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Shower rooms: removing walls and doors means more space in the bathroom - 2009-03-12
Call it the case of the disappearing shower stall. First, the shower and the bath tub separated. Next, frameless glass shower stalls became the rage. Now, many homeowners are eliminating shower doors and walls altogether. The term "open" shower says it all. This design makes a space appear larger because it has no doors or walls (or simply glass walls) to demarcate the shower. "It's a feeling of openness and luxury," architect Michael Harris explains. "You are bathing inside, but there's an outdoor quality to the experience." Making a floor into a shower pan is not without challenges: The floor must be sloped for drainage, and everything within the shower's reach must be able to withstand moisture. Here are two open showers that put these principles into practice. When Michael Harris designed this master bathroom, he situated the tub and shower together in one "wet room." The tub and shower are placed to the side, separated from the rest of the bathroom by a small threshold--a two-inch lip in the floor--and a small glass panel for water containment. Two sinks over a vanity occupy the other side of the space. "Doing it this way gives the room a better layout," he says. "We put a window up high to protect the owners' privacy and to give an outdoor connection." The floor tile, which runs through the shower and the rest of the room, is slate, reinforcing the outdoor feeling. Everything floats," architect Adam Christie says of the shower room he designed and built with his wife, Lisa, who is also an architect. The floor of their bathroom is completely open. The wall-hung toilet levitates above the floor, as does the cantilevered sink. Even the medicine cabinet and toilet-roll holder are embedded in the wall. "It's a good-size bathroom to start with," explains Adam,Amino acid "but it has a sense of openness that is created by the fact that everything hangs off of the walls."For more information,please visting http://www.bossgoo.com