May 10, 2026 • 29 mins
It's Mother's Day and Dean has a very special episode by detailing how small changes can turn 'normal' bathrooms into a 'spa like retreat.' Simple additions like: towel warmers to more extensive options like radiant heat flooring and shower saunas, you can make changes to any bathroom at any level of budget.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Kf I am six forty. You're listening to Dean Sharp
the House Whisper on demand on the iHeart Radio app.
It is Mother's Day. Happy Mother's Day to all the
moms who are listening, and to all the dads who
are listening. Hey, let's get on the ball today, right yeah,
all right, more on that later today on the show.
(00:23):
I had many many suggestions given to me about how
we should do a Mother's Day show, some of them
very inappropriate. By the way, I just got to say,
I had a couple of suggestions yesterday. So maybe you
should do a major appliance show. Maybe you should. Maybe
you should talk about getting mom a new vacuum cleaner.
(00:46):
And I'm like, you know what, I don't know what
century you think we're in, my friend, but that is
not not what I'm going to be doing for moms.
It's just like, you know, that sounds like like if
we were doing this show in the fifties, that would
be that would be fifties appropriate. You know, get the
Little Lady a new dishwasher, that old thriller. No, no, no, no, no,
(01:12):
here's what we're talking about today. And no, it's not
a gift guide that you can run out dad at
the last minute and nab, but it is a commitment
you can make if you're down for It's very simply this. Today,
we're going to talk about what, for many women is
the ultimate Mother's Day gift, and that would be news
(01:35):
that her old bathroom is going to get transformed into
a SPA like retreat. Yeah, but that brings a whole
list of questions, which is things like, you know, what
exactly are the elements of a SPA retreat and how
do we make them happen? And that's what we're going
to talk about today, and of course, as always, near
(01:56):
the middle of the show, we'll be taking your calls,
and when it comes to your call, you get to
set the agenda. I'm going to talk about spawl like retreats,
especially for mom in the bathroom today, but when you call,
we can talk about anything relevant to your home, inside,
(02:16):
outside design, so on and so forth. So that's what
we're going The number to reach me, by the way,
the phone lines are open now is eight three three two.
Ask Dean A three three. The numeral two ask Dean
eight three three to ask Dean. It's just that easy,
all right. You can if you want to call now
(02:37):
and jump into the queue, you can listen to the
show while you're on hold, but just letting you know
out of courtesy. We're going to the phones, probably round
about ten o'clock, as we normally do. So you hang
with me and we'll get rolling. Sitting across the table
from me, my design partner, my better half, the boss
(02:59):
as I like to all her, uh, and my best
buddy in all the world, Tina is here.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
Welcome home.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
I'm dedicating today's show to you what and to the
lovely Shelley. I know my mama.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
Yeah, I think you are posting a picture a little bit,
am I if you if you want to see what
Jan's mama looks like. She looks just like Dean or
Dean just looks like her.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
That's right, that's the that's the correct order. So that's
going up on something something where.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
Stories stories on Instagram, Okay, maybe Facebook, I don't.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
Know, you don't know. Just wherever, wherever you're you'll find
it home with Dean. All right, get back to your
picture posting there? All right? Where are we at? Yoh,
let's dive in. H m hmmm. We're gonna start with
(04:01):
one that is seemingly unromantic, but really, really please hear
me now, is one of the most foundationally important things
that you can do to the bathroom in order to
prep it to become that all important retreat. Okay. And
(04:23):
this is this is not so much emphasizing the spa
side of spa like retreat. It is the retreat side, okay.
And that is this. If you are gutting a bathroom,
I mean, if we're taking it down to this, to
the to the dry wall and the bare floor, okay,
then here's the thing. We're going for it. We're going
(04:47):
for it, and a few dollars more of pulling the
dry wall off the walls is completely warranted. Number one,
there's a really good chance, you know, if I'm involved
and I actually redesign your bathroom the way it should be.
We're probably moving some stuff around. We're moving some plumbings,
so we got to open up the walls. We're probably
(05:09):
moving electrical around, undoubtedly, so we got to open up
the walls. But even if we weren't, even if we
were just replacing like for like and not moving any
of those major components, the fact is a full bathroom
remodel is worthy of getting rid of the old dry wall.
And for this reason and this reason alone, to insulate
(05:31):
those walls. You're like, wait, only one of my bathroom
walls is on the outside of the house and requires insulation.
That may be very true one or two. You know,
if you've got a corner bathroom, maybe two walls of
the bathroom are on the outside of the house and
uh and have insulation in them, you know, via the code.
And there is no code requirement to insulate interior walls.
(05:55):
But ha haha, we're not going for code here. We're
going for is something more. We're going for retreat. And
retreat means sound isolating this room. Okay, not that you're
worried about sounds you're making in this room getting out.
I'm just talking about a place where you can go
(06:17):
and shut the door and it bego. It becomes quiet,
truly quiet, regardless of what's going on in the rest
of the house. That means we're gonna insulate the ceiling.
We're gonna insulate those walls. And this is just pennies,
pennies on the dollar really to add a nice amount
of rock wool sound insulation. And no, it's it used
(06:42):
to be a very exotic thing now literally, you know,
you can go to the big box store, you can
go to Low's Home depot, you can go to your
local hardware store. If they sell insulation, it's gonna be
sitting right there up on the racks there. It is
sound insulation, rock, mineral wool insulation. It makes a world
of difference. Now you've heard me say that before to
(07:05):
the whole house. Yeah, if we're remodeling anything in the house,
if we've opened up drywall on any wall, I want
insulation in that wall before we close it back up again.
