Doorless bathrooms, toilets behind glass, showers and tubs left open to the bedroom — these open-concept bathroom ideas keep showing up in design photos. For some people they’re bold and modern; for others they feel like an invasion of privacy. In this episode we explore what’s driving the trend, where we land on the privacy spectrum, and how it might fit into everyday life. Sherry also shares a DIY date-night idea, I recap a months-long break from social media and what I learned, and we relive how our half-bath install went painfully off the rails.
You can download this episode from Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn Radio, and Spotify — or listen to it below. Use this page to follow links, notes, and photos we mention. Note: If you’re reading in a feed reader, click through to the post to see the player.
What’s New
- Here’s a sneak peek at the house Sherry mentioned staging in the episode — we all gathered with a more evening-focused approach. After recording the episode the house went on the market and sold within 12 hours.
- Sherry also discussed other staging projects at the start of Episode #41 and Episode #53, where you can see before-and-after photos and additional details.
- I also revisit my initial attempts to detox from my phone and how I discovered the Moment app in Episode #75. After trying the free “Bored & Brilliant” course, I upgraded to Moment Premium for the 14-day boot camp and got fresh ideas for cutting screen time.
That’s Embarrassing
- The photo above shows the console sink that gave us a rough installation experience. Signature Hardware no longer carries this exact model, but similar console sinks are available elsewhere.
- Below, left, is how the bathroom looked when we first bought the house. On the right is a quick paint-and-accessories update we did before a more extensive renovation a few years later.
- We don’t have exhaustive documentation of this remodel because it happened while we weren’t actively blogging. Here I am in the middle of demo — clearly I didn’t know how messy the process would get.
- Here’s the room with most everything removed (except my shoes). We didn’t replace the plumbing; instead, we spray-painted the exposed black PVC with silver paint so it looked more intentional.
- After resolving the leg-related fiasco, I reconnected the fixtures. Do I look relieved? Probably.
- We cover more of this bathroom’s makeover in our second book, Lovable Livable Home, including additional photos and details.
Listener Question
- Above is the Dream Hotel bathroom in South Beach, which we referenced from our book tour stop in Miami — a memorable design moment involving toilets and glass.
- I also found a photo from our 2012 Toronto book tour stop of another hotel with a glass shower. We remembered it had blinds, but I’d forgotten they were mounted on the outside of the shower, meaning the person inside couldn’t control whether the blinds were open or closed — an awkward design choice, to say the least.
- If you want to read more about open-concept bathrooms, we referenced several articles with good photos and examples, including Slate, The Daily Telegraph, Houzz, and Laurel Bern Interiors.
We’re Digging
- We linked to a gripping article about a terrible roommate experience that reads like true-crime storytelling and reminded us of the Dirty John series we discussed in Episode #69. There’s a video midway through the piece if you prefer watching to reading.
- We also shared a small pink tabletop clock we added to our kitchen. It’s compact and charming — a simple detail that makes a room feel finished.
- Sherry found several small clocks without a ticking second hand; we listed a few options for anyone who wants a quieter clock for the kitchen or bedside table.
If you want to find something we mentioned in a past episode but don’t remember which show notes to open, we keep a master list of everything we’ve been digging across episodes.
Finally, thanks to Universal Furniture for sponsoring this episode. They’re running a giveaway where you can enter to win $5,000 in bedroom furniture. The last winner of their dining room giveaway was a podcast listener, so give it a shot if you’re interested.
Thanks for listening.
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