Every once in a while, we come across bathrooms that are open to the rest of the room or simply have no door. When touring the W Hollywood hotel a couple of weeks ago, we noticed that a portion of the guest room bathroom walls consisted of glass. The translucency of the walls allowed anyone in the room a sneak peak into the bathroom.
The hotel bathrooms were only slightly revealing. However, we have never seen a bathroom nook quite like the featured photo, from Desire to Inspire, which really takes a lack of privacy to the next level.
We are starting to wonder, is a lack of bathroom privacy the next trend? Has our society become so liberal that we no longer need doors or even walls in our bathrooms? I like to think of myself as more liberal than conservative. Maybe I am more prudish than I realize or it is possible that the new risque bathrooms have gone too far…
Images: Desire to Inspire
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Did you forget about this? It was the equivalent of installing a toilet in the middle of the living room. IMO.
http://gallery.apartmenttherapy.com/photo/jason-john-new-york-house-iii/item/120283
One of my favorite homes, but..........
I think as the economy goes downhill we can look forward to bathroom "nooks" instead of bathroom suites.
Maybe if you're 3.
To me this just looks like a big bathroom with separate spaces for bath and sink areas. I did once look at an apartment with bathroom walls that did not go all the way up to the ceiling, so it was open to the bedroom although it did have a door. That was a deal breaker for me!
It's one thing for a private home to have a bathroom open to the master bedroom - particularly when there are additional bathrooms for the other occupants/guests in the house.
Then there are hotel rooms (and the new Norwegian Epic) which have glassed in, open or partially open bathrooms - nobody but the occupants of the hotelroom/ship stateroom is going to be using the facilities.
But I can't see us going back to the old days where the lone toilet was in a corner or a closet and the single bathtub was in the kitchen like the old walkup apartments/tenements in NYC.
I lived for awhile in a house where the bathroom was open to the master bedroom. Even living alone, I found it weird. The toilet was in a water closet, but it was still strange to me. It would freak me out a bit having guests staying over, especially as the master bedroom had two entrances (from the house and from the patio).
I stayed in a B&B once that had a regular attached bathroom, but the bathtub was IN the bedroom all by itself. As I was sharing the room with someone, that was not cool. I think the B&B should have warned us.
This doesn't work for me.
Why would anyone want to have their bathroom duties on display? There's something to be said for privacy and being able to close the door (and the world) out when taking a bath!
I don't think I'm bothered by more or less open bathrooms really. But only within the privacy of my own family/partner. I would hate to see something like this in a more "public" place. Also I think bathrooms with doors are essential when you have guests staying over (or when staying as a guest somewhere).
No, we are not needing less privacy.
I'm super private, so that would not work for me. I visited a friend's house for a party once and used the master bathroom. Much to my chagrin, the master bedroom was the entire second floor, which meant there was no door to get to it. On top of that, the bathroom was separated by a section of a wall that was only wide enough for the sink. The toiled was shielded by the wall from the top of the stairs, but that was it for privacy. It was the fastest and most uncomfortable pee break I've ever taken, knowing that there were 50 people downstairs who could wander up any moment.
@Lisa Hunter -- I have an art background, I once worked in an art museum as an assistant curator, I have had basic training in art and paper conservation, and I ALWAYS hang watercolor paintings in bathrooms. Not valuable antiques, but work that means a lot to me by local artists, etc. No problems at all so far. (My bathrooms have decent ventilation and I use it and leave doors open after showers, etc., but I've never had any problems through a lot of years. Just so you know. (Your mileage may vary, of course, and I don't "recommend" it. But I do it!)
Privacy is important. Bathrooms should BE rooms, not nooks, and they should have doors with locks (not curtains or other flimsy partitians.) That said, I often leave the lavatory door open at home if alone or if I think I will quickily finish before my partner wanders by! (I've swung the door quickly shut a time or two, and I probably got caught at least once, but for some reason I still do that! A bit weird, I suppose!)
Not a fan. No one needs to see me attend to my personal hygiene.
Do these people with the toilet in the bedroom/living-room/corridor eat roses and drink perfume?
Or have no friends/lovers/partners?
The nook looks just gorgeous - but I don't know that I'd be that comfortable to shower in front of even the closest of others! A bit of mystique goes a very long way. It might be fun for a weekend away (maybe) - which is a much shorter time to be going without all the "less attractive but necessary" tasks...?
I particularly like the second picture. Re: the subject in general, I think I'd like it in a large, minimalist master bedroom situation, maybe with a half wall hiding the toilet... but of course not for a guest bathroom!
I have to say; having stayed at many W Hotels, the trend has jumped the shark. The bathrooms are so trendy that they cease to be comfortable or particularly useful. At the last one I stayed, the wc, the shower and the sink were all open to the room. Awkward when staying with friends.
I've had two experiences with this style in hotels. The first was a suite that had a frosted glass wall in the shower, and on the other side of that wall was the main space of the hotel room. Luckily I was staying there with my boyfriend (and he loved it). But what if I had been with a friend or business associate? It would have been awkward to say the least.
The other was my honeymoon suite. There was a full, separate bathroom, but there was also a nook with a two-person jacuzzi tub right in the middle of the hotel suite. I loved sinking into the tub in front of the fireplace while my husband relaxed in a chair next to me, both of us sipping champagne... I could see incorporating a style like that into a master bedroom suite someday when I am a millionaire!
No thanks.
Not a fan...the bathroom needs to be its own room with a door. Never really liked the idea of a lock on a bathroom door...here if the door is open the bathroom is free, if it is shut it is occupied.
This is a design trend that i just don't get...
I've seen this for a number of years now in Las Vegas. I think the hoteliers think it's sexy, which it is if you're staying at a hotel to have sex. But imagine a family traveling, or two unrelated folks sharing a room on a business trip. Yuk!
Freaks me out.
I recently moved into a house where you walk through a short hallway (closets on either side) to get to the master bathroom. When we moved in there was NO DOOR either to the start of the hallway or the start of the bathroom. Since doors are always left open during house showings I didn't even notice the absence of a door until we were in contract. Luckily adding one was easy (there was already a door jamb). Anyway, it has led to a lot of speculation about the couple who lived there previously, and a lot of jokes between my husband and I! The hallway provides a bit of separation, but it is not one of those palatial bathrooms where everything is spread out. I mean, you could literally see the toilet from the bed -- EWW.