Sink Positive!

Haven't you always wanted a unique toilet?  Okay, maybe you haven't given it much thought.  I hadn't either, but since we bought out little semi, I've been thinking about space saving solutions for our home.

Currently, our house has full bathrooms on the second floor and in the basement but no powder room on the main floor.  This is common in older homes and Corey and I were both prepared to work around it...

But what if we didn't have to?  We think there may already be some plumbing for a bathroom in the family room but neither of us were really loving the idea of sacrificing precious space for a powder room.  We were ready to ditch the idea when I came across this amazing retrofit which creates a sink on the back of your toilet tank.  Sink Positive uses the water from hand washing to fill the toilet tank so it is also much more efficient than a traditional sink.  Basically, it's just like a new lid for your toilet tank which hooks up to the water intake for your toilet tank (not sure if I'm using the right terminology here) and, when you flush the toilet, instead of your tank just filling, the water runs through a tap first.  Genius, right?  It made me think about how little our bathroom could be if we only needed space for a toilet... 

I told Corey about it as well as my mom.  At first, my mom was horrified, but I think that's because I kept substituting the word "bowl" for "tank" and she essentially thought I was proposing some "hippie" idea of washing our hands in the toilet!  She's on board now and I think Corey's 80% in favour.

This product only costs $150ish and it would replace a sink, make our lives easier, make our powder room footprint smaller, help us to feel good about saving water and essentially change our lives!  Okay, that's a little hyperbole, but you get the picture.  Imagine literally being able to squeeze a powder room into a closet!  We asked some friends/clients over dinner and they seemed to think the idea was interesting.

There's just one question left: Are we cool enough to pull this off? 

What do you guys think?  Is this idea awesome, crazy or some combination?  Would you install a toilet/sink in your home?

Related articles

• A 4′ x 7′ Powder Room: Really?
• Designing an Eco-Friendly Bathroom in Your Home
• DIY Reglazing Your Sink
• A Minimalist Bathroom in Los Angeles

Bathroom Design Trends for 2013

Spring is renovation season and with it looming around the corner, many home owners want to ensure that their choices on finish are current and appeal to a large demographic so that their renovation will add value when they decide to sell.  When clients ask me this, I remind them that unless we're discussing paint, it is rare to see a 100% return on a renovation.  Kitchens come closest to this and a nicely done bathroom is high on the list so I recommend spending money on these rooms first.  I also ask them to consider how long they intend to live in the home.  Unless you're selling within a year, it is most important that you choose finishes that work for you and your family.

When a client asks me for specifics regarding what buyers currently want, I look at my own experience and I turn to the multitude of blog articles on the subject.  I used Style at Home's article, Kitchen and Bathroom Trends of 2013 as a foundation here and selected my favourite trends and the trends I feel are most likely to last.  Most of the trends I highlight here follow a spa theme, which I believe is an overall trend which is here to stay.  With our hectic, work focused lives, who doesn't want a place to unwind?  Please thank me in advance, as I did not include the Japanese Talking Toilet in my list of top trends.  Let's hope I am right.


1.  Heated Floors are here to stay!  They feel luxurious in bathrooms and kitchens and also save energy by allowing us to reduce costs associated with heating.

2.  Brass Faucets like this one from Overstock.com are a beautiful way to do something a little bit different.  They feel warm and luxurious in an otherwise stark bathroom.  I also happen to like satin nickel.

3.  This Free Standing Tub by Acritec is simple and beautiful.  Most buyers would love it.  For me, it wouldn't be functional since I prefer showers and only use the tub to wash the dog.

4.  Nothing feels more spa-like than a warm towel after a shower.  This Electric Towel Warmer has the added trend bonus of also having a brass finish.

5.  Towels in exotic prints like these Indian Printed Towels (left) featured on The Beautiful Life or these Moroccan Printed Towels (right) featured in the LA Times are a great way to embrace a trend (which I personally think will be over in a year) without a large financial investment.

6.  Wood Accents were not specifically mentioned in the style at home article but they are always at home in a spa.  This Wood Framed Mirror from CB2 is a lovely nod to the theme.

7.  This Spacious Shower featured on HGTV is beautiful.  Many large showers also include a variety of different shower heads at different angles, a bench and even a steam shower option.

I searched the web for some beautiful bathrooms which implemented many of these trends.  The powder room, (left) featured in West Elm's Blog is an excellent reminder that patterns can look very sophisticated when used in dark or monochromatic rooms.  The spa-like bathroom (above) featured on Design emo is one of many featured in a 2011 article and shows a freestanding tub, wood accents and am overall spa feel.  The sleek bronze faucet (right) was featured on Remodelista as part of an article featuring several brass-tone faucets.

Personally, I prefer the heated floors and large showers!  Which is your favourite trend?