No wall, no door, no privacy: The apartment that proves open plan bathrooms are plain wrong

A master suite for rent in this three-storey Philadelphia house features exposed brick, and an exposed toilet – for US$1200 per month (AUD$1760).

Described as “open-concept”, there are no doors separating the bathroom from the bedroom, only a small part-wall.

On the other side of that wall is an inviting fireplace. Presumably one half of a couple, or guests sitting down for a warm cuppa, would have a full view of their partner/host taking a pee break.

Not surprisingly, the listing has attracted plenty of attention.

“Philly is wild, this bathroom has no doors and they’re calling it open-concept,” tweeted @amelendez1996.

Thousands of people have reacted to the design, including @digitalemo who tweeted: “This is the type of toilet I see in my nightmares.”

There is virtually no privacy provided for the toilet, as it’s fully exposed on the right hand side towards the entrance, and straight ahead.

The property’s owner and designer, Kamara Abdur-Rahim, said: “I was trying something new. I’ve seen the open concept idea many times with living rooms, kitchens and dining rooms.

“I think people aren’t used to the idea of the open plan bathroom, especially in the States. A lot of people haven’t seen it before.”

And she is confident the right person or couple will enjoy the space.

“I’m not expecting everyone to like it,” she said. “This master suite is for the person that loves it and who will enjoy it.”

Abdur-Rahim emphasised that the master suite is being marketed as its own unit on the third floor, separate to the rest of the house.

“You have to remember this a private suite on the third floor of a house that has another three bathrooms. The only people that will be using this bathroom will be the couple or the single person living here.”

The master suite’s tenants will also have use of the living room, kitchen and dining room on the floors below.

The layout may not be suited to everyone, but a similar concept has been embraced by a number of luxury hotels.

Hotels found that eliminating walls between the bed and bathroom for single business travellers helped to create more space.

Grand Designs fans will also remember open plan bathrooms in high-end houses were a topic of conversation in 2016.

But designers who choose the open plan bathroom typically take care to feature a romantic bathtub or shower, while still providing privacy for the toilet.

“If you look you’ll see the toilet is separated by a little wall by the shower,” said Abdur-Rahim. “If someone was using the toilet, from the side of the shower you’d see their legs maybe, but wouldn’t see the entire body.”

Some people said they weren’t opposed to the idea of Abdur-Rahim’s bathroom, as it allows the opportunity to get ready all in one space. Others were concerned about shower water spilling onto the laminate floors.

But Abdur-Rahim, who said she “fell into” real estate after studying biology at university, said an L-shaped glass screen is yet to be installed around the shower.

This is the first time the 29-year-old’s created an open-concept bathroom in one of her investment properties.

She said the inspiration for the bathroom was to make the master suite, “bigger, more inclusive and easier to manoeuvre”. The suite also has views of downtown Philadelphia, and a walk-in closet almost the size of the room, she said.

“Some people don’t have a problem with the design, and some do. The appeal just depends on the person.”

The property is still available to rent, but due to the level of interest Abdur-Rahim is also considering listing it on Airbnb.

As for the reactions to her design, given a chance to redesign the suite she said she “would definitely” do this again.

This story originally appeared on stuff.co.nz