While a rustic barrel is the classic form that we think of when envisioning a hot tub, we intentionally chose a rectangular shape for our Wood Burning Hot Tub. The rectangular shape and smaller footprint comes with a few specific benefits, each intended to make the wood-fired soaking experience easier and better.
Creating a rectangular shaped wood burning hot tub wasn’t as simple as it might seem. From a specific design that provides space for the cedar to expand to creating a seamless aluminum liner, countless small considerations and design decisions went into the creation of a rectangular hot tub heated by wood.
Explore why our design team chose to create a modern, rectangular wood burning hot tub.
A MORE COMFORTABLE SOAK
We’ve found that round hot tubs can often make for a less comfortable bathing experience. Rather than reclining and lying back, you’re sitting upright in a seat. Our bodies typically fit better in rectangular shapes, allowing for a more efficient use of space.
Circular tubs seem like they work well for groups, but the centre quickly gets crowded. We’ve also found that people typically enjoy a wood-fired soak either solo, with just one other person, or as a small family. With that in mind, it made sense to create a design that prioritized the comfort of fewer people, rather than one that would fit as many as possible. To use a common saying, less is more—comfortable, that is.
Our design team created the Wood Burning Hot Tub with reclining cedar loungers, offering a more comfortable soaking experience. With hand-sanded, softened edges, the cedar loungers are a natural-feeling surface to support your body as you soak in the warm water. We also optimized the depth of the Wood Burning Hot Tub so that it’s deep enough for an immersive, comfortable soak, while also making sure that it’s effortless to get in and out of.
FASTER TO FILL AND HEAT
We found that circular tubs can take longer to fill and require a lot more water, which ultimately extends the prep time for your soak—in addition to being more wasteful. The more compact rectangular shape of the Wood Burning Hot Tub takes less water to fill up, and as a result takes less time for the water to heat.
The Wood Burning Hot Tub takes just about 35 minutes to fill up, and around 90 minutes to heat up. Setting up for a soothing soak is simple, and we love how the rectangular shape provides a more streamlined experience. We’ve found that it’s the perfect amount of time to really sink into the ritual of getting ready for your soak, while also short enough so that it doesn’t require too much notice.
EASIER TO MOVE
Our design team wanted to create a wood-fired hot tub that wasn’t just possible to move, but actually practical and realistic to move. Whether you want to test out different locations on your property or simply move it between seasons, it was important for us to make moving the hot tub easy and straightforward.
A smaller, rectangular size allows the Wood Burning Hot Tub to be easy to move—it’s as simple as two people picking it up. You can also take off the external cedar slats to make it even lighter—weighing just 125 pounds.
This also helped it be easier to ship. The Wood Burning Hot Tub fits on a pallet, which helps us keep the cost of shipping down as much as possible. Plus, the smaller size also makes it easy to fit in the back of an SUV or pickup truck—something that’s especially useful if you’re looking to take your hot tub off grid.
MODERN, CONSIDERED DESIGN
Good design considers function. It looks at how an object will be used in different conditions, how it’ll hold up over time, how easy it is to use, and plenty of other important practical questions. But, good design also considers form—the visual aesthetic and beauty of an object.
It was important for us to create a wood fired hot tub that wasn’t simply as high-performing and durable as possible, but that also was a beautiful, design-forward object. With that in mind, our design team created the Wood Burning Hot Tub to have a modern look with deep attention to detail. The clean lines and essentialist ethos highlight the natural beauty of the materials used—the finish of the raw aluminum and the grain of the western red cedar.
A rectangular shape also allowed our design team to create a more seamless aluminum shell—with smooth edges and no rivets. While many circular tubs have rivets where you can visibly see how the pieces were welded together, we specifically created ours to have a uniform look with smoother edges for a better look and feel.
EASIER TO INTEGRATE INTO YOUR SPACE
The rectangular shape also flows within outdoor landscaped spaces. While circles are a more natural shape, it can be harder to fit a circular tub within square decking and landscaping. When designing an outdoor space as a whole, a rectangular shape can often be more cohesive and integrate more fluidly within the built environment.
The Wood Burning Hot Tub was also designed with a kick—an indentation that runs along the bottom of the hot tub. Our design team specifically created this to make it easier to directly integrate the hot tub into decking, allowing for more concealed drainage and creating a more seamless experience. With a circular hot tub, it’d be more of a challenge to cut out the perfect circle within decking to integrate.
Charlotte Boates
Charlotte is a writer who heads up the Journal at GOODLAND. She’s written extensively for a range publications on slow living, design, architecture, and more. A frequent traveler, Charlotte is driven by sharing meaningful and impactful stories that encourage us to become more aware of the world around us.
