Recently I have had some questions from readers about bathrooms. I thought it would be a good time to talk about the smallest room in the house. Well now-a-days it isn’t the smallest anymore. People are turning their bathrooms into meditation spaces, gathering spots with sofas and chairs and in some cases they are becoming palatial spaces. But for most of us the bathroom remains a humble place to take care of very human needs.When planning a new house or major renovation that includes the bathroom there are some things to consider. One of the most important is where to put the bathroom. Here we can think of some common sense rules. The bathroom is prone to smells, bacteria, leaking pipes and excess moisture. These are all things we want to avoid in the rest of the house. If you put your bathroom into the middle of your home it opens up the whole house to these problems. If it is in the middle you will not likely have an exterior window to open to release smells and moisture. If this is the case then you must be sure to have an efficient ventilation system.
You also don’t want to have your bathroom next to the front entrance or in view of the entrance. Not only is it unsightly and potentially smelly, you don’t want your guests to be greeted in this manner. For the same reason you don’t want to see the bathroom from the kitchen. Having a bathroom on the second floor over the kitchen is also a no-no. If pipes leak you can imagine this would not be a good thing.
I have talked in the past about the elements fire and water. They are in opposition to each other in a controlling relationship. Your stove is fire and the bathroom is water. So avoid placing your bathroom on the other side of a wall with a stove. As the “vibration” from toilets flushing or showers running creates a disturbance energetically as well as in sound, do not place your bed against a wall opposite the bathroom.
We start and end the day with a visit to the bathroom. Keeping it clean and hygienic is extremely important. As in any room of the house you want to avoid clutter. Piles of wet, dirty towels or shelves overflowing with cosmetics and cleaners need to be avoided. Even the bathroom closet should be kept as neat as possible.
The current trend is towards master bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms. This may be the fashion but from a feng shui standpoint it is not desirable. Often the closet separates the bed and bath. This traps moisture from the bathroom leading to musty or even moldy conditions in your clothes and closet. Even if the entry to the bath is direct from the bedroom that just moves the problem to your bedroom. You can place some moisture loving plants in the area to help alleviate the problem. Bathrooms should always have a door on them!
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