Category: BOSTON FURNITURE

MAJOR BATHROOM TRENDS

After becoming an integral part of the home early in the twentieth century, the bathroom has undergone many changes and experienced many design trends. Some reflect changes in lifestyles, while others came about with the development of new materials, products, and processes. Knowledge of these trends would be useful when renovating a bathroom in an […]

Additional Human Factors Research

Human factors research is also being conducted at other universities, but with the focus on uni­versal design and accessible design related to specific populations. Three major programs conduct­ing research in these areas include the Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access (IDeA) at the State University of New York (SUNY) Buffalo, the Trace Research and […]

Human Engineering

In the field of human engineering, which is the application of knowledge about human beings to design, Henry Dreyfuss and Associates are pioneers. This group was perhaps the first to take an­thropometric measurements gathered through military and civilian studies and transform them into a form that could be used by designers. The first documents presenting […]

BATHROOM-RELATED RESEARCH

Bathroom design today has also benefited from key research on anthropometrics, ergonomic de­sign, and universal design. Designers now have a better understanding of the human body, the design and space requirements to accommodate it, and the interface between humans and their interior space. The result has been fixtures and spaces that are more convenient, easier […]

Plumbing Codes

With an increasing number of bathrooms, more regulations were necessary, which led Secretary of Commerce, Herbert Hoover, to establish the 1924 Bureau of Standards for basic plumbing. Although these codes were not enforceable, they were effective and provided a technical solu­tion to the plumbing aspects of safety and sanitation. Almost 20 years later, the 1940 […]

A Real Bathroom

Older homes did not have an extra space that could be devoted to a complete bathroom. It was relatively easy to add a small toilet or a lavatory, but including a bathtub required a significant amount of space. Bathrooms might be fitted into a bedroom or dressing room, but because they were thought of as […]

Bathing

Bathing methods also changed with the availability of running water. A concern about hygiene prompted people to question how someone could become clean while sitting in a tub of water that became increasingly dirty as one bathed. Such concerns led to an interest in the vapor or steam bath and the shower as superior alternatives […]

Indoor Plumbing

The bathroom did not become common in the average home until there was a reliable supply of running water and the availability of inexpensive metal pipe and ceramic fixtures that were made possible through mass production during the Industrial Revolution. Early commodes were scarce because of the high cost to produce them by hand, so […]

Water and Sewer Systems

To deliver the necessary fresh water for personal hygiene in the home, a safe and reliable water supply had to be developed. Prompted by a series of cholera epidemics, city officials took a closer look at public sanitation. As cholera was linked to drinking water, officials now realized the entire population was at risk, not […]