So there we go. A first and fundamental and maybe
most often missed step in this entire process. Let's make
this room quiet. There's another way to make it quiet too.
(07:27):
We'll talk about that on the other side of the bridge,
your Home with Dean Sharp, the house whispering.
Speaker 3 (07:33):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI Am six forty.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
Today, we are talking about transforming an ordinary old bathroom,
primarily the primary bathroom, because in honor of Mom's and
Mother's Day, into a spawlike retreat, the place where Mom
doesn't have to go do any more work. She can
actually just get away, get away, get away from you.
(08:01):
That's right, and you and the other stuff that's running
around your house. It's important. It's time, you know. One
of the the most important things that we do as
home designers is create moments, and we create time. And
a well designed, beautifully designed home gives you time. And
(08:25):
time is that most precious of all commodities. It's the
most valuable thing that a human being has here on
the planet. And moms of all people who work so
tirelessly all the time, need time sometimes to take a break.
And so yeah, and also it's a natural fit for
(08:49):
that to be a bathroom. We all and you if
you're a fan of the show, you've heard me say
this before. But there were sociological studies done in the
late eighties that really revealed some fascinating things about our
relationship with bathrooms. It is for most of us here
in the US, at least, very very likely the bathroom
(09:10):
was the very very first space that your parents ever
not only allowed but encouraged you to as a young
child to go into a room and shut the door
behind you, in other words, to be completely private. Right, Remember,
Mom and Dad like keep that bedroom door cracked open,
(09:31):
I want to know what's going on in there, but
not the bathroom. The bathroom was always that place, whereas
as soon as you were old enough to handle it
and close the door, and we all remember that subconsciously,
we remember it, and to this day, no matter how
old you are, there is still this sense, I would wager,
(09:54):
deep down inside you that when it's time to take
a break, that is possibly the best option, the most
viable option, you know, And I will confess, I will
tell you. You know, told Tino long time ago, I said,
there are times we're at a party or something, or
we're out in public, and I don't know, I'm just tired.
(10:14):
I need a break, I need a break from conversation
or whatever. And I'll just you know, and I know
a lot of people who are in this boat. You'll
just say, you know, excuse me, I just need to
go use the restroom. You don't have to go, you
just need to break. And there it is. That's the retreat.
And if that is true in public, then how much
more true can it be at home? If that bathroom
(10:37):
is worth retreating too. So that's what it's about. Now.
We started already with a huge, huge foundational step that
so many people skip, which is insulating sound, insulating all
of the walls of the bathroom. So that's quiet. And
I promised you before the break there was one other
factor of getting noise control under control in the bathroom.
(11:00):
And now that of course is the door. The door.
So many folks live in tracked homes, builder homes of
every ilk that have hollow core doors. And you know,
I am not at all a fan of a hollow
core door. You might as well just take it off
the hinges and hang a sheet over the doorway. As
(11:22):
far as its ability to block sound, okay, useless, useless,
it's hollow. It's not doing anything for sound or noise control.
And that's just a scientific fact. Okay. It blocks out
the view, yes, but not sound. And so a nice
solid core door in combination with insulated walls, that's what
(11:46):
we need. No holes in the boat as it were, Okay,
don't leave any you know, big hole in the boat
sound wise, and suddenly this room is worth being in,
uh and it is a break from all the chaos.
Of course, after you've eliminated the unwonted sound, our next
step is possibly the introduction of pleasing sounds. Pleasing sounds.
(12:11):
Now a bathroom. Just remember this. I'm not here to
suggest that you go crazy with a media system in
a bathroom, not at all. In fact, I'm somewhat of
a minimalist when it comes to this. All you need
is a good, small sound source in the bathroom. Because
(12:35):
bathroom is full of hard surface material. It's a very
very resonant room. We don't have to go crazy with
speakers and stuff in the bathroom. All make some suggestions
about that when we come back, but think small, bluetooth
driven something that you can feed up with your phone.
That's where we're going. All right, more on this spat
like retreat. When we come back.
Speaker 3 (12:56):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
kf I am six forty.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
How you doing on this Mother's Day Sunday morning? Got plans? Hope?
So hope?
Speaker 3 (13:09):
So?
Speaker 1 (13:09):
But you know what, regardless I mean, I hope you
have Mother's Day plans. But whether you do or not,
I hope you have plans for this day. It is
a lovely day here in southern California. I hope wherever
you are, the weather's treating you half as well. But
regardless of all that, you still should have plans for today.
Good plans, sports plans, I don't know, get out in
(13:30):
the yard, plans, whatever works, make a plan, get or done.
It is a gorgeous day here and we're loving life.
Are you awaken enough? Have you had your coffee? There
you go, I'm just pouring your cup. You didn't even
expect that, did you? What kind of service you get here?
We're talking about making a spal like retreat out of
(13:53):
that old bathroom for mom. Just in dedicating that idea
for mom. Yes, you can use it to day, it's fine,
but we're trying to bless mom today with that idea.
