Friday, May 18, 2012

Don't come and see our new ensuite, we don't have one.



I went through a phase of visiting open homes recently and was staggered by the large number of bathrooms  and ensuites which renovated and new houses have.  Where does this obsession with plumbing and cleanliness come from?  Is it the new modern to show friends your ensuite or kid’s bathrooms?

How about only having one bathroom in your house, or should that be in realestatespeak ‘your home’?  Instead consider a return to the one family bathroom and the luxury app of a separate toilet.  If you have hordes of kids then put in another toilet which is accessible from your backyard/garden/deck.

This isn’t nostalgia talking, there is likely to be an environmental cost for each additional bathroom or ensuite. At the very least these bathrooms require more plumbing, more drains, more whiteware, more cleaning, and more maintenance and add thousands to construction or renovation costs.  Why not use the space in a different way, to create a separate study ,music room, homework centre, small factory for child labour making crafts to be sold on the wayside in these straitened times or anything else you can think of?  Maybe it is all about the matching towel sets required to furnish these spaces?

As I write this I realise that any family will not shit or wash more if they have more than one bathroom but that  family members could do it all simultaneously.  Is that enough of a reason to add another bathroom?  You don’t need another bathroom – you just don’t!
Don't come and see our new ensuite, we don't have one.
Note:  Own snap of real bathroom

6 comments:

slaggybuttonit said...
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slaggybuttonit said...

I just don't really like the idea of shitting in my bedroom.

afraid said...

whose bathroom is that?

That'll do said...

Hmmm, I have been pondering this post for a little bit - maybe Southerners don't have the same obsession with bathrooms, we didn't see so many on our Open Home trips - or maybe our budget was too low. Anyway, after thinking about it, I now desire an ensuite. As the kids get older, managing to get everyone showered in the morning and off in time is just beginning to become a problem. Now that I have entertained the idea of having my own toilet and shower that I do not have to share with the kids and the guests.... I want it! I also like the idea of having a sink area separate from the bathroom, so that people can brush their teeth, wash their hands/faces, have a shave etc, without engaging the bathroom for these tasks. One day maybe... until then I will appreciate only having one bathroom to clean :)

That'll do said...
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Helen Back said...

Agree Ed
Previous bathroom in Waterview
The kids will grow up and you can luxuriate in the bathroom again.
Ensuites, unless very well ventilated, can become smelly and mouldy and unpleasant.
I think the idea of having separate shower, toilet and sink in three different small spaces has possibilities so long as the plumbing is centralised.