#177: Bathrooms: A Slippery Slope?: a house log

Today we are talking about how it has been as a family of four who is sharing one bathroom, and what plans we have for adding onto that number down the line. And while we are on the subject (this podcast consistently seems to turn to bathroom-related things…) we look into the uniquely American obsession with bathrooms and learn why the heck in the past 50 years the number of them per American has DOUBLED. We also at last have real beds in our house after weeks of sleeping on mattresses on the floor, and it feels good! So we are sharing how they each serve distinct functional purposes in our smaller house. Plus, we learn what decor styles are the most popular in each state and we bring our Instagram conversations around Black makers & voices to the podcast.

You can also find this episode on your go-to podcast listening app, like Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, TuneIn Radio, Stitcher, and Spotify.

What is New

• There is a peek at the plain wood platform bed we got for our room so we could at last get our mattress off the floor. We can easily add a headboard to it down the road (we are leaning towards building or upholstering one) and it gives us room to stash stuff underneath (right now it is full of picture frames & art for the little guest house/shed that we want to add down the line). We also like that it is real wood, so we can stain it if we ever want to tweak the color (ours is certainly a little more oranger than they show on their website).

• And those are the two beds we ordered for our kids rooms. The top one (which can be found on Target and Overstock) has given our daughter 3-sides of under-bed book & game storage. And the bottom bed pictured below is the one we picked up for our son (those two large drawers wrangle toys and extra clothes in his room).

Top Trending Design Styles By State

• Here is the full article from Angie’s List that shows the results of their Instagram deep dive into what design styles trend the highest in each state (simply ignore the labeling of CT and NJ)

• We did not mention this on the episode, but they also looked at which states post photos of their homes the most, and I am not sure if it is adjusted for population density, but apparently simply 3 states make up 40% of all interior design posts on Instagram!

America’s Bathroom Obsession

• Here is the full article from The Atlantic entitled “America Is Overrun With Bathrooms” which contains that truly interesting overview of how the bathroom had a real glow up – going from the smallest, most avoided room in the house to the one that we practically value the most when buying a home.
• And we will do a more detailed post at some point describing our future bathroom plans, but the kids are sitting where we plan to add an ensuite bath right off of our bedroom. We enjoy that kitchen window behind them so much that we are right now leaning towards simply using half of the porch so we can keep half of that double window.

• We also said we’d include a link to two of our recent bathroom projects, so here is our big bathroom overhaul in our last house and the smaller demo-free refresh of our hall bathroom (shown below) in case you missed those earlier this year.

We are Digging

• Please be sure to check out our Instagram profile page to view the Make Change highlight circles (when we recorded this podcast there was simply one, but now there are 3 – and they are packed with tons of links to remarkable Black-owned businesses that you can support).
• We are working on a journal post to catalog these 300+ shops and small businesses, so here is what we have right now pulled together. We have more to add, so this catalog will simply grow and grow – plus we are planning to highlight shops we enjoy for Father’s Day, the holidays, etc, etc. This is more than simply a one week project for us.
• And if you have not read Trevor Noah’s autobiography Born A Crime, I highly recommend it. It somehow hits deep and also makes you laugh out load within the same page sometimes. Oh and I should not be surprised by this, but it also seems to be back-ordered plenty of places too.
• In the episode outro we also mentioned some podcasts you can add to your feed with Black hosts or that feature Black stories, so here are a few to consider:
  • NPR’s Code Switch
  • Best Friends With Nicole Byer & Sasheer Zamata
  • 74 Seconds (the Peabody Award-winning story of Philando Castille’s shooting)
  • Journeys In Greenery With Hilton Carter
  • The Read
  • The Nicole Walters Podcast
  • Still Processing from The New York Times
  • Design Perspectives with Gail M. Davis
  • Black, Married & Debt Free
  • Slow Burn, Season 3

If you are looking for something we have dug in a past episode, but do not remember which show notes to click into, here is a master list of everything we have been digging from all of our past episodes. You can also see all the books we have recommended on our Book Club page.

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