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I WISH I had a shower-tub combo. The little house I’m renting just has a shower stall even though there would be room in the bathroom for a shower/tub combo (there’s a big empty space next to the sink).

I would prefer a shower stall over a shower/tub combo.

Big utility sinks are generally useful for washing large objects, laundry, filling large buckets, etc. They're also good for washing dirty gardening hands.

DinOR Says:

I have a buddy that worked at FiberFab that made the gel coated shells and he told me there were so many moving parts it’s like they were made to fail! In a hotel room? Hubba hubba! (Just not in MY house please).

As long as the tub is heart-shaped and in a hotel in Reno, Vegas, or Niagara Falls. Seriously though, I really hate the pre-molded shower-tub combos where the entire stall/shower/bath is one huge piece of fiberglass or plastic or whatever.

I really hate the pre-molded shower-tub combos where the entire stall/shower/bath is one huge piece of fiberglass or plastic or whatever.

Who doesn't?

I would not mind a pre-molded one made of Corian though. Still, I prefer marble/granite/sandstone/etc.

I never use the hotel tub. As I result, I prefer hotels with separate shower stalls. However, they usually cost too much outside Las Vegas. :(

we wash dogs and cats in them

Can you teach me how to wash a cat without getting scratched?

My youngest just had a climbing class at Mission Cliffs. Have any of you done that? It’s really fun. If I ever lose my mind and buy a McMansion I am going to make sure my masterbath has a two story climbing wall in it.

Climbing can be dangerous. I tried riding a horse once and almost got killed. Perhaps I am just not the outdoor type.

I like all stone bathrooms and saunas

All stone saunas? Will the stone crack because of the heat/humidity?

Perhaps I should become a bathroom designer. Perhaps in the future we will all live in bathrooms with sleeping alcoves.

On the other hand, it would be nice to have a bathroom that can be cleaned by hosing it down with water.

Personally, I prefer a shower stall with a glass screen - a shower in a tub is dangerous - I once slipped and knocked my chest against the edge of the tub.

Exactly.

Best option of course, is a G-shaped stall - no doors, simple, ventilated and effective.

With glass? I will probably bump into it. How about a shower stall so large that doors are not required.

Don’t really understand the bathroom fetish in McMansions though.

I don't think many McMansions have really nice bathrooms though. People still prefer nice kitchens. Many "luxury" bathrooms only have marble on one or two walls.

We never use our frozen peas for eating…they are for black eyes and sprains and such!

They are not too bad in a puree. Fresh peas are of course much better.

I have an unwavering belief that all men pee in the shower

Huh? 8-O Another reason for his-and-her baths.

LILLL Says:

I have an unwavering belief that all men pee in the shower…so no way am I sitting in that thing…no matter how much I clean it!(As I am the only female in this house.)
Eeewww!

Pee is sterile (generally speaking), so technically there's nothing grody about it other than the fact that it's pee.

SF Woman,
Why do you wash your cat? We've never washed ours, and he's outdoors. Cats are immaculately clean creatures as it is and they clean themselves. However, I've always wondered - their tongues must be filthy. Maybe we just need to rinse their tongues once in a while.

Why do you wash your cat? We’ve never washed ours, and he’s outdoors.

I washed my cat before and she hated me for a week. The cat hospital was able to do it nicely though. Strange.

Do you notice how no man has proclaimed he DOESNT pee in the shower?

I proclaim that I do not pee in the shower.

SP,

Yeah, G shaped stalls are nice. Not very space efficient though.

I guess the shower-bathtub combinations are a lowest common denominator solution that covers the builder's backs - the lowest common denominator being 3 years. That's why we have water temperature regulators so water is never hot enough in winter. That's why the bathtubs are extremely uncomfortable for anyone over 10 years old and hazardous as showers. And the problem is, once the builders design spaces for these awkward tub-shower combos, nothing else really fit into them because they're too narrow for showers and too short for soaking tubs.

I do squeegee. But Pleasanton has really hard water, so the glass still look like it's caked in baking soda. I guess I should use something acidic for them rather than the alkolid cleaning stuff though.

