A Birthday Wish....

One morning while sponging brackish water from a two piece toilet whose tank I'd unseated while climbing out of our shower-tub, I asked my wife, who was soaping up the water that had leaked from the shower onto the linoleum floor, what she'd like for her birthday. It was idle conversation, meant to shift the focus from our moldy, depressing bathroom to something light and cheerful. But my wife took the question seriously and her plaintive answer cut me to the quick.

"You know what I want for my birthday?" she said, sitting on the edge of the grungy avocado-colored tub in which we'd bathed our two babies, both of whom are now in college."I want a grown up bathroom."

It is impossible to convey just how profoundly her words struck me. A grown-up bathroom. It was like a slap in the face. I stopped my sponging and took a good, hard look at our 60's-era bathroom, with the mushy moldy drywall; the dust-encrusted ceiling fan and the metal medicine cabinet speckled with rust. The scales fell from my eyes. I, too, wanted a grown-up bathroom. We all want a grown up bathroom, don't we? Not someplace where we hurriedly do our business and wash our face, but someplace pleasant. A retreat. Nay, a sanctuary. According to the National Kitchen and Bath Assn., the average person visits the toilet 2,500 times a year. And spends about three years of his or her life in the bathroom. Three years!

Now think about that, then say the truth with me and it will set you free. "I want a grown up bathroom."

Because the minute you acknowledge the truth, you will be transformed. From your bosom will spring forth all sorts of repressed desires. Like the fact that you don't just want a new bathtub; you want a soaking tub. With air jets! And constant hot water that you'll never have to use the word "tepid" again!

Source: David Lansing, March 6, 2005 latimes.com/features/printedition/magazine

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Bathroom remodeling in 2010 is a hot topic! We all do want a grown up bathroom and there are some many design features that that will not create a retreat today, but also ensure a safe place for us to enjoy in the future.

Here are a few "Universal Design" features to consider when planning your new bath:

• Walk in shower with no curb.
• Decorative non-slip tile surfaces for bathroom flooring.
• Grab bars as towel bars and toilet paper holders.
• Magnifying make up mirror.

Tell us about the things that you have (or want in your grown up bathroom!!!