We've talked about quieting unwonted sound. Then I was just
finishing up telling you that once you've got the bad
(14:14):
noise out, the chaotic noise away from the space, then
you want to maybe consider bringing a little of your
preferred sound into the space, whether we're listening to an
audiobook or listening to a podcast, or whether we just
have some lovely music playing softly in the back. Whatever
you know, it takes. And this is just a point
(14:36):
on the list not to be forgotten. But you don't
necessarily have to build this into the bathroom just to
have a plan for it. In fact, I would say
most bathrooms we don't need to build it in. We
don't need speakers and all of that stuff built into
the walls. In a bathroom. It's a very it's not
a huge, huge room, and it's a very resonant room
because of all those tile and you know, stone surfaces.
(14:58):
So let's just use something small. I prefer the idea
of just a really nice little, you know, Bluetooth speaker
that you can hook your phone up to and that
gives you some good base and some good resonance, and
one that's battery powered, that's rechargeable so you don't have
to have chords laying around and it can just set
you know, you can put it in a cabinet, you
(15:20):
can set on a countertop, whatever, so that it's there
for you when you need it. So first step is
keeping bad sound out. Second is bringing the sound you
want back in. Third point here and this is critical,
and this is a bit more architectural, but daylight, day light,
daylight in this place. True therapy, Okay, real therapy means
(15:44):
natural light moving into this space. And does that mean
a bigger windows? Very possibly it could be. I don't
want you to shy away from windows coming into a bathroom.
More glass does not mean less private. Glass can be diffused.
We can have shades that we pull in front of it.
(16:06):
It can be you know, frosted, so that it's true
privacy glass. But we let those beautiful rays of sunlight
into this space. That is healing. It is psychologically and emotional.
I mean, this is just basic human physiology. More light,
(16:27):
more natural light in a space makes you better, period
makes you happier, makes you better, And so we want
more light. I want light coming into the shower. I
want light coming in over that soaker tub that you want.
I want a lot of light coming into this bathroom.
I want so much light coming into this bathroom that
you have to think to yourself, how do we control
(16:49):
all this light that's coming in. That is your optimal situation.
Not suboptimal is always having to walk into a room
like that and slip a light switch on, no matter
what time of day it is. No, no, no, no, no,
no no no. That is got to be the target
one of the chief targets of your redesign of the bathroom. Okay,
(17:12):
so that's number three, number four on the list is
the view. Now that we got windows, we should have
a view. And as I always say, it's very very simple.
You either have a view or you don't. In other words,
there's something outside that window that just naturally. Whether it's
the mountains, whether it's you know, the sea, whether it's
(17:37):
a garden. You either have something outside that window to
look at or you don't. And if you don't, you
make one. Okay, I don't know what it is why
I always go to this metaphor or this kind of
psychological example or mental example. It's probably just because when
(17:59):
I was a kid in school, we used to do
these things. I'm sure you remember it as well, and
I used to. You know, maybe it was the young
artist and designer in me, but I used to get
a kick out of, you know, in grade school being
asked to make a diorama. Okay, you remember, though, you see,
you just get a shoe box or a box, and
you set up this three dimensional scene inside. And it's
(18:22):
for people who put their eye up to the hole
and you look inside, and you know, you tell a
little story in in one view. Well, that is how
I want you to think of every window in your
home and every viewpoint and vista and and more literally
(18:42):
drawing on that diorama metaphor is the idea of those
sideyard windows especially. Okay, you got these windows that face
that three or that five foot setback sideyard, and you
know what's outside them. We never open them because you know,
(19:03):
we're staring at a cinder block wall, or we're staring
at the neighbor's house, or we're we're staring at the
dog run where the dog poops. Okay, I mean it's
stuff like that. What I'm saying to you is that
the most important windows deserve beautiful views. And you will
open the windows, you'll lift the shade, you'll you'll open
(19:26):
the blinds if in fact there is something out there
worth coming inside. And it takes a little energy and effort,
but there's no reason why there can't be even in
a five you have no idea how many beautiful little
and how inexpensive. By the way, if it is only
a five foot set back sideyard, the view is not
(19:49):
one hundred and eighty degrees out of that window. It's
a relatively narrow view. And so a little bit of planting,
planter boxes, green scape, hiding the neighbor, bringing in a
little garden effect, even a water feature. There's one hundred
different things that you can do, but it is all
worth doing. Outside of every window. Now, some of those
(20:12):
windows look out onto the yard, and that's beautiful and
that's enough, but others need their own view. And for
those of you who don't want frosted glass but want privacy,
then we close in that view so that others so
that every time you open that window, you know that
you still have privacy because the space outside the window
(20:33):
has been privatized. You know, maybe the master suite, the
of the home has its own little private garden. It's
one of the things that Tina and I always like
to look at when we're looking at a landscape design,
is can we give the master suite its own privacy
in the yard. It becomes one of those destinations, but
maybe not a public destination. Maybe that is just for you,
(20:58):
just for you. Think of that, Think about that something
just for you. Okay. The next step is again one
of those things that gets missed, and that if we're
stripping the bathroom, the existing bathroom down to the bear slab,
the bear subfloor, and the bare walls. Now is your
(21:20):
opportunity and It makes a huge difference. How about warmth
on your feets. We'll talk about that when we come
back your Home with Dean Sharp, the house Whisper.
Speaker 3 (21:34):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI A six.
Speaker 1 (21:39):
There's nothing like reaching for something and just popping your
forehead right into the microphone right there. You go, Oh yeah,
all right, So glad that you were with us today.
There's nothing but professionalism here on the program. So glad
that you're with us. We're honoring a mother's day today
by talking about transforming that old bath room into a
(22:00):
spaike retreat for her. Not a gift that you're giving
her today. Well you could, though, just put it on
a note, put it on an envelope and say guess what, mom,
this is what's going to be happening.
