Do you know when National Bathroom Reading Week happens (keep reading)? Do you know why there's a hole punched in the Farmer's Almanac? According to ABC News/Entertainment, “… The Old Farmer's Almanac still embraces the annual's history as a commode companion … when the magazine would hang on a hook in outhouses.”
We're all so busy that often the only quiet place we can sit undisturbed is the bathroom! Go ahead and laugh out loud (in social media parlance, LOL). We can laugh together and the best part is no one will hear us, nor does anyone really care what you do in the bathroom unless they're waiting to get in but most homes have more than one bathroom today.
How Many Bathrooms Do We Need?
At any point in time we only need one bathroom, or more specifically one toilet. We certainly wouldn't want to clean the 35 bathrooms in the White House, or maintain (they had a flood in 2009) one of the 2 zero gravity toilets on the space station which have 412 basic parts each.
In the 1950s, the average home was 983 square feet with one bathroom. People got in line to use the bathroom, something few of us can imagine today. Houses have since doubled (or more) to almost 2400 square feet and we now have 2 or 2.5 bathrooms for the average home. The number and size of new McMansions is declining but with 5, 6 and more bedrooms and significantly more square footage than your average home, they will continue to have 3 or more bathrooms so the question is … how are people using these bathrooms?
Chart from StantonHomes.com (US Census data)
How Are We Using Our Bathrooms?
Bathrooms are taking on many new identities, beyond a few quiet minutes to read the newspaper or chat on the phone with a friend. The concept of your bathroom becoming a private oasis away from the daily hustle and bustle is taking shape in one/more of the following:
- Private spa with soaking tub, steam shower and other features to help you relax and it's the relaxing part that we all might have a hard time understanding but suppose you had this hidden space away from the kids, the clutter and only you and your significant other used the room? Well maybe a massage therapist could be invited in once in a while?
- Personal gym with your favorite sports equipment plus flat screen TV and surround music system. Of course if you're going to do all this, I expect you'll also need a personal trainer that comes to your house?
- At home beauty salon so you can enjoy the time you spend applying makeup, getting dressed and picking out the right accessories for today's outfit. There are home professionals for every need so when you've got the time and space, you can find makeup artists and hair dressers who will come to your home for some extra pampering.
- Private den where you can read without interruption with your own music and total isolation from the surrounding world, including others in your home.
Obviously these ideas refer to the master bathroom. Using your bathroom for other activities makes lots of sense, similar to the evolution of our kitchens for much more than food. You don't have to limit your bathroom space to only the mundane aspects of living? Why not add another 30 minutes a day for relaxing and make expand your home to encompass those dreams of what you'll do when you have more time or take a vacation. A bathroom spa or sports gym is simply another form of staycation that you can enjoy all year long.
We'd love to hear about your bathroom dreams and get photos to share too!
PS National Bathroom Reading month is June and haven't been able to pin down a specific week.
Leave a Reply