How I Sold a Unit Using One Tiny Detail
Why does everyone forget this??
First we have to set the stage. What’s the detail, and why am I suddenly thinking about it again?
Well, last week I was staying at a gorgeous hotel that, like so many others at every price point, forgot a crucial detail. So I posted a quiz on Twitter/X to see if anyone else picked up on it. 286 comments later, and most people didn’t get it.
To be fair, it’s a subjective thing, and if someone doesn’t like the tile, they’re entitled to say so! But that’s not what I was getting at.
Here’s the post:
Some of the most common responses:
Curb is a tripping hazard because it’s the same tile as the floor.
I didn’t think this was a big deal, as there is a strong shadow line created by the curb that made it fairly easy for me to see. That said, I could see this being an issue if you don’t have great vision or don’t have the lights on fully.
Door doesn’t go the whole way across the shower
I didn’t experience any issues with this - water didn’t splash everywhere, and it wasn’t too cold. That said, in cooler climates, I wouldn’t do this, and in a house with kids I wouldn’t either!
Shower controls are too far from showerhead
This one I disagree with. I think they’re in a great spot - they are out of the way of the spray, so when you turn on the shower you don’t get covered in cold water, but they’re not so far that you have to move out of the shower stream to adjust them once you’re in the shower.
Ok, so what was my problem?!
Showers with no bench or ledge for shaving your legs are annoying to use and dangerous, as you contort and balance on one leg to get the job done. It’s an easy fix…doesn’t have to be fancy…could even be a moveable teak bench if it’s your home shower…just do it! Anyone who shaves their legs will be eternally grateful.
So here’s the story: early in my career I talked a developer into installing shaving shelves in his multifamily project - I told him, with nothing but pure gut instinct [and a lifetime of anecdotal evidence] that he’d sell a unit based purely on this one detail. That a woman would walk in to the bathroom, see the shelf, know what it was for, and say “I’m buying this place!”
Turns out, he told me later, that exact thing did happen! One small detail can make all the difference.
Thanks for subscribing! Please consider upgrading to the paid tier, so you can support my work. It would mean a lot! And you don’t have to take my word for it, here are the words of some satisfied customers:
