The Glass 1989 Sofa Tub
I don’t sit around thinking of trouble for my characters all the time. Sometimes, I have to pursue writing that pays. One way I keep the wolf from the door is by writing press releases for Karastan and Mohawk Home. I love beautiful rugs, and I love writing about them. Part of my job is to follow trends in home textiles.
In the June 2014 issue of Home and Textiles Today was an article about “The Living Bathroom.” Apparently, the bathroom is becoming the place to hang out, just like the living room. Manufacturers are producing “bathroom furniture”—freestanding wash basins that look like contemporary art, tubs shaped like sofas or lounges, and showerheads that resemble the floorlamp in your living room.
Waterproof wallpaper is replacing tile, and conversation areas (sofas and armchairs) are being brought in as well as pillows, cushions, and carpet. Towels are taking on the look of afghans. TVs and fireplaces in the bathroom are no longer just the purview of ritzy hotels.
Axor Lampshower by Nendo
Walls no longer separate the bathtub or shower from the rest of the room. It all blends into one cozy living space. But can there be such a thing as too much togetherness? People do weird stuff in showers, and I don’t really want a front-row seat to the display. Plus, if there are no walls on your shower, how do you keep your friend sitting in the armchair discussing the stock market with you while you do your ablutions keep from getting his own shower? I’ve been a splasher since the age of two.
Now, the sofa tubs look inviting and the lampshower is cool, but I am worried about all the pillows and carpets. My bathroom can be as steamy as the Amazon jungle. As for watching TV in the tub, that is simply too much of a temptation. My friend wraps his Kindle in a Baggie and reads in the tub until he comes out like a raisin.
The fireplace sounds romantic, unless it is one of those fireplaces that draws all the heat out of the room instead of putting it in. Goosebumps are not lust inspiring.
So, I am not sure I like turning my bathroom into a living room. There are definite advantages and disadvantages. Still, it all seems a little too public. I feel exposed enough between Facebook, Twitter, and this blog.
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I don’t discuss bathrooms at all in my books. Oh wait, in Maud’s House, I do talk about a bathroom where the corner was painted like the Sistine Chapel: “My father looked up as he shaved in the morning and saw men welcomed into heaven or sentenced to hell. ‘What a way to start the day,’ he growled.”
