Although I spend a lot of my working week looking at (and drooling over) the latest offerings from the KBB industry, I only get to hear what consumers really want to be able to get their hands on when I'm chatting to family and friends. It was with some interest then that I opened up a new report commissioned by www.Showerstoyou.co.uk to discover the list of 'I wants'. Apparently, sanitising bathroom accessories top the list of bathroom technologies homeowners wish to try, with 83% desiring a self-cleaning toilet, 66% wanting mood lighting fitted in their bathtub and 69% dreaming of digital controls for precise temperature, spray and timing in their shower.

Me? I'd just like a bathroom that doesn't have an unfathomable leak! My dining room ceiling, below, is testament to the fact that we do indeed have a leaky bathroom, but can we find the cause? No!

Looking more closely at the latest smart bathroom technologies available when it comes to the toilet, after the self-cleaning feature, we most desire a self-deodoriser function (55%) and the ability to generate a heated seat (31%). When it comes to showers, mood lighting (55%) and built-in sound - ideal for those that enjoy a shower-sing-along - at 48% also feature strongly. Similarly, once the mood lighting's been sorted, a built-in scented mist dispenser (62%) and a built-in heated backrest (41%); top the list.

In terms of general bathroom tech, the majority (62%) selected temperature control/thermostat smart control. Water conservation technology came second (41%); highlighting the fact that we're becoming increasingly environmentally conscious within their homes (or is it, I wonder, the increasing numbers of us who have water meters?). Wall-mounted, touch-panel interface was voted the third most-desired general smart bathroom technology, at 34%.

Asked which of these emerging technologies they'd most like to try in the future, the response was: sanitising bathroom accessories, such as gadgets that use UV light to disinfect damp towels - leaving them fresh, fluffy and clean (59%), warming drawers (think heated towel rack but in drawer form) 52%, Fitbit Wi-Fi scales which track weight, lean mass, body fat and more - and sync data wirelessly and automatically to your Fitbit account 48%, virtual reality showers 45% and cooled cabinetry (essentially refrigerated bathroom cabinets) 28%.

Anything you'd particularly like to try, or are in the process of designing? Please share...

Yours,

Jan Hobbs