Ask the Expert
Send your bathroom questions to Joan Kohn at letters@homespa-magazine.com
By Joan Kohn
Dear Debra,
Mark your evolving lifestyle by welcoming your friends and family with a colorful change in the guest bathroom. Paint is the fastest and most affordable path to a dramatic difference, so express yourself with a color that conveys the direction you want your life to take. A burst of green will symbolize growth and new beginnings; earthy rusts, browns and ambers will keep you psychologically grounded as you move into new territory. In your bathroom, the emphasis is on you and you alone, so select a new wall color that most flatters your own coloring, such as a warm peach, pink or soft aqua. Install a dimmer and use candles to give your room and yourself a lovely glow.
Dear Jocelyn,
TOTO’s state-of-the-art products are well worth your consideration. In addition to toilet seats that raise and lower automatically, they have several other extraordinary features, including heated seats and washing and drying mechanisms. Plus, they offer an array of designs to blend with both contemporary and classic styles. But no matter which brand you’re interested in (and you should always comparison-shop before you make any major purchase), try to visit showrooms where you can test the comfort of all your new bathroom fixtures. Sit on the toilets and even take off your shoes. Make sure your new fixtures will feel as good to your body as they look to your eye.
Dear Felicity,
Two of the very best ways to enhance your bathroom are with space and natural light, so your first step should be to eliminate both the interior walls that currently divide the space and block the window. Along the back wall, you should have just enough space for a five-foot drop-in tub, a glass partition wall and your new shower stall. (Note that the toilet will now need to be pivoted onto the sidewall, facing into the center of the room.) To unify the design and further enhance the sense of space, use the same material (the stone or tile of your choosing) on the tub surround, shower walls and floor. Select a vanity with a center sink, a symmetrical arrangement of doors and drawers, and a fine furniture finish. Top it with a matching slab of stone, laminate or solid surfacing. A recessed or framed mirror flanked by sconces will complete the grooming area and give you the most flattering light.
Joan the “Bathroom Goddess” is host, writer and associate producer of Home & Garden Television’s Kitchen Design and Bed & Bath Design series as well as the author of three books. She is currently hard at work on book number four: Joan Kohn’s It’s Your Gathering Space.
HGTV’s Joan Kohn answers all the bathroom questions you were afraid to ask.
By Joan KohnChicago Lifestyle Change
I live in a loft space in Chicago and recently got divorced. Since then, I’ve changed the furniture around, redone the floors and painted (still all white). But how do I change the bathrooms to feel like my ex is out of the house? I’m on a budget, so restyling the whole bathroom is out of the question. Debra Weiner, Chicago, IllinoisDear Debra,
Mark your evolving lifestyle by welcoming your friends and family with a colorful change in the guest bathroom. Paint is the fastest and most affordable path to a dramatic difference, so express yourself with a color that conveys the direction you want your life to take. A burst of green will symbolize growth and new beginnings; earthy rusts, browns and ambers will keep you psychologically grounded as you move into new territory. In your bathroom, the emphasis is on you and you alone, so select a new wall color that most flatters your own coloring, such as a warm peach, pink or soft aqua. Install a dimmer and use candles to give your room and yourself a lovely glow.
Futuristic Fixtures
There is a lot of talk about the TOTO toilets. Can you tell me if this is a good choice for a toilet fixture? Jocelyn Ross, Scottsdale, ArizonaDear Jocelyn,
TOTO’s state-of-the-art products are well worth your consideration. In addition to toilet seats that raise and lower automatically, they have several other extraordinary features, including heated seats and washing and drying mechanisms. Plus, they offer an array of designs to blend with both contemporary and classic styles. But no matter which brand you’re interested in (and you should always comparison-shop before you make any major purchase), try to visit showrooms where you can test the comfort of all your new bathroom fixtures. Sit on the toilets and even take off your shoes. Make sure your new fixtures will feel as good to your body as they look to your eye.
1960s Floorplan
When my bathroom was designed in the early 1960s, it was the only bathroom in the house, so the sink is separated from the toilet and bath by a wall with a pocket door. I would like to remodel it to include a walk-in shower as well as a bath, but don’t know the best way to lay it out. Should there be a separate wet-room area for the bath and shower? Should the vanity be next to the window to take advantage of the natural light? The door could be moved, and because the house is one-story on a crawl space, the pipes are accessible. Felicity Stone, Vancouver, British Columbia.Dear Felicity,
Two of the very best ways to enhance your bathroom are with space and natural light, so your first step should be to eliminate both the interior walls that currently divide the space and block the window. Along the back wall, you should have just enough space for a five-foot drop-in tub, a glass partition wall and your new shower stall. (Note that the toilet will now need to be pivoted onto the sidewall, facing into the center of the room.) To unify the design and further enhance the sense of space, use the same material (the stone or tile of your choosing) on the tub surround, shower walls and floor. Select a vanity with a center sink, a symmetrical arrangement of doors and drawers, and a fine furniture finish. Top it with a matching slab of stone, laminate or solid surfacing. A recessed or framed mirror flanked by sconces will complete the grooming area and give you the most flattering light.
Joan the “Bathroom Goddess” is host, writer and associate producer of Home & Garden Television’s Kitchen Design and Bed & Bath Design series as well as the author of three books. She is currently hard at work on book number four: Joan Kohn’s It’s Your Gathering Space.
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