Furniture Design Ideas

As American cities became more congested and as the number of backyard privies near water supplies increased, the issue of sanitation grew more acute. Yellow fever epidemics erupted in the United States, particularly in New York, in the mid-nineteenth century, prompting physicians to declare publicly that unsanitary conditions were the root of the disease, and […]

Colonial America also did not have the luxury of a public water supply or sewer system, so the disposal of waste was as primitive as it had been for centuries. Outdoor privies were built over large pits. In some cases, the pit was deep enough to reach the water table, which allowed waste to gradually […]

The task of supplying hot water to the bath became easier with new innovations, one of which was the cast iron stove. A water vat was located at the back of the stove. As the family baked and prepared meals, the stove heated water for baths and other uses. Heaters were eventually attached to the […]

Bathing for the middle class during this time usually involved a portable bathtub placed in the kitchen (see Figure 1.2)—typically the warmest room in the house with a nearby heat source for water. The fireplace used to cook the family meals also heated water for the bath. Eventually fire­places were built with a water reservoir, […]

With the fall of the Roman Empire, the bath was no longer an important part of daily life and disappeared for centuries. Through the Middle Ages, the fifth to fifteenth centuries, bathing was not a common activity and little attention was given to personal hygiene. Much of the decline was due to physicians who thought […]

The typical North American bathroom, as we know it today, has a relatively short history. The early "bath room" or "bath house" was strictly for bathing. It was not until the mid-nineteenth century that one room in the home included all personal hygiene activities in one place. However, some of the activities and rituals currently […]

Although the bathroom has changed throughout history, it has always reflected the prevailing cultural attitudes toward hygiene, cleanliness, privacy, relaxation, socializing, and even morality and religion. The development of our modern bath has also been dependent upon evolution in public infrastructure, technology, codes, and other policies. Today the bathroom is not only the center for […]

Bathrooms in the home continue to change as new products are introduced to the market, new standards have an impact on energy and water consumption, and people change in their abilities, preferences, and desires. Therefore this book needs to be updated periodically and that is what the National Kitchen and Bath Association has undertaken in […]