apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

You could put up a shower curtain on a ceiling track around the two open sides of the tub (like for an old-style clawfoot tub) to keep it separate. My old studio had a very tiny bathroom with no sink and I used the bathtub as my washing-up area instead of moving my toiletries to the kitchen sink. I had a small mirror in there and a shelf near the bathtub tab for my toothbrush and facewash and such. You'd have to bend down to rinse out your mouth, but at least it would feel like it's own "bathroom area".

Do you have room for a bookcase/room divider thing between the kitchen table and the bathtub? This would demarcate the space and give you space to store bathroom stuff.

To build on SFGail's answer, above, why not a two sided bookshelf in between the sink and bathtub?

If you wanted more visual privacy, you could install a rolling shade one the sink side, or paper it over with a cool laminate.

I'd go for dividers and a small cabinet. I'd put towel racks or hooks for towels on the side of the cabinet by the tub.

Even some sort of folding screen would help!

How about a folding screen with accessories that looks something like this?

http://www.shojiroomdividers.com/Hush_Room_Divider_(natural)_AEJK00215.html
or
http://www.shojiroomdividers.com/Bao_Shoji_Canvas_organizer_and_Screen_Room_Divider_ABVK00080.html

Or you could get a folding screen that you like better and then add the mods that you want (hooks, towel bar, shelves, etc). And have those components facing the tub and hidden from the rest of the kitchen.

Good luck!

I knew this was a NYC entry the minute I saw it. In college lots of friends lived in divey apartments on lower east side with this kind of arrangement. I vote for a screen, a shower curtain would just be too weird.

what I'm wondering--do other cities in US have apartments like this? I've never seen one anywhere but NYC.

thats the most odd arrangement i have heard.....what happens when the floor gets wet....anyways i am not a tub lover....i think a high bookcase or cabinet will help device the space.....you could stack up two bookcases front back....so you could use the shelves on either side....as a curio on the kitchen tabel side and as a linen holder on the bath side

I think this is probably illegal for sanitation and ventilation issues.

I would use two of these ikea shelves in front of the tub (with a big space in between to allow access to the tub):

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/38047210

I would put a tension curtain rod between them, then hang up a nice curtain in between. On the back side of the shelves, you could install towel bars and shallow shelves for storage. Presumably you have a shower curtain already, so the towels would not get wet. I would opt for drying off my feet using a towel so that I don't have to use a bath rug. Or maybe use a wooden mat in front of the tub. I would also put up a curtain rod between the shelf that is next to the sink and the wall, and hang a curtain to separate the tub from the sink. You could put your toiletries, like toothbrush, toothpaste, etc., in a container on one of the Ikea shelves.

You could store various kitchen items on the shelves facing the dining table, such as spices, cups, etc.

Is this even legal? Can you sue your landlord for renting you an illegal apartment? You could just stop paying rent. I don't think they could kick you out.

"what happens when the floor gets wet"?

Why would the floor get wet? - what do you do in a bathtub to get the floor wet? - I guess you'd wipe it up like you would if you spilled water in a bathroom or a kitchen normally

"I think this is probably illegal for sanitation and ventilation purposes"

Nope - you only have to have a toilet separated from a kitchen area - theres nothing essentially germy about bathing thats any worse than washing your veggies in the sink - so this layout is perfectly acceptable

Is there any way you can move the table to the other side of the room to focus the kitchen area on that side?
Is there room underneath what appear to be windows looking out onto those three trees for low cabinets that you can make into window seats with storage below for bathroom stuff like towels?
If theres no room for a set of shelves between the bath a kitchen then just a piece of plywood painted a good colour stood at the end of the kitchen bit would serve to separate the areas a bit and would be easily removeable when moving
Or how about one of those old fashioned drying racks that hoist up to the ceiling? you could add little hanging containers (like the ikea kitchen ranges) with bathroom stuff in and hoist it down when you're doing bathroom stuff and raise it back up when not in use...

I'd suggest a visual divider which is fairly low say 4-5' tall to lend a sense of separation without closing off the space visually. Shelves would work for this and provide discrete storage.

The other idea would be to hang scrim like white curtains from the ceiling curving around the tub. Light would pass through in an airy manner making the tub less visually intrusive. I doubt you would be using the tub with any but the most intimate guest present so privacy would not be the primary concern.

I would put two curtains on tracks that can be pulled all the way around the tub. You'd need a liner, of course, but it could be dramatic and visually appealing while still hiding the actual tub. Combined with window seats, it would preserve the openness of the room.