Peeing in the shower is efficiency in action: kill two birds with one stone. Also saves a couple minutes when you're in a big hurry to get ready --very helpful.

LILLL, embrace it, don't fight it. Btw, can I stay over/shower at your place sometime? :P

Peeing in the shower is efficiency in action: kill two birds with one stone.

How about a shower/tub/urinal/sink combo?

Not design advice.

Nothing wrong with peeing in shower while water is running (though this statement does not mean I endorse it or does it myself), the salt and uric acid is pretty benign compared to the bathtub cleansers and athlete's foot fungus issues - those things would keep me from bathing in a hotel room.

Isn't there a urinal sink combo on the market already? In northern China, you'll sometimes find squat toilets built over showers.

(now how's that for disturbing?)

Isn’t there a urinal sink combo on the market already? In northern China, you’ll sometimes find squat toilets built over showers.

I only wet my mouth with water during the day when I travel in China. Public bathrooms are never nice but they are downright horrible in China.

I am going to have nightmares tonight.

I'm lucky to have a strong bladder and an easy to block out memory. Chinese public toilets are generally things of nightmares. If you get desperate, try a McDonald's. They're your best bet for a reasonable clean flush toilet.

(Oh no! Some memory of that hostel toilet in Kangding is coming back!)

"It’d be more like showering in a toilet than peeing in the shower."

Yes, it's not a design innovation I plan to ever make, no matter how cramp my apartment gets.

Chinese public toilets are generally things of nightmares.

Which country has the best public bathrooms? Surprisingly, Japan has squat-toilets as well. At least in the US, seat covers are usually provided.

My apartment in Hell’s Kitchen had the tub in the kitchen; with the addition of a hinged hollow-core door to cover the tub, you had a instant dining room table.

Huh?

Hate: Vauted ceilings.

How about coffered ceiling? I kinda want a Las Vegas fake sky at home. :-P

Bathroom doors that hit the toilet

I hate that too. Door should operate freely even with the person sitting on the toilet.

Squat toilets are quite sanitary, as long as they are used properly. The main problem with rural Chinese toilets is that they don't flush or ventilate. (I actually like ventilated compost toilets found in national parks and isolated rest stops, they're very eco-friendly. The Chinese really need to discover the wonders of ventilated composting toilets).

Squat toilets are quite sanitary, as long as they are used properly.

My wife hates them. Ventilation is essential.

Christmas light plug-in under the eaves with a switch in the garage.

I always worry about Christmas lights catching fire though.

Well. To go really OT, should say I've just tasted my first pawpaws. They're not quite as good as I imagined. They're kind of like a slightly insipid banana with overtones of pineapple

To go really OT, should say I’ve just tasted my first pawpaws.

Food is never OT. :)

Don't get me wrong, I don't like squat toilets either. I've been forced to use them on a couple situations of extreme duress, but they're not experiences I care to relive.

Most people are not trained to squat for long periods of time. Plus the newbies would fear soiling themselves.

I would like to live in a glass house located in a really scenic, isolated lot. Barring that, I like designs that incorporate private walled balconies into bathroom/bedroom areas, to bring more natural light into private rooms.

Yeah, a kitchen pantry is much more useful than cabinets. I would like a kitchen with a pantry for storage, plus a rack to pots and cooking utensils and a stainless steel shelf for for plates. That provides much better visibility and utility.

That's the idiocy of the American McMansion phenomena. They want all this land and all this interior space, but they put it all together really poorly and you end up with no privacy from neighbors and no privacy from other people in the house. Most McMansions have their curtains/blinds drawn all the time, which makes you wonder why they got windows in the first place.

One thing that builders never offer are industrial strength kitchen ventilators that vent out. That's incredibly asinine because you really can't cook much unless you have decent ventilators. Without a good ventilator, a kitchen is just a place to chop vegetables and boil water.

His and her closets are a very good idea. Much more important to family tranquility than his and her bathrooms.

alien,

Sorry to be so nosy, but I'm curious where your mentor lives and how much he spent. I agree, it is a really nice way to live.