The Problem of the Bathroom 
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THIS MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR IN THE COMFORT OF 
A HOME—TYPICAL AND LUXURIOUS ARRANGEMENTS OF PLAN AND FIXTURES 
by A. Raymond Ellis 
Photographs by M. H. Northend, the author, and others. 
O NLY a few years ago, 
sanitary conveniences, 
which were very crude 
when compared with those 
of to-day, were considered 
luxuries; to-day they are 
necessities, demanded for 
our physical comfort and 
welfare. The old-fashioned 
Saturday tubbing was a 
much dreaded and messy 
event ; but with sanitary 
house plumbing bathing be¬ 
came a pleasure and a val¬ 
uable adjunct to good health, 
it is, therefore, interesting 
to note the various treat¬ 
ments of the present bath¬ 
room. 
The average house to-day 
contains at least two bath¬ 
rooms, the simplest equip¬ 
ment being a water-closet, 
lavatory and tub, the two 
latter fixtures supplied with 
hot and cold water supply 
pipes. From these three fix¬ 
tures of the simplest kind, 
installed in a room not 
smaller than 5 ft. 6 in x 6 
ft. 6 in., we may enlarge the 
scheme to contain a shower- 
bath. with floor receptor to 
catch the water, a sitz or 
foot-bath, double lavatories, 
if for the owner's bath, with 
marble or porcelain pier 
slabs for toilet articles. 
These fixtures may be simple in 
pattern, of enameled iron or of 
porcelain or marble, in a room hav¬ 
ing tile or marble floors and wain¬ 
scot. There are, happily, inexpen¬ 
sive fixtures of good quality that 
are just as efficient as the most ex¬ 
pensive ones, and the plainer the 
lines of the fixtures the more beau¬ 
tiful they will appear in the finished 
bath; heavy ornamentation in 
color or molded design should be 
avoided — it is not so easily kept 
clean, nor is it so beautiful. 
In many houses having but one 
servant, a separate bath is provided 
for her use, and in a house costing 
$8,000, it is customary to provide 
bathroom wherein little more than the necessary space has been given. 
The fixtures for such a bathroom cost about $500, but it is possible to 
secure a durable and attractive equipment of three fixtures for less 
than $100 
j ■ ; 
Where the tile used for wainscoting has been employed 
also to encase the tub—a sanitary arrangement 
a private bath connecting 
with the owner's chamber, 
as well as a general bath 
for the family and guests, 
and a servants’ bath in the 
attic. The importance the 
bath and sanitary plumbing 
has attained is shown by 
the fact that seven or eight 
per cent of the cost of a 
house is taken for plumb¬ 
ing, and in houses costing 
from $8,000 to $15,000, 
three bathrooms are in¬ 
stalled. The treatment of 
each varies. 
The model servants’ bath 
should have a floor of small 
hexagonal white, unglazed 
tile with hard plastered 
walls, above a sanitary 
base, painted with four 
coats of moisture-resisting 
paint and equipped with a 
flve-foot enameled iron tub, 
quiet syphon-jet closet, with 
oak seat and tank, and a 
plain pattern enameled iron 
lavatory. A medicine closet 
should be built in the wall 
over it, having a mirror set 
in the door. The fixtures 
cannot be properly set in 
an area less than 5 ft. 6 in. 
x 6 ft. 6 in., and 5 ft. 6 in. 
x 7 ft. 6 in. would be much 
better. 
The owner’s bath is large¬ 
ly a matter of personal taste and 
cost. Usually this has a floor 
of 2 in. white, unglazed hexago¬ 
nal tile, with a 4 x 6 in. white 
glazed tile for walls, with cap and 
sanitary base, marble thresholds 
and plinth blocks. The height of 
the wainscot is optional; but 4 
ft. 6 in. is usual, with the walls 
and ceilings above it oil painted, 
d he room should not be smaller 
than 8 ft. x 10 ft. and may open 
from the owner's chamber or 
dressing-room. Its equipment 
usually comprises two lavatories 
of vitreous china, placed at least 
six inches apart, unless a double 
lavatory is used in one slab, over 
