Bespoke sauna installation: West Kensington, Hammersmith, London

Taking on the challenge

This striking authentic Finnish sauna is part of an en suite set up comprising a bedroom and a bathroom in a handsome townhouse in Hammersmith, London. Our bespoke sauna installation built upon, and in most places, replaced an existing, partially completed project by another company who’d let the client down by not completing the job. As usual, we aren’t ones to shy away from a challenge and relished the chance to make sure our clients ended up with their dream sauna which they’ll be able to enjoy for many years to come. 

Layout

The structure takes on a classic L-shaped design with a raised floor for ease of access to the sauna. The upper bench can seat around five people or alternatively one person lying down and one person seated. A polished microcement back wall creates an engaging aesthetic against the dark timber and under bench skirting hides the frame. A large glass door has been fitted with a wooden handle which doesn’t conduct the full heat of the sauna to the user’s hand.

Materials

A Narvi NC 9KW electric sauna heater was chosen because it is ideal for the dimensions of the sauna and it comes supplied with a remote control unit for accurate temperature and timing adjustments. It is hugely important that any sauna heater has the correct power rating in order for it to produce enough steam required for the perfect löyly. All of our Narvi sauna heaters are CE tested and bear the Finnish Key Flag Symbol. This is an important quality tag and is awarded to sauna heaters that are made and designed in Finland. The client chose beautiful thermo aspen sauna timber which takes on a rich brown appearance along with a unique toasted scent in the sauna. Impressively, because it’s a thermo treated wood its durability class is improved to two, giving it a lifespan of up to 25 years.

Ventilation

Fresh room temperature air is brought in near the base of the heater and from under the glass  door. Once heated, it rises and circulates around the room before being ducted out of the sauna in the opposite corner, under the bench. A vent is also included near the ceiling in the same corner. It can be opened either while using the sauna to regulate temperature or after a sauna session to aid in drying out the room.

Lighting

LED strip lighting in the sauna is controlled by a dimmer switch. We only use lighting products that have been designed specifically for the extremely demanding environment of a hot, humid sauna. For this sauna design, we specified Ledify LED sauna lights behind the backrest and the bench lips. They are highly water-resistant IP67 rated and have a 3000K warm white natural glow.