What North Americans can learn from modern European bathrooms

From the taps to the toilets, they think about more than just how things look.

I have been in Europe for almost a month, much of it in the UK where they generally have terrible bathrooms, and then working my way through Brussels, Spa, Heidelberg and ending up in Innsbruck, where Rufi’s Hotel has one of the best hotel bathrooms I have ever seen.

In Brussels, I was a guest in an apartment with one of the most interesting plans I have seen in a while. Like many apartments in small single-stair buildings, it is a “through” unit with windows on the front and the rear.

The bath room (note the separating of the two words) was at the back with the two bedrooms and included a shower and a sink, but remarkably, no toilet even though it was big enough for one (and it shows on the plan but doesn’t exist- when I asked my host about this, wondering if I was getting forgetful, he responded “Your memory is right and the plans are wrong. I hadn't noticed that before but clearly someone decided not to put that toilet in there. I am glad too, it is nice and spacious without it.”)

The toilet was in its own room with tiny sink off a vestibule at the entry to the apartment, in a sort of transitional zone, not even part of the apartment proper. I have noted before that older French bathrooms rarely had the toilet in the same room as the bathing, but this surprised me as there is quite a distance from the bedrooms, an old concept in a new apartment.

A lot of thought went into the design of this bathroom in Rufi’s Hotel. The first thing I noticed was the toilet, a Geberit Rimfree that I first learned about at a Passivhaus conference in Portugal in 2019. I wrote then:

Technical representative João Simões explained that the water shoots out from the back and goes right round the top of the toilet, cleaning the whole thing. According to their website, "The flow of water is controlled just before it reaches the ceramic pan. A so-called flush guide sends the water stream along both sides to the exact area where it is needed for a clean and thorough flush – and only there."

Anyone who has to clean the toilet will understand immediately why this is such a good idea. And now that I get you actually use it, I can confirm that it actually works! Here is a video (turn down your sound, it is loud!)

I should note that toilets in Europe do require a different sensibility and the willingness to occasionally use a brush. I put a fancy Geberit with a Euro style bowl in my daughter’s apartment and she hates it. I discuss this problem in greater detail (yes! you want to read about toilet brushes here!)

The shower is interesting too; there is no door or curtain, just a carefully designed sloping floor and a glass wall. Using the hand shower, I did spray some water into the room, but it all rolled back into the shower area.

I have also become a big fan of the European controls, which are in the unit inside the shower rather than buried in the wall as they are in North America. I have twice ripped out the shower controls in our bathroom at home, and each time it was a major renovation involving plaster and new ceramic tile which didn’t match. In Europe, there are shutoffs somewhere nearby, and then you can just replace the valve mechanism, no other trades required. This makes tremendous sense!

Finally, there is the sink. It’s BIG. I have written before how I hate my sink, and I love this one, even if it is sitting on a counter, a design thing I have disliked in the past. There is a big shelf built in at the back where the glasses are sitting. I was able to brush my teeth and shave and not have to clean the entire counter because the sink was big enough to catch it all.

I know, most people’s photos of their trip to Europe are not of toilets and bathrooms; here is a poorly exposed touristy shot of Innsbruck to make up for it. When I last wrote about bathrooms, commenter Arthur suggested that “While I cannot disagree that many sinks are pretty poorly designed for purpose, I do find myself unable to imagine that focusing a lot of energy on the topic is a best use of time exercise” and “Spending too much effort creating the perfect sink will just result in us spending more time in front of it admiring, criticizing or photographing ourselves in the mirror.” I am sorry, I disagree. We have to get the details right, even if I get caught in the mirror. Somebody should be thinking about this stuff.

And starting tomorrow I will have much more conventional Passive House stuff to talk about.