Have you identified something in your own home or someone else's home that was not a great idea, architecturally, and/or left you scratching your head?
One of my pet peeves is a bathroom, where when you step out of the shower you're right next to the toilet. Then you have to be careful in drying off not to let your towel hit the toilet. Gross! Thankfully my bathroom is not set up that way at home.
I shower and poop in different rooms.
shareThat's good to know. It also sounds like a good solution to the towel-against-toilet conundrum.
Now, is your shower a combination bathtub shower or do you have separated bathtub and shower? I like them together in a combo. It seems like when they're separated out, the bathtub ends up being one of those garden tubs which for short people like me are like climbing in and out of a swimming pool.
Our en-suite for the master bedroom is 27βx20β, so we have a walkthrough shower like this: -
https://www.stoneandchrome.com/linear-walk-thru-shower/
Along with a bathtub that looks like a giant noodle bowl: -
https://www.freshdesignblog.com/2014/02/bathing-beauties-contemporary-freestanding-bath-tubs/
I like that shower, but I have to admit I'm picky about bathtubs because I take a relaxing bath every night.
I have found that some bathtubs that have a "higher end" look are not necessarily practical, at least for a shorter person like myself who needs tubs with lower sides. I found this out at the beach last summer, and worried about falling every time I got in and out of the fancy tub.
The biggest problem in my house is the obsolete and way too small cable tubes in the walls.
The house is less than 30 years old, but that's apparently already too old, because 30 years ago nobody planned on putting HDMI or network cables through the walls from one room to the next.
Furthermore the entire electric system is designed way too weak for todays power consumption.
I'm permanently having problems because I have to turn one thing off in order to turn another thing on, or else the security switch will flip because consumption goes over its limit.
I can't even tell you how much it bothers me, having solar panels that produce plenty of power for air condition in summer and an electric system that cannot handle more than air condition for one single room at a time.
This makes me thankful for the electricity in my home. About the only time I have to worry about not having enough power is if I forget and try to plug in two space heaters too close together. Then I might blow a fuse. Otherwise, I'm good.
shareIt does sound frustrating.
shareI think you'd like this--everything from poor layouts to poor taste--(I don't always agree with his taste).
https://www.youtube.com/@ArvinHaddadOfficial/videos
Interesting! I would hate to spend a bunch of money on a mansion full of flaws (if I had that kind of money). Although it would be interesting to see if I agreed with him that they were really flaws. I'm not extremely picky, but I don't want my towel touching the toilet. π
shareMy main problem with architecture is that most cabinets are TOO high and I am TOO short.
It is so hard to reach things. I bought a cute little step ladder about fifteen years ago. It is only eight inches high. But I love it. One of my best purchases ever. I can reach the top shelves in the kitchen.
Give a short person a stool and they'll conquer the world!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8UVBgUd9GE
ππThanks for the laugh. I have not heard this song in years. Hilarious. I have been called it all, shorty, peewee, pipsqueak, etc.
Did I forget to mention that changing light bulbs in ceiling lights is difficult unless I have a ladder or a tall friend do it?
Same problem reaching for items in grocery stores.
My mom was under 5', had a love for what she called "step stools", and was a fireball if you got on her bad side! I love 'em sweet and petite. π
shareI can sympathize! My mother-in-law (who has the height of an Amazon woman) once asked me early in my courtship with Mr. fourlemons to retrieve something from the top shelf of a kitchen cabinet for her. I literally could not do it and had to ask for help. I don't think it had even crossed her mind before that point in time that not everybody is Stretch Armstrong.
shareIs this you?
https://imgix.ranker.com/user_node_img/50062/1001222699/original/l-photo-u1?auto=format&q=60&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&w=650
Close enough! But my hair is longer. I think I have compensated by growing my hair and fingernails long since I couldnβt get my legs to grow after eighth grade!
shareIf only I had a tall cabinet door to lean on at my home or my mother-in-law's! But there was nothing around to help. That tall door in the picture is an architecturally helpful thing to the short in stature.
shareIt's hard to tell but if you look closely at the reflection in the mason jar with the red lid, you can see that she's humming the theme to The Facts of Life.
sharehttps://voca.ro/12FFVfCsTyWf
I'm the most badass ballsiest person here.
It is one of the great mysteries of our time why you were not offered a singing spot a the Super Bowl half-time show.
shareI muted the entire halftime performance but I have no doubt I could have kicked ass.
You could have joined me and we could have sung one of those '80s theme songs that's a duet. Like Family Ties. Now that would be awesome.
I imagine our duet would be this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rcozed_BJWM
I could sing the male lead or be the monkey.
