In college, my friends lived in a dodgy apartment where the bathtub was in the kitchen. But that's nothing compared to this newly-renovated luxury condominium in Boston that features an "open concept" first floor bathroom with no walls and no privacy, except for a narrow piece of frosted glass beside the toilet. You could move right in for $899,000. From Boston magazine:
The first time he saw it, listing agent Robert Nichols' jaw dropped. He'd seen open-concept showers before, sure, but a toilet? "I was like, 'Man, was this designed for an exhibitionist?' That literally was my first thought," says Nichols, broker-owner of Boston Trust Realty Group and partner at Crowd Lending Inc. "But you know what? It could work if folks, you know, don't mind having it open like that and just can live freely and enjoy it to its full potential."
So far at least, the set-up has not exactly been getting rave reviews during showings. "The majority just felt like they were having a hard time really trying to visualize themselves living in that space," he says.
So the plan for now is to be patient for a few weeks and see if any house hunters with particularly open-minded sensibilities on privacy come along. Or, as he's been telling prospective buyers, his firm is offering to rebuild the wall and door themselves.
Apparently, open concept bathrooms are a niche trend that more than a few home designers have, er, gotten behind.
image: Boston Trust Realty Group
