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Beyond the Bars
Composite Pipe 101
Generational Shifts
Meet Me in the Middle
The Ultimate Home Kitchen
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Beyond the Bars
Six unconventional uses for plumbing fixtures
For an upgrade that's sure to stoke your reputation as a creative builder or designer, try offering plumbing fixtures in places people wouldn't expect them, like the bedroom or garage. Pros who have tried it say it's a big hit. We found six unusual spots where plumbing has been earning its keep.
1. Master suite kitchenette
In a big home, the kitchen and master suite can be far apart - an inconvenience for people who spend lots of time in the bedroom. Todd Rotruck, project manager at Restoration Artisans, a restoration contractor in Raleigh, N.C., solves the problem by outfitting the master suite with a small sink and refrigerator. Customers love it. "They don't want to go all the way downstairs to get a drink or snack," he says. "Everyone now asks for this when we renovate their older homes."
2. Pantry bar
The old-fashioned butler pantry was designed as a staging area for food, out of view of the guests, with access to both the kitchen and dining room. In homes that have one, Rotruck converts the pantry into a wet bar. It's the perfect nook for socializing during a party and for displaying a wine collection. Because pantries often include a large countertop, there's plenty of room for a sink. Rotruck says, "There's no such thing as too large a sink. In fact, I tell everyone to get a triple sink."
3. Filtered bath water
Filtered faucets are an easy sell for drinking water: Filtered water makes better coffee and cookies, and many people believe it tastes better than straight tap water. But it's just as important to have clean water in the bathroom. If you live in a city with chlorinated water, for instance, just taking frequent showers can lead to skin and hair problems. (According to the American Chemical Society, people can ingest many times more chlorine by breathing the air around showers and baths than by drinking chlorinated water.) The AquaSuiteŽ filtered faucet takes chlorine, lead and other chemicals out of the water and off the skin. At the same time, it leaves the fluoride in place for brushing growing teeth.
4. Upstairs laundry closet
One design trend is to locate the washer and dryer on the same floor as the bedrooms. But according to New York City interior designer Mindy Greenberg, "people are failing to put in a sink for hand washing and utility purposes in the upstairs laundry closet. That means they have to use the bathroom sink, which is foolish because it's decorative and smaller." Instead of messing up the bathroom, she suggests adding a sink to the laundry closet with an Integra faucet. The Integra features a 59-inch pull-out hose that is great for thoroughly rinsing hand washables.
5. Garage cleanup
Hobbyists such as car collectors and wood workers are what Greenberg calls "customers who want more garage than house." For them, she puts a sink next to the garage workbench. For one family, she went so far as to create a quarter bathroom off the garage. No matter how you do it, creating a space for washing up in the garage keeps grease and dirt out of the house.
6. Nursery convenience
An extra minitub or oversize sink in the nursery can make all the difference in the world for busy new parents. It's a great way to create a private retreat for baby and caregivers. Gina Spencer's builder installed one in the nursery of her La Jolla, Cal. home. "Having water at our fingertips in the nursery kept our daughter much calmer," she says, "and I'm sure that's why she started sleeping through the night by the time she was six weeks old."
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