Bathroom design shifts with the times

Human size is the basis of architectural and interior design standards. According to Scientific American, over the past 150 years, the average height of humans in industrialized nations has increased by about 4 inches. Overall, the reasons for this are better food supply, improved diet and the control of diseases.

When you visit a home built in the 18th century, ceilings are obviously lower and door frames are smaller. Depending on the style of the era, fireplace openings, room size and window size might also be more condensed and feel off compared to today's standards.

Therefore, remodels conducted in historic homes or apartment buildings are exceptionally challenging. We are attempting to deliver modern conveniences to homes that were originally designed for humans of different heights.

I am imagining a house in Cavendish on Prince Edward Island in Canada where L.M. Montgomery wrote her famous tales about the red-haired orphan Anne of Green Gables. The narrow staircases and hallways and petite rooms are duplicated in millions of farmhouses and cottages around the globe. The tiny framed windows looked out onto a lush expanse in one of the most romantic country houses I've ever seen.

Urban spaces — like studio apartments, converted spaces, basements and attics — share similar size challenges. Narrow row houses in Georgetown, Washington, D.C.; Beacon Hill, Boston; Manhattan, New York; and San Francisco — namely, the famed Painted Ladies — are examples of architecture designed from another perspective and another era. There are also shotgun houses that were particularly popular in the South: They are narrow rectangular residences usually no wider than about 12 feet. Rooms are arranged one behind the other, and there are doors at each end of the house.

Bathroom design has also shifted with the times. When indoor plumbing first was introduced, a claw-foot tub was the answer for bathing. It wasn't until the 1920s and 1930s that showers where incorporated into the bathroom. My grandmother lived in a two-bedroom Spanish Revival home built in the 1930s that featured a separate stall shower and alcove tub in the bathroom. The bathroom vanity was tiled in instead of featuring the pedestal sink that had been favored previously.

Even tract homes built in the 1960s originally had bathroom vanities that were shorter than what we consider typical today. My bathroom vanity is 36 inches above the floor because I changed the height when I remodeled so that my husband would not have to bend over far. Many people adjust a vanity height to perfectly suit their bodies when a remodel opportunity occurs. Nowadays, close to 32 inches high is the standard.

Here's a winning design solution for a bathroom that is size-challenged. Instead of one 18- to 20-inch-wide sink in a bathroom for two, consider two smaller oval sinks turned so the narrow edge is closest to the vanity edge. Position the spread sets on the sides of each bowl and it saves inches of counter space!

There is no design law that state you cannot adopt a bar-size sink for your bathroom. For example, how about using a stainless steel undermount prep sink? Numerous models range from as narrow as 8 inches wide to about 17 inches long. When you turn two sinks like this on their side, each sink occupies a minimal amount of counter space. Other sinks in porcelain, composite materials or china could be 15 square inches or 15 inches in diameter.

• Christine Brun is a San Diego-based interior designer and the author of “Small Space Living.” Send questions and comments to her by email at christinebrun@sbcglobal.net.

© 2017, Creators Syndicate