Speaker 2 (22:11):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
But yeah, no, we can't finish that today because we
we're just getting started. But anyway, that's what it's all about.
Here is one thing, by the way, if you're interested
in a little bit of a quicker ROI on your
Mother's Day gift, you can give this to her if
if you feel like she would love a personal house whisperer.
(22:34):
Consult That would be me and Tea standing in her
home with her, sitting down for some coffee with her,
talking about everything and anything she wants to get done
in the house that can happen. You can book an
in home design consult with us. Just go to house
whisper dot design for more information. What a cool Mother's
(22:57):
Day gift that would be? Oh wait wait, Tina's now
got to say something.
Speaker 2 (23:02):
And if anyone books this week from hearing this, we
have a special gift that we will bring us.
Speaker 1 (23:08):
Oh for the mom. Oh yeah, oh, I don't even
know what that is. Don't say it.
Speaker 2 (23:15):
I won't. I'll tell you later.
Speaker 1 (23:17):
She's her wheels are turning. That's the thing, all right,
So there you go. Also one more bit of housekeeping here.
We are about to turn over into the ten o'clock hour,
which means I'm going to be going to the phone.
So now now is the time to get me a
call and get on the call board. Eight three three
two Ask Dean A three three the numeral two. Ask
(23:41):
Dean eight three three two Ask Dean. It's just that simple.
Whatever's got you scratching your head about your home? Anything
at all? I'm talking spot like bathrooms, today, you can
talk to me about whatever has got you thinking. All right,
let's get back into the bathroom, shall we. Where was
I at? Oh? Yeah, I teased you about this if again. Now,
(24:05):
this gets missed a lot these days, and a lot
of people don't think about it because they're like, oh,
I got heating in my house. Yeah, that's all well
and good. But you know, how do I feel about
radiant heat coming out of the floor. Here's how I
feel about it. If I could wave a magic wand
and turn every heating system in North America into radiant
(24:26):
floor heat, I would not hesitate to do so. It
is the best for from a physics standpoint, It is
genius because heat rising up out of the floor, because heat,
you know, rises, starting it at the floor against your
feet is the right place for it. Radiant floor has
(24:50):
proven itself time and time again. It is the most
efficient way of heating a space. It is the most
cost effective way of heating a space. It is the
healthiest way of heating a space because we're not moving
air around, we're not blowing air and allergens or anything
like that. We're not drying out the air, we're not
(25:10):
over moisturizing I mean, we are just producing radiant heat
up and we're also heating up the stuff, the thermal
mass in the room from the ground up, which means
sofas and chairs and tables and all of that stuff,
which is a critical component of heating a space. So
much so that it is also a proven fact that
(25:33):
radiant heat doesn't have to be turned up as high
as regular heat blown air forced air heat in order
to achieve the same comfort of heating. And so it's
a win on all fronts. There are no downsides to it, except,
of course, the cost of getting it installed if you're
thinking about doing it for your whole home. But we're
(25:53):
not talking about that. We're talking about remodeling a bathroom.
And the other cool thing about radiant heat is that
the bathroom is not a big square footage, and it
doesn't have to be everywhere. It has to be in
the walk path, it doesn't have to be under the
soaker tub. The tub doesn't care how warm its foot is.
It doesn't go in the shower with you. Okay, it's
(26:16):
about walk paths. And so you could take the average
bathroom and cut off at least thirty percent of the
square footage and when you're calculating, and how much does
this stuff cost these days?
Speaker 3 (26:27):
Man?
Speaker 1 (26:28):
Round about, I'm gonna give you an average. It's about
fifteen dollars a square foot, which in a small space
is not a lot. And how much is it going
to alter the floor level? Well, electric heating, electric radiant
heat pads, they vary a little bit, but the nicest
(26:51):
ones out there are going to change the floor level
by about let's say a quarter of an inch. That's it.
That's it. If everything is coming out, if the old
tile floor, if it's all coming out, we're going down
to the slab or down to the subfloor. Then then
we can lay these pads down right then and there,
(27:11):
and then we can thin set and tile right over them.
And believe me, there is nothing like walking into a
bathroom in your bare feet and like hmm underneath. You
combine that with like a heated toilet seat, She's never
coming out of there again. You will never see her again.
(27:31):
That's just the fact of the matter. So there you go.
All right, So we're talking about the warm floor, we're
talking about well, we'll get back to the warm toilet
seat in a bit. Let's talk about warm water or
better yet hot water, hot water in the bathroom. Yeah,
I know there's hot water in the bathroom right now,
but how about hot water getting there faster that? Of course,
(27:54):
a bridge valve and a recirculation pump set up so
that the bridge valve, which is this device that goes
underneath the bathroom sinks, will draw the hot water during
the day closer to the bathroom instant hot. No, not
necessarily instantly hot, but within just a few seconds, maybe
ten seconds, as opposed to waiting what seems like ten
(28:17):
minutes for it to show up. Yeah, that is another
just big bonus for a very very minimal expense. And
speaking of hot water, there's something if we're thinking about
putting in a tub, okay, there is a critical decision
that has to be made about the water line going
(28:37):
into that tub. We'll talk about it when we return
to this conversation. But when we come back, we're going
to go to the phones eight three three two. Ask
Dean that's the number to call me. We'll see you
on the other side. This has been Home with Dean
Sharp the House Whisper. Tune into the live broadcast on
KFI AM six forty every Saturday morning from six to
(29:00):
eight Pacific time, and every Sunday morning from nine to
noon Pacific time, or anytime on demand on the iHeartRadio
app
Kf I am six forty. You're listening to Dean Sharp
the House Whisper on demand on the iHeart Radio app.
