I love this bright open bathroom by Tamara Mack Design. When we moved a year and a half ago, we went from a large master bath to a retro pink wonder that the two of us can barely fit in at the same time:

While we search for a house to buy or try to decide if we should buy this house and renovate it, I can fantasize about a new bathroom with a more modern look and such fancy amenities as a fan or a window that actually opens, and my true dream: double sinks and heated floors. This year's bathroom trends include upgraded fixtures and features, and a move toward greige and pale gray tiles, a trend I am squarely behind. I am obsessed with gray. Wallpaper and hardwood floors are huge for powder rooms, specifically, over other bathrooms.

Some remodeling-related bathroom trends for 2014 as determined by Houzz's survey of 7,645 homeowners:

• more than four in 10 leaving a tub out of the master bath
• rain showers for younger homeowners, hand showers for older homeowners
• glass enclosures, especially frameless glass, for showers
• lots of light from skylights to LED showerheads

I'm with the more than four on that first point: I had a great big tub in our last house (which you can't see in the above photo because my husband was standing on the ledge of it to get that angle), and in the nearly five years we lived there, I used that tub zero times. I'm just not a bath person, and rarely do I have the time to really enjoy it (though there was this one time I took the most amazing and relaxing bath, but it was at a resort). 

I'm mixed on the rain shower vs. hand shower, but as long as it's not the chest or stomach level jets, I'm fine. I definitely agree with lots of light; the more natural light the better. A great deal of available natural light ties in with having a glass shower, which I love. The frameless is key, too, because keeping the frame clean was a pain.

One quarter of homeowners are enlarging their master bath but three-quarters of them are creating en suite masters. In each home I've owned with my husband, we've had an en suite bathroom, and I prefer the privacy of it. Something that people are split on is having the toilet separated from the rest of the bathroom as opposed to exposed as it is in both bathrooms above. Ideally, my husband and I would love to have the toilet in a separate room. It's more private, and it means the other person can be getting ready for the day or for bed without having to wait. 

When it comes to cabinetry, white (36%) edged out dark and medium woods which were equal in popularity (21% each). I was a little surprised that lightwood (6%) was so unpopular. I really didn't like how dark the vanity was in our old bathroom, but when it's in a more modern setting, like the Kohler vanity below, I don't mind it as much. 

Even though gold and brass are gaining in popularity, silver-tone faucets were the clear favorites.

More dreamy bathroom design:

One of the shops I miss most in New York is Michele Varian. She has an incredible mix of product: There are always interesting, quirky and beautiful pieces for home (including pillows by Michele herself) and lovely jewelry; most of the products are made by independent artists. 

New in her shop are these stunning porcelain containers handmade in Brooklyn by Beetle & Flor. I love the simplicity of the shape paired with the colors and patterns of the African napkin wrapped around each container with a simple leather tie. 

Safe for food like pastas and rice, these cylindrical boxes would also be amazing containers for bathroom accoutrements like cotton balls and swabs, makeup brushes. I would actually love to get one of the smaller sizes to put on my desk to corral pens, scissors, etc. 

Tonight is the first Process Series Trunk Show at the shop featuring Beetle & Flor and other designers, brought to you by Michele Varian and Etsy. Michele has curated the trunk shows which feature products from emerging designers and will exhibit photos, tools, and moulds, providing insight into the artists' processes. The work shown will illustrate how each designer takes their inspiration from nature and interprets it differently.  The trunk show opening tonight (with Prosecco!) will be up through Sunday.

Mainly because I have a preschooler, I find myself listening to a lot of (nonsensical) potty humor. I like a good joke, but I like to think my sense of humor is slightly more sophisticated.

Leave it to the Brits to have the proper level of bathroom humor. Train bathrooms are not places we generally like to find ourselves, but Chiltern Railways, a UK train company, is updating the look of their railcar restrooms to something more palatable. 

The initial design—more are planned—rendered as large floor-to-ceiling vinyl wraps, is based on Compton Verney, an 18th-century country mansion in Warwickshire, which is about 2 hours northwest of London and currently serves as an art gallery. Featured in the restroom version are images of a Rococo Revival mantel, a pier table from southern Italy, and a painting of Compton Verney as it looks today.


The initiative is part of a plan by the brand to draw customers away from another train company.

Would you like it if extremely utilitarian places like a transit bathroom had some design panache added? I think it would make the experience a bit more pleasant and maybe people would leave their phones in their pockets/bags.

We had a fun afternoon Sunday at the local Parade of Homes. We toured eight houses, each from different area builders, and I think it was a successful show. It's always amusing listening to all the other people touring the houses to see who likes what. 

For the most part, I think everyone played it pretty safe design-wise. These showhouses generally aren't about trends or pushing the envelope, so I didn't see any extremely bold colors, patterns, or off-beat design choices, but I saw a lot that I liked that would appeal to the average homeowner. There were a few things that weren't necessarily my taste, sure, but nothing that really turned me off—that has happened in the past. 

I wanted to share the elements and ideas I liked best that, for the most part, anyone could do.

During late spring/early summer, I worked on my first project with Redbook magazine, a supplement to their September issue called Kidbook. It came out a few weeks ago, but it had limited exposure because it only went to subscribers.

I did all the market work from Syracuse, which was a first for me; but it worked out really well, thanks to my amazing pr contacts/friends and the editor who worked with me. 

I produced two stories: One piece was about organizing kid clutter and the other was a cute bath decor story. I think both stories have a lot of really fun, useful products, and I'm excited to share them with you!