Friday, December 3, 2010

sizing it up

let's talk bathrooms shall we? one of my guilty pleasures is watching hgtv and the house hunting shows. these shows allow me to dream and envision things i may or may not ever have...kind of like dreaming of winning the lottery.

i am fascinated by the whole focus on bathrooms. when, and why, did they become such a huge selling point? nearly every home show i watch the buyer complains that the bathroom isn't big enough. really? do you plan on having a party in there? how many people will actually be in that room at the same time, ever? two? maybe? and while i understand the appeal of having a bathroom in the master bedroom, does every bedroom really need it's own bathroom?

we have a built-in-the-70s-ranch house and it has two bathrooms. they are not huge by any means, but they're adequate. the mobile home we lived in before this house had a huge master bath--garden tub, double sinks, separate shower and enough floor space for two people to comfortably lie on. the draw back was that it was carpeted, which is just wrong in a bathroom.

my maternal grandparents' house was old, 50s? 60s? and though it had two baths, they were closets. the master bath was just a toilet and sink and you could sit on the toilet and touch all four walls. their "big" bathroom was a little larger, w/ a tub/shower but you could still sit on the toilet and have your knees almost touch the vanity.

i'm not saying that if i won the lottery i wouldn't update our bathrooms--take out the linoleum, tile everything and replace the fixtures--but i wouldn't knock out a wall or try to expand them. i don't spend that much time in there.

am i missing something here? are spacious, over the top bathrooms the new in thing?

7 comments:

Unknown said...

I so agree! I love House Hunters. Your grandmas "big" bathroom was def so shorter people. I couldn't get my knees in front of toliet!!!

Surely said...

Our master bath is big but not so much on actual floor space. It's a two sink counter top and we rarely use the one sink. Like you said, at most there are two of us and we're good at taking turns.

We(I) have the garden tub and I love it but it's much more hassle to use it than I anticipated. (It takes 1/2 hour to fill & empties the hot water tank) I don't know if I would do it again if given the chance.

So, then, the shower. It's a "coffin" shower...manufacturer's description, not mine...and Kev loves it. I am not a fan.

The Common Folk Bathroom is a standard bathroom: vanity, toilet, shower/tub. It's good for me to use although it's short on counter space.

The old house had one bathroom with one sink but a vanity big enough for another sink and a tub/shower. We actually had a small bedstand sized table next to the toilet with a lamp, radio & clock.

Oh hell. I should just do my own post with this long comment...lol.

Short story: I agree.

cheatymoon said...

I don't mind a big bathroom.... I've never had one. I'd love a jacuzzi tub.

But then a bigger bathroom means more to clean. Ick. My least favorite. Especially cleaning up after 15 yr old boy.

Anonymous said...

I love HGTV and when I get to watch TV, that's what I watch also dreaming of what I'd like my house to look like. I have three bathrooms, and would be fine with only one...because it's a pain in the ass to clean three bathrooms. If I could do it over...no more than 2 bathrooms please. Also don't undertand the obsession with them. I just want the common one to always be presentable, but the men in the house don't seem to care since they certainly leave a mess behind.

tulpen said...

I love those shows too.

And I don't get the ginormous bathrooms either.

I would like some kind of sauna action though, you know, for the winning the lottery scenario.

The Mayor said...

I am so with you on this!

I used to design/build houses and I have never got the appetite folks have for 400 square foot master baths.

I prefer to be left alone when I'm in the bathroom no matter what task is at hand.

We have 4 full baths (including a large master) here. I've taken to using the girls bathroom which has a standard tub w/shower head, shower curtain.

It gives you a place to put your leg up while shaving, it's cozy and I hate cleaning shower doors.I told my husband he can be king of the master throne room.He'd live in there if he could.

Go figure.

drollgirl said...

carpet in a bathroom!? that is bad news!

a fully functioning bathroom is all i need. my place has been having MAJOR PLUMBING ISSUES, and my landlord has asked that i "take it easy" on the toilet flushing. WTF! fix the problem!!!!!!