Even though your previous response would have been a lovely bookend to our conversation I went to the trouble to save this picture of the bathtub at a beach place from last summer after chatting with Andy and I would like your take on the purpose of these stairs on the side. If I climbed those stairs and tried to step down into the tub from that height I can promise you some bone would get broken. I'm not sure which bone but one of of those bones in there would get broken.
https://imgur.com/a/EGNxBEb
My take is that there's a lot of unused space in that bathroom and I'd fill it with a bookshelf if given the chance.
And also, short people should just bath in puddles.
Well a lot of good a bookcase is going to do me trying to get into a bathtub with decorative stairs in the way. Plus your books might get moldy.
It was the worst bathtub I've ever used. I had maybe 1 to 2 ft of space between the shower curtain and those ridiculous steps to get in the tub and of course I had to get in on the end where when I stepped in the shower, water just immediately bonked me in the head. I couldn't get in on the far end of the tub to avoid getting bonked in the head by shower water because those inexplicable diagonal stairs were there.
Short People Problems, Episode 246, now available exclusively on Vocarooβ’.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/7NWLQWQUUEw/maxresdefault.jpg
That is neither me nor is that Vocaroo.
And I'm still waiting for your take on the purpose of those stairs.
They're probably meant to look fancy but I'm not sure what is fancy about concussion induction.
The purpose of the stairs is to inconvenience short people and get them riled up.
I'd say mission accomplished.
While it's no Randy Newman, it'll do:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5gJh1Lb_AQ
That happens to me at work. On the weekends I work in a restaurant kitchen. I am always asking someone to get something off a high shelf. But guys seem to like it. They like retrieving things for short women. Makes βem feel manly I guess.
My favorite saying- Short people. Last to know when itβs raining. First to know when it's a flood.
ππ€£
shareI LOVE THAT FEATURE...I CAN OPEN THE SHOWER DOOR AND STREAM MY FLUIDS RIGHT INTO THE BOWL....MY FEET SMELL SO MUCH BETTER THESE DAYS.
shareThat is far, far too much information about your architecture.
shareAlso when windows are put in closets to make the front of the house look symmetrical. Somebody planned the inside of the house wrong if they had to put a window in the closet. I've seen this in at least two houses. What a waste of sunshine!
shareIT'S COOL WATCHING YOUR NEIGHBOURS CHANGE THOUGH.
shareAre they walk-in closets?
shareIt's been awhile since I've been in those houses. I think they were larger than usual closets but not necessarily as large as a dressing room.
shareI asked because it could be converted to a small bedroom or office if there are windows.
shareThey were small enough I don't think they could have gotten a bed into it, but maybe a small office. But then they'd have to figure out where to put their clothes. π
shareI had a relative who converted their walk-in closet into a guest room. There were no windows and I think the clothes remained inside. But it was roomy and comfortable and the guest loved it.
shareI hate the open-room concept. I also hate high ceilings and huge windows especially in a bedroom. Too much noise and lack of privacy. I don't want to get on a ladder to change a bulb.
All bathrooms should have a window.
I hate wood floors. Creaky and fragile.
All homes should have plenty of closets.
I'm not a fan of the open floor plans either. I like individual rooms. It just feels more cozy and vintage that way, which is just the way I like it.
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Yip. Where I live we have a bathroom with a toilet with basically no ventilation, and the windows looks out into the garage.
Doesn't sound like the best scenario but I guess at least we've got bathrooms. I don't know how people who live in more primitive dwellings in certain parts of the world do it. I guess it's what you get used to. Sometimes I forget how lucky we are in the more modernized parts of the world.
share2 million Americans are without indoor plumbing/bathroom especially in rural areas and reservations. That was a major problem during covid when sterilizing and washing hands were important. They died disproportionately because of it.
https://usafacts.org/articles/us-households-with-plumbing-poverty/
The rooms are hugely disproportionate to each other in size. Bedrooms are huge, but living room and kitchen are small. The space could definitely have been more evenly distributed, but it's not life changing, just a little weird.
shareI once looked at a house that had a tiny living room and kitchen but there were four bedrooms that were comfortably sized. There was a bonus room on the second floor although the house still seemed bedroom-heavy. There wasn't any great space for a larger group of people to come together and visit. Interestingly, that was the same house where some of the windows were in a closet.
sharelol windows in a closet? I don't understand architects or the people who insist on these designs, but power to them I guess. I've moved a lot in life, so I've seen a lot of oddball houses, and it puzzles and vexes the mind every time I see a weird design flaw, but living somewhere, you really do end up getting used to things.
share