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Water shortages are a big concern in some cities, but how can you help? Yes, you could shorten your shower time, but you might also want to take a look at the Nebia. It uses 70% less water than a typical showerhead by atomizing water into millions of very tiny droplets. All those droplets equal about 10 times more surface area than a regular shower, so you’ll feel just as clean, and maybe that skin of yours will feel more hydrated. The Nebia Shower is also way more thermally efficient- 13 times more- so you’ll be saving water and saving energy. Lower water and utility bills? Sign me up.
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I’m in the midst of remodeling a 100 year old craftsman home, which means I’m pouring through several hundred design retailers in search of craftsman appropriate fixtures. Which also means I find fixtures that I love but are definitely not craftsman appropriate. This makes me cry a little inside. Here’s a modern fixture that I would love to put in a home one day. It won’t be this current one…but hopefully I’ll be living in an anthracite box where this freestanding shower would fit perfectly.

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As you know, we don’t often post pics of reader’s homes, but when Ron BenShoshan emailed us pictures of his apartment renovation I couldn’t help but notice the faucet/towel rack in his bathroom. Turns out, he made it himself:

“I was looking for something minimal for my bathroom and wanted to combine 2 different but related uses. It’s a plain metal pipe used for plumbing. I’m an industrial design student so I have access to the workshop at school. All I did was bend the pipe to the angle I needed, weld 2 shorter pipes to connect to the wall (only the one on the right is connected to water), put a short tube inside that controls the direction of the water flow so that it doesn’t flow the left side of the pipe, chrome it and fabricate to small housing units out of corian that hide the connections to the wall. Not more than 2 working days!”

Impressive, yes? More images and links to his Flickr pics below.
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Need a bathroom makeover? Customize it with some style, YOUR style.The Ty Shower Curtain is blank, white shower curtain / marker set that allows you to simply draw your own custom designs.

Dimensions: Height: 72 in / 183 cm, Width: 60 in / 152 cm
Color: White with your choice of blue, green or black permanent marker.
Material: 100% High-Density Polyethylene (Recyclable) and nickel plated metal grommets.

[via Design Milk]

Wow, if you’re planning a bath remodel or working on one currently, have I got a deal for you. This awesome sink is 50% off at DWR. I love this sink and it hurts me that it would be perfect for my dream house but not so much my current house or else I’d snap this up in a second.

This sink is intended for wall mounted faucets, and it includes counterspace to the right of the sink. Oh man. I love it. I may just get one.

Over at Plastolux they covered a conversion from a contractor’s shop into a single-family residence. It’s an impressive project, and I do recommend taking a look. Instead of showing you the same pics, I’m going to just highlight the thing that jumped out at me: this concrete bathtub. Mainly, how would one would replicate that particular design, and is it a feasible DIY job?

Now, usually the internet is ever so helpful, but I didn’t really find a solid reference out there. There’s an example of how someone made a concrete soaking tub, which is sort of helpful, and a seemingly oversimplification of the suggested process here, but nothing that really inspires confidence in making the sort of nice curve that’s shown above. I suppose it’s a project for only brave folks. If you know of additional resources, please comment or email.

(And, yes, buying a bathtub would be way easier, but concrete looks so much more bespoke in that lovely modern industrial way.)

If you’re not going to go all out minimal with your tissues (see the Kazan or the Toro Tissue Ring), this cover will make those frightful floral boxes disappear nicely.

Made of durable plastic, this white tissue box cover has a delicate crinkled paper design that adds style to standard tissue boxes (not included).

Made in Germany
Size: 5″ cube

Finding the flush mount electrical outlets made me want to see in what other places one could create a seamless look. I can picture this being installed flush with the floor with a similar flooring material throughout to create a unified look. The price isn’t too cost prohibitive and it doesn’t look overly complicated to install– your plumber, or you, if you’re the DIY type, could probably do it in a few hours.

Made of a poly-resin blend.
Shower tray has matte finish that is easy to maintain.
Overall dimensions: 47″ W x 27-1/2″ D x 2-3/4″ H.
Drain cover dimensions: 19-1/2″ W x 19-1/2″ D.

In the recent issue of Vogue Australia Living, this bathroom jumped out for its use of small black tiles. Although this bathroom is for an office, you can see how the overall use of the tiny tiles (minus the usual glass wall for the shower) creates the appearance of a large space. The warmth of the brick is a nice contrast as well.

This bathroom was installed into an old storeroom at the back of a building which had been converted into a law office. The old brickwork was so beautiful that we left as much of it exposed as possible. The use of black Italian mosaic tiling and black sanitary fixtures gives the space a sophisticated, streamlined feel. -Ferrier Baudet Architects

Tile source: Bisazza ‘opus romano’ from Metro Tiles or here (listed at €110.00 per sq. m).

See it here.

Sure, we’ve all seen some items made from windshields, but actually using the breaks and cracks of damaged windshields as a design element is something slightly new (to me, at least). I really wish they’d come up with better photography, but if you’ve any imagination you can see how this idea would be great as a shower door or, as shown above, as a wall divider or door.

Converting junk or damaged windshields into new glass products is a patent-pending process that we have perfected. While simple in concept it is a complex formula of art and science. We can add color to co-ordinate with other design elements. Second Glass can be framed, lighted, mounted, or hung just as in most glass applications creating attractive and easily maintained walls, dividers, fronts, partitions, and lighting.

Price available upon request. Buy it here.

[via materialicious]

Why-oh-why are bathroom fixtures so darn expensive?

Two-hole bath mixer with stand pipes and cross handles: $2,614.00, Buy it here.
Also shown: Single-hole basin mixer with stand pipe and cross handles

[via pointclickhome]

This shower is super sleek (even the pan’s drain is streamlined), but I guess it better look that way for a total price of $2800.00.

Somehow I missed the fact that DWR had expanded its bath collection to sinks and tubs. Some of the prices seem a little steep, but the looks are top notch.

Living up to its name, the smooth interior of the Liquid Sink is interrupted by only a single groove that allows the water to slip through. The drain, which is hidden by a resin panel, is accessible by lifting the panel, whether for cleaning or to add a stopper if you want to fill the sink with water. The barely visible p-trap (the under-sink drainpipe) furthers the clean aesthetic. An adapter kit comes with this European-style sink to make it compatible with U.S. plumbing. The Liquid Collection is designed by Nuria Coll, who is part of a Barcelona-based team that works solely on items for the bath.

H 19.7″ W 23.6″ D 19.7″

$2,040.00, Buy it at DWR.

This home has a very Farnsworth House/Mies Van Der Rohe sort of feel to it, with the exterior walls all being glass and with a central core. One difference however, is that in the Farnsworth house, the bathrooms are in the central core, and this fabulous bathroom is out there for everyone to see.

[posted by kris]

If you’ve been following the remodel section, you know that I’m currently remodeling an old home. Due to budget constraints, that means lots of waiting and obsessing on the internet trying to find solutions. Ordinarily, I would know exactly how to do the remodel, but in this case, my home is an old California Craftsman, and I’m not really sure how to honor the old structure while updating it. Basically, I don’t have enough experience with the style to know how to proceed.

One salvation for me has been Door 16. While her home is a Victorian and the styles are somewhat different, some of the updates she is doing would actually work quite well in a Craftsman.

These are some bathrooms she posted late last year for inspiration and I’m thinking these style might work in my home.

[posted by kris]