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Look! Library in the Bathroom
HOME magazine March/April 2008

032508booksbathroom.jpgFor the gentleman that prefers to soak than to shower, this bathroom could be a dream come true! This handsome design is from designer Candice Olson, who installed built in bookcases flanked around a large soaking tub, as well as a mounted TV!...

We like the added touch of the chrome disc chandelier and mirrored candle holders. Check out the entire "Before and After" slideshow here, at the Pointclickhome site.

[ image by Brandon Barre via HOME magazine March/April 2008 ]

Comments (16)

Candice Olsen is one of my favorite TV designers.

posted by Carrie too on 2008-03-25 15:37:55
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Given the effect of humidity on books, this seems like a truly terrible idea.

posted by fleurdesel on 2008-03-25 15:49:31
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not safe

posted by LaDonnaNichole on 2008-03-25 16:10:06
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I like the idea but the design is poor. The ventilation must be excellent for the books to not suffer and I would never mount an electrical appliance over a tub.

posted by TheoJ on 2008-03-25 16:19:18
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Yet another example of "just because you can doesn't mean you should." First off - books water = BAD. Second of all - is no room safe from the ubiquitous television? I mean, I watch my fair share of bad TV shows (Go Law&Order!!!) but I do so in the living room. Not in the bedroom, or the kitchen, or the bathroom, or the hallway...because those rooms are used for other things, namely sleeping, cooking and eating, cleaning, and walking.

posted by Modfan on 2008-03-25 16:34:23
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I thought this was another "Guess the decade" design. Heh heh. Seemed very 70's...

posted by jakelegs on 2008-03-25 16:35:24
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I always like what Candice Olsen comes up with, and while unusual and beautiful, I agree with all the above that this design seems ill-conceived.

posted by RJD on 2008-03-25 16:35:40
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Very bourgie.

I believe that the over-the-bath shelf would be a necessity though.

The selection could be placed on the shelf and the bather could get in the tub without getting their hands wet.

Although, something tells me those books are for show as there is a big flat screen t.v. right there. Who knows? One day Who Want's to be a Millionaire, one day Vol. 3 of the Time Life Series.

posted by art on 2008-03-25 16:51:42
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I love most of what Candice Olson does. . . I wish she would do some designs in the states!

If I'm not mistaken, this design was for a gentleman's workout attic retreat - including a small eliptical machine on the other side of the bathroom wall. The electronics were water proof, including the remote. The bath design seemed to be very open to the rest of the space, so maybe steam/moisture won't be a problem.

As a book lover, I wouldn't keep my books in the bathroom, but I know my fair share of people who live to read in the bath or on the elipical machines.

posted by 2emagin on 2008-03-25 17:23:00
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Why not a TV in the bathroom? I would if I could.

And I am guessing a bathroom of this size and budget has a jet-engine-propelled exhaust system.

posted by patrick (the other one) on 2008-03-25 17:47:52
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Never fear bibliophiles! These books are clearly for looks and not serious perusing. I think it looks like it's trying way too hard.

posted by hdtex on 2008-03-25 20:34:14
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Those are not books. They're actually bound volumes of upscale hand-made deckel-edged toilet paper. You tear them off one page...er, I mean one sheet...at a time. That's how those with bank do things up in Canada.

;-)

posted by AlmostAD on 2008-03-25 22:50:27
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echoing the 'trying too hard' comments, you gotta wonder what kind of guy reads what look like Encyclopedias, Law books, or dressed-up classics like Plato's Symposium or an Anton Chekhov. Gimme a break!

posted by *heather leaf* on 2008-03-25 23:47:42
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...I'm guilty of reading in the bathroom, but it's always 'cheapie' paperbacks that I don't mind losing. I'm not sure who'd read tomes like that while soaking - if nothing else, wouldn't your hands get tired holding them up out of the water?

posted by plausibledenial on 2008-03-26 12:09:40
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Why not have a television in the bathroom? Two reasons: first, sitting on the toilet too long leads to serious problems including hemorrhoids and worse, a prolapsed rectum. Second, sitting in the tub too long leads to dry skin and wasted water. Most TV shows are half an hour long at the shortest.

posted by Modfan on 2008-03-26 17:25:53
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the comments here are hilarious!

posted by RJD on 2008-03-26 19:21:30
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