It’s been a long week filled with great bathroom design, remodeling, and news stories. We can barely contain our excitement to share our favorite finds with you! That’s right, Trade Winds readers, it’s time to kick off another Weekly Round-Up!
In this edition, we explore how often people use their smartphones while in the bathroom (and what they’re doing on those phones), adding upholstered chairs to your master bathroom design, working with a small space, adding a little “zing” to your shower curtain style, and on a serious note, learn about the Venezuelan toilet paper shortage. Remember to click the headlines to read the full articles! And of course, if there are any stories we missed, or stories you’d like to see featured here, be sure to contact us and let us know all about it!
So without further ado: these are the stories that really caught our attention this week. Enjoy, and happy Friday!
1. [INFOGRAPHIC] Cell Phone Use in the Bathroom!
Via Visual.ly – Click to see full size
Visual.ly answers the single most burning question of the last 5 years: how much time do we spend on our phones in the bathroom? And in the process, they also tackle such juicy issues as “do men or women use their cell phones on the toilet more frequently?” and “63% of phone users in the bathroom are actually talking on the phone… how will this make you feel, the next time you call your boss?” Obviously, the answer is simply that “I will never call my boss again.”
2. Yay or Nay?: Chairs in the Bathroom
While technically you already have a “chair” in your bathroom, in the form of a porcelain throne (which, judging by the infographic above, about 33% of you sit on while playing Sudoku or sending emails), these pictures make a very compelling case for acquiring a second or even third. Chairs don’t just offer a place to rest and relax with comfort and ease, they can also affect a remarkable aesthetic impact in a room that simply can’t be achieved with any other piece of furniture. An uncommon bathroom sight, a great chair can really fill the space with a regal and relaxing atmosphere. Read the whole article to see many more gorgeous pictures!
3. Great Ideas for Small Bathrooms
Via Crafty Texas Girls
Of course, we at Trade Winds Imports have already covered this topic before, as have many other design blogs, but it’s good to see that Home Depot has finally gotten around to the topic and provided their own views regarding how best to approach designing a small bathroom. They may be late to the party, but they deliver some solid advice and more importantly, some gorgeous pictures from BHG and other venerable design magazines to complement their ideas. Home Depot wrote this blog post for the Crafty Texas Girls, a blog worth following if you love DIY crafts and design like we do!
4. 7 Oddly Creative Shower Curtains
Via HolyCool
So you’ve got your bathroom completely decorated with all your favorite little trinkets and accessories: your Dr. Who toothbrush holder, your vintage Boris Karloff “The Mummy” movie poster, your LED light faucets, and your Spider-Man action figures. But still, something is missing. Hmmm…
Luckily, Holycool has your solution! Check out their article, which compiles 7 of the weirdest, most unique shower curtains you can buy on the web. Whether you’re looking for a way to keep your social networking going ad infinitum, or you want to re-enact your favorite Alfred Hitchcock scene every time you lather up, these odd curtains are guaranteed to delight… or at least entertain.
5. Venezuela Experiences a Toilet Paper Shortage, Staple Products Crisis
Via TIME
On a much more serious note, we learned today that Venezuela is experiencing a serious toilet paper crisis, among other staple products. Economists speculate the shortage may be a consequence of government price controls, originally initiated by the late president Hugo Chavez and maintained by his appointed successor, President Nicolas Maduro. These price controls were intended to make staple products more affordable for the country’s poorest denizens by setting the price of these goods well below market-clearing price. The sad effect of these price fixes is that the supply of goods suddenly cannot meet demand and the staple items become scarce.
This is a serious problem Venezuela is struggling with, and we will definitely be keeping our eyes on this story as it unfolds.
That about wraps up our Round-up. Be sure to check in with us again next Friday to see the 5 most interesting bathroom design and news articles of the week! If nothing else, we promise you’ll enjoy reading our stories while you are sitting on the toilet, reading our blog on your phone.
The Weekly Round Up is curated by Mike Bowman. He likes home improvement projects, writing, and and using his cell phone in the bathroom.
