Brighten the Corner Where You Are

A little bit of pee on the floor goes a long way.

****RAMBLING COMPLAINT FOLLOWS****

I've decided that the house in which I currently reside is a perfect example of 'design by committee'.  At least I certainly hope it is.  If a solo person came up with the design, I question their sanity.  "What prompted this post?" you may ask, although I suspect you're more likely to ask "Why in the chocolate fountain should I care?!"  Well, you see, both of the bathrooms in this house have adjoining bedrooms.  I'm sure at the time, this seemed like an brilliant idea and a convenient option.  And to be honest, it is for the most part.  However, there are significant drawbacks that would prompt any rational person to consider at least having one standalone bathroom in a dwelling.  First (and foremost on my mind) is that, quite frequently, the residents of the adjoining bedrooms consider the bathroom to be an extension of their room.  They lock the publicly-accessible door (or at the very least keep it closed), denying access to all but the bravest of souls.  In a normal house, this isn't a problem.  Most likely, the bathroom actually IS an extension of the room and intended to be a private bathroom.  In this house, the private/public hybrid nature of the bathrooms often results in both bathrooms being annexed by the adjoining rooms at the same time.  If one needs to use the facilities in this situation, one is up Brown Creek with no means of propulsion.  Clearly, the solution here is to have a bathroom that has a clear 'public' designation.  Whether this would be best achieved by an additional bathroom or merely removing the adjoining door from one is less clear (I vote for the former).

The second problem I have with this design also results from the bathroom's identity crisis (I chose singular because the parents' bathroom appears to have resolved its question in favor of 'private'), but is from the perspective of a resident of one of the adjoining rooms.  (I'm going to attempt to not be too graphic, so if it seems I'm dancing around a subject, that would be why.)  As we all know, a bathroom is quite often not the most pleasant area in a house.  There are times when it is best to contain its unique ambiance within its four walls and use a fan to gradually modify the environment.  Well, let me tell you right now, a door is not nearly as effective a barrier as a wall when it comes to more ethereal contaminants.  Particularly a door with a 1.5" gap at the bottom.  The result is that when the atmosphere in the bathroom is unpleasant, the atmosphere in the adjoining bedroom can rapidly become equally unpleasant.  And there's no fan in the bedroom.

****END RAMBLING COMPLAINT****

Anyway, that's pretty much all I have to say about this subject for now.  Here's hoping I can finally brush my teeth and go to bed.  Sorry if this post crossed the proverbial line and offended your sensibilities.  But not too sorry.  No one is forcing you to read it.  (If they are, the code phrase is "CONED DARE".)

(Wallace Carlson)