It is Mother's Day. Happy Mother's Day to all the
moms who are listening, and to all the dads who
are listening. Hey, let's get on the ball today, right yeah,
all right, more on that later today on the show.
(00:23):
I had many many suggestions given to me about how
we should do a Mother's Day show, some of them
very inappropriate. By the way, I just got to say,
I had a couple of suggestions yesterday. So maybe you
should do a major appliance show. Maybe you should. Maybe
you should talk about getting mom a new vacuum cleaner.
(00:46):
And I'm like, you know what, I don't know what
century you think we're in, my friend, but that is
not not what I'm going to be doing for moms.
It's just like, you know, that sounds like like if
we were doing this show in the fifties, that would
be that would be fifties appropriate. You know, get the
Little Lady a new dishwasher, that old thriller. No, no, no, no, no,
(01:12):
here's what we're talking about today. And no, it's not
a gift guide that you can run out dad at
the last minute and nab, but it is a commitment
you can make if you're down for It's very simply this. Today,
we're going to talk about what, for many women is
the ultimate Mother's Day gift, and that would be news
(01:35):
that her old bathroom is going to get transformed into
a SPA like retreat. Yeah, but that brings a whole
list of questions, which is things like, you know, what
exactly are the elements of a SPA retreat and how
do we make them happen? And that's what we're going
to talk about today, and of course, as always, near
(01:56):
the middle of the show, we'll be taking your calls,
and when it comes to your call, you get to
set the agenda. I'm going to talk about spawl like retreats,
especially for mom in the bathroom today, but when you call,
we can talk about anything relevant to your home, inside,
(02:16):
outside design, so on and so forth. So that's what
we're going The number to reach me, by the way,
the phone lines are open now is eight three three two.
Ask Dean A three three. The numeral two ask Dean
eight three three to ask Dean. It's just that easy,
all right. You can if you want to call now
(02:37):
and jump into the queue, you can listen to the
show while you're on hold, but just letting you know
out of courtesy. We're going to the phones, probably round
about ten o'clock, as we normally do. So you hang
with me and we'll get rolling. Sitting across the table
from me, my design partner, my better half, the boss
(02:59):
as I like to all her, uh, and my best
buddy in all the world, Tina is here.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
Welcome home.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
I'm dedicating today's show to you what and to the
lovely Shelley. I know my mama.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
Yeah, I think you are posting a picture a little bit,
am I if you if you want to see what
Jan's mama looks like. She looks just like Dean or
Dean just looks like her.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
That's right, that's the that's the correct order. So that's
going up on something something where.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
Stories stories on Instagram, Okay, maybe Facebook, I don't.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
Know, you don't know. Just wherever, wherever you're you'll find
it home with Dean. All right, get back to your
picture posting there? All right? Where are we at? Yoh,
let's dive in. H m hmmm. We're gonna start with
(04:01):
one that is seemingly unromantic, but really, really please hear
me now, is one of the most foundationally important things
that you can do to the bathroom in order to
prep it to become that all important retreat. Okay. And
(04:23):
this is this is not so much emphasizing the spa
side of spa like retreat. It is the retreat side, okay.
And that is this. If you are gutting a bathroom,
I mean, if we're taking it down to this, to
the to the dry wall and the bare floor, okay,
then here's the thing. We're going for it. We're going
(04:47):
for it, and a few dollars more of pulling the
dry wall off the walls is completely warranted. Number one,
there's a really good chance, you know, if I'm involved
and I actually redesign your bathroom the way it should be.
We're probably moving some stuff around. We're moving some plumbings,
so we got to open up the walls. We're probably
(05:09):
moving electrical around, undoubtedly, so we got to open up
the walls. But even if we weren't, even if we
were just replacing like for like and not moving any
of those major components, the fact is a full bathroom
remodel is worthy of getting rid of the old dry wall.
And for this reason and this reason alone, to insulate
(05:31):
those walls. You're like, wait, only one of my bathroom
walls is on the outside of the house and requires insulation.
That may be very true one or two. You know,
if you've got a corner bathroom, maybe two walls of
the bathroom are on the outside of the house and
uh and have insulation in them, you know, via the code.
And there is no code requirement to insulate interior walls.
(05:55):
But ha haha, we're not going for code here. We're
going for is something more. We're going for retreat. And
retreat means sound isolating this room. Okay, not that you're
worried about sounds you're making in this room getting out.
I'm just talking about a place where you can go
(06:17):
and shut the door and it bego. It becomes quiet,
truly quiet, regardless of what's going on in the rest
of the house. That means we're gonna insulate the ceiling.
We're gonna insulate those walls. And this is just pennies,
pennies on the dollar really to add a nice amount
of rock wool sound insulation. And no, it's it used
(06:42):
to be a very exotic thing now literally, you know,
you can go to the big box store, you can
go to Low's Home depot, you can go to your
local hardware store. If they sell insulation, it's gonna be
sitting right there up on the racks there. It is
sound insulation, rock, mineral wool insulation. It makes a world
of difference. Now you've heard me say that before to
(07:05):
the whole house. Yeah, if we're remodeling anything in the house,
if we've opened up drywall on any wall, I want
insulation in that wall before we close it back up again.
