between the tiles proved to be vexing to avoid crimping or bending the fiber optic filaments.

After every sheet was set with all the strands in place and the entry holes sealed to maintain the permeation rating for the steam room without damaging the filaments, all the tile within the entire steam room was grouted with epoxy grout to seal the joints properly and the 400 fiber optic filaments were then clipped flush with the grout.