Bathroom Basics - A New Bathroom Tradition
I've noticed that early versions of the modern bathroom - that is, those built during the 1920s - are much more interesting than their successors. If they are fortunate enough to have escaped remodeling, these bathrooms tend to be larger and have better tile and finish work and better quality fixtures than those built later.
During the Depression and the later post-World War II housing boom, construction shifted its orientation away from traditional laborintensive methods and toward more efficient assembly-line type production. This resulted in a lot more houses being built a lot more quickly and economically, but it also required a standardization of components, room sizes, and even house styles to keep pace with demand - just think of split-levels, ranches, and Levitown. In the same way that kitchens both benefited and suffered from this component-type approach, so too did bathroom suites. The primary goal of architects and builders seemed to be to squeeze as much utility as possible out of the least amount of space. These pared-down bathrooms were quick to install and didn't require a lot of room or a squadron of specialty tradespeople, but they all began to look alike.
Only recently have bathrooms begun to break out of their conformist rut. Recent research into how bathrooms are really used by people (for example, Alexander Kira's groundbreaking 1976 book The Bathroom) and a maturing of the bathroom industry itself (in particular, the leadership of the National Kitchen and Bath Association, or NKBA) have resulted in a reexamination of the conventional wisdom about what had become a somewhat neglected room. While economy and efficient construction are still important considerations, so too are the needs of the people who use the bathroom.
The new bathroom tradition goes beyond the utilitarian bathrooms of the recent past and takes advantage of both technology and tradition. It recognizes that people of all ages and abilities need to be able to safely, comfortably, and efficiently perform the basic tasks of body cleansing and elimination. But in addition, it recognizes that bathrooms have traditionally been a place to attend to the less tangible - but no less important - needs of personal well-being: a place for solitude and relaxation, for sensuous pleasure, and for ritual personal care and grooming. So, on one hand, bathrooms should perform like machines for living—the more efficient and functional they are, the better. They need to be easily maintained, easily cleaned, and well-thoughtout ergonomically. But on the other hand, bathrooms that are unpleasant environments - that are too cold or too hot, too bright or too dark, awkward or uncomfortable—fail to provide to their users the equally important qualities of comfort and pleasure. Finding the right balance is the key.
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