So there we go. A first and fundamental and maybe
most often missed step in this entire process. Let's make
this room quiet. There's another way to make it quiet too.
(07:27):
We'll talk about that on the other side of the bridge,
your Home with Dean Sharp, the house whispering.
Speaker 3 (07:33):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI Am six forty.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
Today, we are talking about transforming an ordinary old bathroom,
primarily the primary bathroom, because in honor of Mom's and
Mother's Day, into a spawlike retreat, the place where Mom
doesn't have to go do any more work. She can
actually just get away, get away, get away from you.
(08:01):
That's right, and you and the other stuff that's running
around your house. It's important. It's time, you know. One
of the the most important things that we do as
home designers is create moments, and we create time. And
a well designed, beautifully designed home gives you time. And
(08:25):
time is that most precious of all commodities. It's the
most valuable thing that a human being has here on
the planet. And moms of all people who work so
tirelessly all the time, need time sometimes to take a break.
And so yeah, and also it's a natural fit for
(08:49):
that to be a bathroom. We all and you if
you're a fan of the show, you've heard me say
this before. But there were sociological studies done in the
late eighties that really revealed some fascinating things about our
relationship with bathrooms. It is for most of us here
in the US, at least, very very likely the bathroom
(09:10):
was the very very first space that your parents ever
not only allowed but encouraged you to as a young
child to go into a room and shut the door
behind you, in other words, to be completely private. Right, Remember,
Mom and Dad like keep that bedroom door cracked open,
(09:31):
I want to know what's going on in there, but
not the bathroom. The bathroom was always that place, whereas
as soon as you were old enough to handle it
and close the door, and we all remember that subconsciously,
we remember it, and to this day, no matter how
old you are, there is still this sense, I would wager,
(09:54):
deep down inside you that when it's time to take
a break, that is possibly the best option, the most
viable option, you know, And I will confess, I will
tell you. You know, told Tino long time ago, I said,
there are times we're at a party or something, or
we're out in public, and I don't know, I'm just tired.
(10:14):
I need a break, I need a break from conversation
or whatever. And I'll just you know, and I know
a lot of people who are in this boat. You'll
just say, you know, excuse me, I just need to
go use the restroom. You don't have to go, you
just need to break. And there it is. That's the retreat.
And if that is true in public, then how much
more true can it be at home? If that bathroom
(10:37):
is worth retreating too. So that's what it's about. Now.
We started already with a huge, huge foundational step that
so many people skip, which is insulating sound, insulating all
of the walls of the bathroom. So that's quiet. And
I promised you before the break there was one other
factor of getting noise control under control in the bathroom.
(11:00):
And now that of course is the door. The door.
So many folks live in tracked homes, builder homes of
every ilk that have hollow core doors. And you know,
I am not at all a fan of a hollow
core door. You might as well just take it off
the hinges and hang a sheet over the doorway. As
(11:22):
far as its ability to block sound, okay, useless, useless,
it's hollow. It's not doing anything for sound or noise control.
And that's just a scientific fact. Okay. It blocks out
the view, yes, but not sound. And so a nice
solid core door in combination with insulated walls, that's what
(11:46):
we need. No holes in the boat as it were, Okay,
don't leave any you know, big hole in the boat
sound wise, and suddenly this room is worth being in,
uh and it is a break from all the chaos.
Of course, after you've eliminated the unwonted sound, our next
step is possibly the introduction of pleasing sounds. Pleasing sounds.
(12:11):
Now a bathroom. Just remember this. I'm not here to
suggest that you go crazy with a media system in
a bathroom, not at all. In fact, I'm somewhat of
a minimalist when it comes to this. All you need
is a good, small sound source in the bathroom. Because
(12:35):
bathroom is full of hard surface material. It's a very
very resonant room. We don't have to go crazy with
speakers and stuff in the bathroom. All make some suggestions
about that when we come back, but think small, bluetooth
driven something that you can feed up with your phone.
That's where we're going. All right, more on this spat
like retreat. When we come back.
Speaker 3 (12:56):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
kf I am six forty.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
How you doing on this Mother's Day Sunday morning? Got plans? Hope?
So hope?
Speaker 3 (13:09):
So?
Speaker 1 (13:09):
But you know what, regardless I mean, I hope you
have Mother's Day plans. But whether you do or not,
I hope you have plans for this day. It is
a lovely day here in southern California. I hope wherever
you are, the weather's treating you half as well. But
regardless of all that, you still should have plans for today.
Good plans, sports plans, I don't know, get out in
(13:30):
the yard, plans, whatever works, make a plan, get or done.
It is a gorgeous day here and we're loving life.
Are you awaken enough? Have you had your coffee? There
you go, I'm just pouring your cup. You didn't even
expect that, did you? What kind of service you get here?
We're talking about making a spal like retreat out of
(13:53):
that old bathroom for mom. Just in dedicating that idea
for mom. Yes, you can use it to day, it's fine,
but we're trying to bless mom today with that idea.
We've talked about quieting unwonted sound. Then I was just
finishing up telling you that once you've got the bad
(14:14):
noise out, the chaotic noise away from the space, then
you want to maybe consider bringing a little of your
preferred sound into the space, whether we're listening to an
audiobook or listening to a podcast, or whether we just
have some lovely music playing softly in the back. Whatever
you know, it takes. And this is just a point
(14:36):
on the list not to be forgotten. But you don't
necessarily have to build this into the bathroom just to
have a plan for it. In fact, I would say
most bathrooms we don't need to build it in. We
don't need speakers and all of that stuff built into
the walls. In a bathroom. It's a very it's not
a huge, huge room, and it's a very resonant room
because of all those tile and you know, stone surfaces.
