Family wellness is heating up. Home spas are getting a radical makeover, from plunge pools to Pelotons. And the latest trend, embraced by everyone from Jack Dorsey to Gwyneth Paltrow, is the private sauna. Iglucraft UK distributor John Harris has a long waiting list for his stylish traditional Estonian saunas, while Peter Mikic, one of the world’s most sought-after interior designers, says he’s seen an exponential rise in demand for home saunas and infrared cabins in the last few years. “Time is a luxury, and health is the biggest luxury,” he said. “I see more people, myself included, wanting to invest more in their homes. In addition to the ubiquitous home gym, that luxury also includes saunas and plunge pools.”
The popularity of saunas has grown in parallel with the rise of interest in wild and cold water swimming, and today’s saunas are a far cry from the pine cabins once associated with wellness in the 1970s.
Gabrielle Reason, secretary of the British Sauna Association, who has an MSc in psychology and physiology, is a strong advocate of the approach. ‘The analysis from Coventry University shows that you get the same cardiovascular benefits whether you sweat in a gym or a sauna. The great thing about this finding is what it means for older people or those with limited mobility.’ Saunas are also a great way to lose weight. However, she explains: ‘The weight loss effect is due to the cold water, which is as much a part of the sauna ritual as the steam room.’ Among other benefits, Reason also highlights the findings of Finnish cardiologist and scientist Dr Jarri Laukkanen, whose decades of sauna research have shown that sauna use is directly linked to longevity and can reduce the incidence of Alzheimer’s, depression and cardiovascular disease.
It looks like a fancy conference room. We were a bit British, so we wore bathing suits.
As well as the health benefits, sauna use can also be aesthetically pleasing. Emma O’Kelly, author of Sauna: The Power of Deep Heat, to be published next month, said: ‘For centuries, saunas have been the centre of communities. Important rites of passage took place here. The Finns called it the ‘poor man’s pharmacy’; babies were born in the steam room; the sick were treated with cupping and blood writing; and the dead were buried here. Everyone, regardless of age, gender or background, enjoyed a sauna here, and they still like to say that in a sauna everyone is equal. The great thing about saunas is that they are inclusive. They are not only beautiful, they are social, mental and physical. They are fun, healthy and inexpensive.’
For architect Juan D’Ornellas, it’s the process as well as the end result that brings pleasure. His sauna is located next to a large bamboo forest, high on a tidal river on England’s south coast, in the heart of nature. “For me, there’s an element of nature in it,” he explains. An avid surfer, he spent time living in Sweden, where he became interested in the sauna tradition and fascinated by the country’s long tradition of timber construction. With the help of fellow surfer and professional carpenter Will Gilchrist, he based it on an old Finnish sauna (savusauna), which used heat from burning wood and required no chimney. The result is a sturdy Douglas fir structure with a living roof supported by a sheathing of plank stones (traditionally used to raise grain silos off the ground). The sauna uses a range of local materials: Cornish ceramicist Chris Prindle built the stove from iron- and magnesium-rich (and high-heat-capacity) peridotite from a local quarry.
D’Ornellas loves the intense heat and earthy scent of his sauna, whose walls are blackened with smoke year-round. “I’d wait for the tide to come in and invite friends over, and we’d soak three times, about 30 minutes each, in the heat, pouring water (a process called loyly) over hot rocks to create steam, then jumping off a dock into the river. There’s nothing better in the world.” To stay hydrated, he keeps a large pitcher of ice-cold spring water on his porch, which he collects from his own well. After the sauna, friends can enjoy a meal together. “I’d spend the whole day in the sauna,” he said. “For me, that’s part of the sauna experience.”
Paul and Caroline Weiland commissioned Estonian firm Iglucraft to create a Tolkien-themed sauna in a fairytale woodland setting next to a spring-fed pond in the grounds of their Grade I-listed Georgian home Belcombe Court in Wiltshire. The company, which has also built saunas for David Beckham and Guy Ritchie, makes around 100 traditional saunas a year, with prices ranging from €12,900 to €39,000 for a bespoke model. “My kids were just dying to go in the sauna,” said Weiland, the film’s director. “I thought we’d never use it, but I did what they suggested and, to my surprise, we all did. We went in the sauna with friends and the kids and talked for hours. It was like a fancy boardroom. We were a bit British, so we wore bathing suits; you didn’t want to jump in a pond and get picked apart by ducks!” He says the sauna became an important part of his weekend life. “I recommended Iglucraft to so many people that I started getting invitations to dinner with the Estonian ambassador.”
Owning a sauna doesn’t have to be exclusive or expensive. Sonia Dineley, an Irish organic farmer and avid cold-water swimmer, decided to build a rainwater catchment pond (named Frank after her late father) at her home on a chalk hilltop in Wiltshire. She wanted the pool to fit her eco-conscious lifestyle – she swims in it 365 days a year – and the sauna “was a very real health solution for me,” she explains.
My husband Perrin, a farmer with chest problems, discovered the benefits of a sauna on a trip to Scandinavia. It was a real transformation for us. We are hard-working farmers and it is a joy to be able to relax our tired bodies in a sauna at the end of a long day. We built the sauna with the help of two local craftsmen and spent around £600 on a proper sauna stove. It has also become a great social space for us. Our three children love it. I even started a local book club there. We read together, sweat, and then scream together and dive into Frank!
Former decorator and craftsman Joseph Turnbull has built a bespoke cabin and sauna. He built himself a sauna near a barn he converted on the Roseland Peninsula in Cornwall for his wife and new baby. “While studying fine art at university, I did an Erasmus programme in Finland where I learnt carpentry,” he said. “My teacher was a sauna builder and I fell in love with saunas. During lockdown, I built us a sauna as a project, using a stove and other technical parts from Harvia, as well as a small cabin made from Douglas fir. “Friends have come over and loved the experience so much that it has turned into a business, with prices starting from £7,000. His next project is to build a pond for people to jump into. “The whole experience is fun, a bit like going to a pub – social but useful! Full steam ahead.
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