The Thoroughly Modern Bathroom
If you’re of a certain age, it’s not impossible to remember the bathroom of the 80’s or 70’s or even beyond! A room difficult to design by class or status, containing very much of the same furniture, the only way to define the social status of the owner was by room dimension. Sitting in a starkly lit bath, in the quiet, where the only entertainment was a book, staring at the bathroom product clutter or watching a spider trying to clamber out of the sink.
Back to today and the bathroom is a very different place. As the demand for technology and comfort have risen, the bathroom has become as tailored a room as any other room in the house, reflecting the personality and style of its owner.
Dedicated bathrooms first came about during the 19th century; however, they were the reserve of the rich. The room was furnished with standalone furniture including a freestanding bath and commode.
It wasn’t until the latter half of the 20th century that the claw foot or tin bath was updated to the built in units we have in our homes today. The rise in ‘in home’ plumbing, a result of housing construction after the 1st World War, integrated the design of water carrying pipe work which led to designated bathrooms with built in fixtures including sink, toilet and bath units. In 1921 1% of homes had a dedicated bathroom in comparison to 100% of homes at the end of the last century.
As we move into the 21st century our focus has shifted again to the use of modular bathroom furniture that allow us to mix and match fixtures according to our needs and personal taste. There has been a steady rise in demand for bath or shower pods that can be re-sited for easy maintenance or room re-design. Our expectations for our bathing experience have evolved with this; bathroom music was once a past time of the brave or fool hardy, depending on the length of your electrical cable. Now we have shower and bath units complete with music players, mood lighting, hydro jets and aromatherapy which can be safely installed to fulfil our desire for invigoration or relaxation, depending on the mood.
As the bathroom revolution takes off, house builders are trying to keep up with the desire of multiple house dwellers finding more and more reasons to linger longer in the bathroom. The bathroom has evolved from a place to attend to personal hygiene to a room to actively pursue emotional wellbeing through the use of hydro-massage, steam and color.
The number of bathrooms in our homes is increasing; the average 4 bedroom house will now usually include an en-suite bathroom, a second bathroom and a cloakroom. As technology progresses and becomes more affordable, home owners are looking to incorporate spa quality facilities in to their bathrooms as well as driving down costs and environmental impact. These expectations are fuelling a bathroom revolution that will fundamentally change the function of our ‘smallest room’ more over the next 50 years then ever before.