(14:58):
So let's just use something small. I prefer the idea
of just a really nice little, you know, Bluetooth speaker
that you can hook your phone up to and that
gives you some good base and some good resonance, and
one that's battery powered, that's rechargeable so you don't have
to have chords laying around and it can just set
you know, you can put it in a cabinet, you
(15:20):
can set on a countertop, whatever, so that it's there
for you when you need it. So first step is
keeping bad sound out. Second is bringing the sound you
want back in. Third point here and this is critical,
and this is a bit more architectural, but daylight, day light,
daylight in this place. True therapy, Okay, real therapy means
(15:44):
natural light moving into this space. And does that mean
a bigger windows? Very possibly it could be. I don't
want you to shy away from windows coming into a bathroom.
More glass does not mean less private. Glass can be diffused.
We can have shades that we pull in front of it.
(16:06):
It can be you know, frosted, so that it's true
privacy glass. But we let those beautiful rays of sunlight
into this space. That is healing. It is psychologically and emotional.
I mean, this is just basic human physiology. More light,
(16:27):
more natural light in a space makes you better, period
makes you happier, makes you better, And so we want
more light. I want light coming into the shower. I
want light coming in over that soaker tub that you want.
I want a lot of light coming into this bathroom.
I want so much light coming into this bathroom that
you have to think to yourself, how do we control
(16:49):
all this light that's coming in. That is your optimal situation.
Not suboptimal is always having to walk into a room
like that and slip a light switch on, no matter
what time of day it is. No, no, no, no, no,
no no no. That is got to be the target
one of the chief targets of your redesign of the bathroom. Okay,
(17:12):
so that's number three, number four on the list is
the view. Now that we got windows, we should have
a view. And as I always say, it's very very simple.
You either have a view or you don't. In other words,
there's something outside that window that just naturally. Whether it's
the mountains, whether it's you know, the sea, whether it's
(17:37):
a garden. You either have something outside that window to
look at or you don't. And if you don't, you
make one. Okay, I don't know what it is why
I always go to this metaphor or this kind of
psychological example or mental example. It's probably just because when
(17:59):
I was a kid in school, we used to do
these things. I'm sure you remember it as well, and
I used to. You know, maybe it was the young
artist and designer in me, but I used to get
a kick out of, you know, in grade school being
asked to make a diorama. Okay, you remember, though, you see,
you just get a shoe box or a box, and
you set up this three dimensional scene inside. And it's
(18:22):
for people who put their eye up to the hole
and you look inside, and you know, you tell a
little story in in one view. Well, that is how
I want you to think of every window in your
home and every viewpoint and vista and and more literally
(18:42):
drawing on that diorama metaphor is the idea of those
sideyard windows especially. Okay, you got these windows that face
that three or that five foot setback sideyard, and you
know what's outside them. We never open them because you know,
(19:03):
we're staring at a cinder block wall, or we're staring
at the neighbor's house, or we're we're staring at the
dog run where the dog poops. Okay, I mean it's
stuff like that. What I'm saying to you is that
the most important windows deserve beautiful views. And you will
open the windows, you'll lift the shade, you'll you'll open
(19:26):
the blinds if in fact there is something out there
worth coming inside. And it takes a little energy and effort,
but there's no reason why there can't be even in
a five you have no idea how many beautiful little
and how inexpensive. By the way, if it is only
a five foot set back sideyard, the view is not
(19:49):
one hundred and eighty degrees out of that window. It's
a relatively narrow view. And so a little bit of planting,
planter boxes, green scape, hiding the neighbor, bringing in a
little garden effect, even a water feature. There's one hundred
different things that you can do, but it is all
worth doing. Outside of every window. Now, some of those
(20:12):
windows look out onto the yard, and that's beautiful and
that's enough, but others need their own view. And for
those of you who don't want frosted glass but want privacy,
then we close in that view so that others so
that every time you open that window, you know that
you still have privacy because the space outside the window
(20:33):
has been privatized. You know, maybe the master suite, the
of the home has its own little private garden. It's
one of the things that Tina and I always like
to look at when we're looking at a landscape design,
is can we give the master suite its own privacy
in the yard. It becomes one of those destinations, but
maybe not a public destination. Maybe that is just for you,
(20:58):
just for you. Think of that, Think about that something
just for you. Okay. The next step is again one
of those things that gets missed, and that if we're
stripping the bathroom, the existing bathroom down to the bear slab,
the bear subfloor, and the bare walls. Now is your
(21:20):
opportunity and It makes a huge difference. How about warmth
on your feets. We'll talk about that when we come
back your Home with Dean Sharp, the house Whisper.
Speaker 3 (21:34):
You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from
KFI A six.
Speaker 1 (21:39):
There's nothing like reaching for something and just popping your
forehead right into the microphone right there. You go, Oh yeah,
all right, So glad that you were with us today.
There's nothing but professionalism here on the program. So glad
that you're with us. We're honoring a mother's day today
by talking about transforming that old bath room into a
(22:00):
spaike retreat for her. Not a gift that you're giving
her today. Well you could, though, just put it on
a note, put it on an envelope and say guess what, mom,
this is what's going to be happening.
Speaker 2 (22:11):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
But yeah, no, we can't finish that today because we
we're just getting started. But anyway, that's what it's all about.
