Kohler’s Habitat Masterbath Environmental Enclosure introduced in the late 1970s was an indoor sauna-meets-sunning bed with three cycles: Sun, Steam and Rain. According to reader Ryan, it cost $20,000 back in the day — wow! Want one?: It comes with this 1979 time capsule house in Sturgis, Mich., via listing agent Dennis Bamber of Cressy & Everett Real Estate. In their comments here on the original story, readers identified a bunch of wonderful features inside this amazing house. Reader Steve H. was first to spot the Kohler Habitat Masterbath Environmental Enclosure.
Steve said:
I wonder if that big recessed box in the bathroom (right after the pool pics) could be a Kohler Habitat Environmental Enclosure?
Featured as a discontinued item on Kohler’s website (photo above)
There can’t be many of those around anymore!
And then Ryan responded to Steve H.:
I thought the same thing about the Kohler habitat. Those were over $20K back in the 80s!
Googling around, I found the Owner’s Manual to the Kohler Habitat Masterbath here. It explains the three cycles. Yowza. I need one NOW! Talk about “spa” bathrooms — they weren’t invented in the 21st Century — this is proof they were invented in … 1978!
Thank you, Steve H. and Ryan, what fun fun fun — in the sun, steam, and rain! This one also makes the Woddities — “wonderful oddities” list — 11 years into this blog, they’re harder and harder to come by, we’ve seen soooo much.
Fab photos by Randy Mason of Next Door Photos Michiana
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It would be interesting to know how many of these were manufactured in the first place, and whether this still works.
(Although I doubt I would use the “sun” option of something this old especially, even if it still turned on.)
My feeling about houses of this size, and with these sorts of features, new and old is that while people seem to be able to afford to build them, not nearly as many people seem to be able to afford to keep them. And loads of people could afford this house now, looking at the purchase price, but again, could they afford to fix it and maintain it? Houses like this ultimately tend to have a very short life-cycle in the scheme of things.
If I remember correctly, the lamps were heat lamps not UV. Back then we were more interested in putting tanning oil on and getting the full effect of the sun outdoors!
I don’t know how many were manufactured but however I have one of them in our master bedroom. Took me forever to determine exactly what it was, but with the help of a friend was able to find the patent number and discovered that it is a 1978 Kohler habitat.
Back in the 1990’s my Seattle based company sponsored a reward trip to Coeur d’Alene Idaho. Being from back East I had no idea what it would be like; but I was the head of the Seattle office so I played my part. The place on the lake was breathtaking. But what made the trip was I got upgraded to the Presidential Suite on the top floor. Maybe you have seen it. The glass bottom pool on your balcony coming off the Master Suite. Doesn’t get much better than this one. The hot tub on the roof from you room. Etc.
In the bathroom of this Master Suite was one of these shower habitats and it was great. It was a conversion from a stall shower.
It had all the features; but closing the doors and setting to steam was by far the best. I always wanted one after that but never did oblige myself.
Thanks for the cool memory.
John
That’s what I was thinking- maintenance alone would be costly/time consuming. We live in a house built in 1961 with many original features- keeping up with a few things around here has sent us on a wild goose chase to find the right people/person to do the job we need. A place like this could need many things fixed often, aside from day to day care. But I love it and would totally live there if I could afford it and have a butler. Haha
We have one ( bought a house built in the late 70’s ) with the original manual and it has a printed face page with the # 205 hand typed. So at least 205 were built ?
My claustrophobic self can’t breathe just looking at the picture!
Love Kohler. Searching for bright colored bath and kitchen sinks to compliment our 70s retrofit.
Actually I was the first to identify it. 😉 LOL…I just couldn’t remember what it was called. As soon as I read the email, I looked at the photos and saw it! First one of those I ever saw in operation…. Xanadu house in Wisconsin Dells! “The home of the future!” Fore some reason “Personal Environment” was stuck in my head. I was awestruck as a 14 year old when I saw that house.
I still want a 1970s/80s future dome house! With computer control by a bunch of Commodore 64 computers… and robots. Not to mention the round bed with stereo in the headboard, and in floor Jacuzzi and in floor breakfast nook. Even the kids room had a hidden slide to get down to the lower levels.
I’m so glad someone else was able to identify this and it is posted here now.
Dan
Oops! Thanks, Dan!
I was just kidding… 🙂 Steve identified it first on your blog.
Perhaps not the most practical fixture, but undeniably cool and of its time. It’s sort of like the extreme styles you see in Milan fashion shows. Not many will actually buy the stuff, but it does influence the design of more prosaic things. I really love the shiny curved frame (fiberglass, perhaps?). It’s so “Space 1999”!
For a little perspective on how expensive the Habitat truly was: in 1978, you could buy a two-bedroom, bath-and-a-half home in Portland, Oregon for approximately the same price.
Amazing! I agree with Ineffable–I would not use the tanning bed feature. Even if it works. Talk about possible vintage nastiness. In the 1970s, you could have had your whole bathroom done for $20,000, with luxurious fixtures, etc.
I love this. It looks like it belongs on a futuristic space station. I wonder what the wind setting is like.
https://www.dells.com/blog/vintage-attractions-xanadu-foam-house-future/
Xanadu Home in the Dells. Totally would be Retro Renovation if it were still standing! And it had a Kohler Habitat in it too! (because Kohler is just about 2 hours away from the Dells, and what better place to showcase your fixtures of the future than in the home of the future!
I recall these still being in Kohler bathroom catalogs well into the ’90s too when I did bathroom renovations. I never saw one installed, either in a showroom or a home. Lots of amazing luxury fixtures in Kohler catalogs from the ’90s. Still about 15 porcelain color choices. Amazing showers and baths. Do they still make that medicine cabinet where the water shoots out from the middle of the mirror? I want one.
Whoa! I need to start collection 90s Kohler catalogs! Thank you, la!
Ionder what’s out ther now that will qualify asa woddity in, say, 2075?
I wondered what that was. Thanks for the follow-up post.
Stumbled across your site while googling Kohler Habitats. We have one in our home in excellent condition. It still works and honestly, we don’t use it very often at all, just because we are on the go a lot.
I would gladly sell it, but it’s hard to find a buyer when so few people know of its existence.
I noticed in the ad that it says the cypress deck is removable, presumably to use the jetted tub underneath. Does it recess or do you have to lift it out? It looks like it would be heavy. That would be the one inconvenience. I would love to have one of these, but I live in a mobile home and my one small bathroom isn’t much bigger than one of these.
You do have to life it out, but I don’t think it’s heavy. The “deck” is slatted, so it isn’t one giant slab of heavy wood.
I remember the environment chamber from a Popular Science article. Always wanted one. Valves were gold plated and thought wood was teak.