Thursday, January 28, 2016

Questions America Wants Answered: Should You Have A Separate Toilet Room Inside Your Bathroom?

Well yes, but first, from AFNS:

New Starbucks Opens In Rest Room Of Existing Starbucks
CAMBRIDGE, MA—Starbucks, the nation's largest coffee-shop chain, continued its rapid expansion Tuesday, opening its newest location in the men's room of an existing Starbucks.

"Coffee lovers just can't stand being far from their favorite Starbucks gourmet blends," said Chris Tuttle, Starbucks vice-president of franchising. "Now, people can enjoy a delicious Frappuccino or espresso just about any time they please, even while defecating."

The new men's-room-based Starbucks, the coffee giant's 1,531st U.S. location, will be open to both men and women when not "in use." In addition to offering specialty coffees from around the world, it will serve freshly baked pastries, Italian pannini sandwiches and soups, as well as the rest room's usual selection of toilet paper and soap.

"This is a great addition," said Jonathan Connolly, a Boston-area banker who tried out the new Starbucks Tuesday....MORE
Do not start telling me about kopi luwak. Do not.
And the headline story, from Curbed:

Toilet Room Within the Bathroom: The Ultimate Luxury or Just Absurd?
409e0c43051f.jpgForgive us for taking it to the loo two weeks in a row on Weekly Decor Rant but one issue in the controversial realm of bathroom design that drew particularly strong feelings from Curbed readers and editors alike was the water closet. Yep, that means a separate room with a toilet built into a larger bathroom containing the rest of the good stuff—a "toilet room," if you will. Sure, cramped urban dwellers with tiny apartments can't even fathom entertaining the scheme, which is more common in older British houses than homes stateside. But that hasn't stopped many from coveting such a setup, especially those living with partners.

Having a "toilet room" means being able to, for functional or general atmosphere purposes, keep all the intimate business you do in the bathroom somewhat independent—a proper "separation of church and state" as one friend puts it. A reader further explains in a comment to last week's discussion on bathroom pet peeves:
Pet peeve - when there is a separate loo and a decent sized bathroom and they knock through. NO! I don't want my bath/shower interrupted by someone needing the loo.
Meanwhile, another reader points out that having a separate WC just seems like a silly use of space:...MORE
Don't most master bedroom suites already come with his-n-hers sitting rooms,dressing rooms, bathrooms and closets-with-small-kitchenettes?
What's one more door?

Also at Curbed, possibly related:
Why Homes in Major U.S. Cities Are Nearly Impossible To Afford