Here is one thing, by the way, if you're interested
in a little bit of a quicker ROI on your
Mother's Day gift, you can give this to her if
if you feel like she would love a personal house whisperer.
(22:34):
Consult That would be me and Tea standing in her
home with her, sitting down for some coffee with her,
talking about everything and anything she wants to get done
in the house that can happen. You can book an
in home design consult with us. Just go to house
whisper dot design for more information. What a cool Mother's
(22:57):
Day gift that would be? Oh wait wait, Tina's now
got to say something.
Speaker 2 (23:02):
And if anyone books this week from hearing this, we
have a special gift that we will bring us.
Speaker 1 (23:08):
Oh for the mom. Oh yeah, oh, I don't even
know what that is. Don't say it.
Speaker 2 (23:15):
I won't. I'll tell you later.
Speaker 1 (23:17):
She's her wheels are turning. That's the thing, all right,
So there you go. Also one more bit of housekeeping here.
We are about to turn over into the ten o'clock hour,
which means I'm going to be going to the phone.
So now now is the time to get me a
call and get on the call board. Eight three three
two Ask Dean A three three the numeral two. Ask
(23:41):
Dean eight three three two Ask Dean. It's just that simple.
Whatever's got you scratching your head about your home? Anything
at all? I'm talking spot like bathrooms, today, you can
talk to me about whatever has got you thinking. All right,
let's get back into the bathroom, shall we. Where was
I at? Oh? Yeah, I teased you about this if again. Now,
(24:05):
this gets missed a lot these days, and a lot
of people don't think about it because they're like, oh,
I got heating in my house. Yeah, that's all well
and good. But you know, how do I feel about
radiant heat coming out of the floor. Here's how I
feel about it. If I could wave a magic wand
and turn every heating system in North America into radiant
(24:26):
floor heat, I would not hesitate to do so. It
is the best for from a physics standpoint, It is
genius because heat rising up out of the floor, because heat,
you know, rises, starting it at the floor against your
feet is the right place for it. Radiant floor has
(24:50):
proven itself time and time again. It is the most
efficient way of heating a space. It is the most
cost effective way of heating a space. It is the
healthiest way of heating a space because we're not moving
air around, we're not blowing air and allergens or anything
like that. We're not drying out the air, we're not
(25:10):
over moisturizing I mean, we are just producing radiant heat
up and we're also heating up the stuff, the thermal
mass in the room from the ground up, which means
sofas and chairs and tables and all of that stuff,
which is a critical component of heating a space. So
much so that it is also a proven fact that
(25:33):
radiant heat doesn't have to be turned up as high
as regular heat blown air forced air heat in order
to achieve the same comfort of heating. And so it's
a win on all fronts. There are no downsides to it, except,
of course, the cost of getting it installed if you're
thinking about doing it for your whole home. But we're
(25:53):
not talking about that. We're talking about remodeling a bathroom.
And the other cool thing about radiant heat is that
the bathroom is not a big square footage, and it
doesn't have to be everywhere. It has to be in
the walk path, it doesn't have to be under the
soaker tub. The tub doesn't care how warm its foot is.
It doesn't go in the shower with you. Okay, it's
(26:16):
about walk paths. And so you could take the average
bathroom and cut off at least thirty percent of the
square footage and when you're calculating, and how much does
this stuff cost these days?
Speaker 3 (26:27):
Man?
Speaker 1 (26:28):
Round about, I'm gonna give you an average. It's about
fifteen dollars a square foot, which in a small space
is not a lot. And how much is it going
to alter the floor level? Well, electric heating, electric radiant
heat pads, they vary a little bit, but the nicest
(26:51):
ones out there are going to change the floor level
by about let's say a quarter of an inch. That's it.
That's it. If everything is coming out, if the old
tile floor, if it's all coming out, we're going down
to the slab or down to the subfloor. Then then
we can lay these pads down right then and there,
(27:11):
and then we can thin set and tile right over them.
And believe me, there is nothing like walking into a
bathroom in your bare feet and like hmm underneath. You
combine that with like a heated toilet seat, She's never
coming out of there again. You will never see her again.
(27:31):
That's just the fact of the matter. So there you go.
All right, So we're talking about the warm floor, we're
talking about well, we'll get back to the warm toilet
seat in a bit. Let's talk about warm water or
better yet hot water, hot water in the bathroom. Yeah,
I know there's hot water in the bathroom right now,
but how about hot water getting there faster that? Of course,
(27:54):
a bridge valve and a recirculation pump set up so
that the bridge valve, which is this device that goes
underneath the bathroom sinks, will draw the hot water during
the day closer to the bathroom instant hot. No, not
necessarily instantly hot, but within just a few seconds, maybe
ten seconds, as opposed to waiting what seems like ten
(28:17):
minutes for it to show up. Yeah, that is another
just big bonus for a very very minimal expense. And
speaking of hot water, there's something if we're thinking about
putting in a tub, okay, there is a critical decision
that has to be made about the water line going
(28:37):
into that tub. We'll talk about it when we return
to this conversation. But when we come back, we're going
to go to the phones eight three three two. Ask
Dean that's the number to call me. We'll see you
on the other side. This has been Home with Dean
Sharp the House Whisper. Tune into the live broadcast on
KFI AM six forty every Saturday morning from six to
(29:00):
eight Pacific time, and every Sunday morning from nine to
noon Pacific time, or anytime on demand on the iHeartRadio
app
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