Let’s put on our design caps and see if we can help Erik, a reader with an old tiled bathroom he’d like to update. He writes: “I’ve got a Monterey Spanish house in the Hollywood Hills, where there is no master bath, and the main bathroom for the bedrooms is fairly large, and is tiled…
I’ve often suspected that the house I live in (built in the 1970s?) was made from "found materials." We have ceiling beams of different thicknesses, various kinds of siding and window sizes that make no sense other than that’s what someone found cheap or free. But what I’m happy the original builders found was a…
Question: My wife and I are getting ready to remodel our master bath. However it's small and our options are limited. We can get a better look and use out of a huge walk-in shower, but I'm fearful a bath/shower combo may be better for resale. Any expert thoughts out there would be appreciated. Answer:…
Question: What are the minimum dimensions for a half-bath that the city of Los Angeles will permit? In other words, how small a room can I convert to make a powder room and still get a permit? — Kris in Highland Park Answer: From licensed general contractor Alon Toker of Mega Builders: The minimal dimensions…
Ever notice how designer toilets are so curvy and sensuous? Not this toilet, by Toto, which is going in the opposite direction. It’s big. It’s solid. It’s angular. It’s a man’s toilet. This toilet was included in a "gentleman’s retreat" bathroom, designed by Christy Schneider of Mariposa Design Group in Dana Point, and featured on…
The good news is that I have a perfect example of a bathroom that breaks some of the basic rules of green building. The bad news is, the bathroom is in my house. Ideally, to cut back on energy use, a bathroom should have natural light and natural ventilation. This bathroom has neither. Despite the…
Have you ever wondered how an accessible bathroom could look less like a nursing home and more like a tropical retreat? Check out this missive I received from Debra B. in Carlsbad: A leaking shower pan became the impetus for a long-postponed bathroom remodel. The dark, narrow, corridor-like master bathroom (pictured below) in my 1950s…
Here’s one of the latest creations posted on Ikea Hacker blog, where clever people find ways to create cool environments on a budget and mostly with Ikea products. The coolest thing in this $1,400 bathroom, from my perspective, is the simple wall-mounted sink set into a wooden shelf with a hole cut in it. This…
We’re pretty stuck in our ways in this country when it comes to bathroom fixtures. Despite decades of marketing efforts by fixture manufactures, it still comes down to: Toilet? Yes. Bidet? No. Urinal? No. Of course there are exceptions, but for the most part we accept the standard toilet and reject the rest. As an…
After living in her 1950s Woodland Hills ranch home for 14 years, Cathy Nordlund set out to do something she had never attempted before –completely gut and redo one room to her heart’s desire. But because of her pragmatic disposition — after all, she was trained as an engineer — Cathy was mindful not to…