BATHROOM DESIGN
20 August 2008
“Had We but World Enough and Time”
One of the most sensuous poems I ever read was written in the 17th century and begins with the words I’ve used for a title for this blog. I used it because so much of a bathroom design, especially that of a master bathroom, can be made to revolve around sensuousness. Not I hasten to add, sexuality, which is something else altogether, but sensuous, appealing to the senses, such as a fine wine or magnificent symphony or opulent silken fabric, or a bathroom vanity so elegantly designed, that sensuous is the only word one feels able to apply to it.
Not every bathroom design is the same, of course, and today I would like to write about an entirely different configuration for a bathroom, specifically, a master bathroom design. Some of those bathrooms have only the toilet and shower/tub in a separate room. The sink, although adjoining the bathroom proper, is open to the bedroom, thereby introducing, in theory, a touch of elegance. Unfortunately, that touch of elegance, because it is usually poorly executed, is often more theory than reality.
Larger homes begat larger master bedrooms, of course, but even in these, the supposed touch of elegance, because it is often no more than a simple vanity (counter is really a more accurate term for it) and sink, is really rather pedestrian. In a master bedroom like our own which also has this arrangement for a ridiculously cramped bathroom, we have no choice but some sort of vanity that will enable us to store quite a bit of stuff, as this is the bathroom the wife uses. I sometimes find myself wondering what the hell all that paraphernalia actually is, but mine is not to reason why; mine is to simply make those cabinets that will accommodate milady’s beauty aids. But for those who have a sink open to the bedroo
m and sufficient storage space elsewhere, there are a number of very elegant suggestions from Rab Arredobagno, which is another Italian company. I was going to say “cutting edge,” but really, when it comes to bathroom design, is there any other kind of Italian company these days?
In looking at these pictures, it is immediately apparent to me that they simply pushed their vanities in front of any available wall, but if you have a master bathroom with the configuration I’ve described above, the most you will have to do to achieve a similar look in your own bathroom is a little dry wall work. And probably not even that. But the whole idea of that particular bathroom layout is to give it the feeling of a sitting room. So, the question to ask is, why not rip out the cheap garbage that came with your tract home and install vanities that will do just that?
Use the old standard vanity/counter with a drawer or two and an open compartment under the sink, and you really have done nothing but waste a wonderful idea for a bathroom design. It’s your home. Make it your home.
Joseph
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