The majority of old houses have two to three bedrooms but only one bathroom.
Why Do Old Houses Have Only One Bathroom? Old houses from the 80s, 90s, and 2000s have only one bathroom, despite having more family members and bedrooms. This is due to expensive construction, old trends, culture, and house area.
The bathroom is the basic necessity and requirement in a house, and no one can neglect it. Before making a home, a person designs the whole infrastructure and construction plan for their house.
Even in the old ages, people do make a design of their houses first before constructing them. The trend and style of making bathrooms in homes differ and change with time. One bathroom setup was ok for that time, and people were happy with it.
Also, these families have more members or children, but they used to adjust in that single bathroom for all their life. You may live in this setup for half of your life.
There is no science behind this home setup, but it was the trend and lifestyle of people of old ages. Determining the need, budget, and other life priorities, you will get the answer.
Understanding the fact will help you get the idea of the old life and their living standard also. Trends do not remain the same all the time, and one bathroom that looks weird to you now would look like the best option in the past.
The need for bathrooms
Usually, the number of family members reflects the need for bathrooms in a home, but in this case, the idea is incorrect.
Back in the 80s or 90s, most families were large compared to this time. There were two to three children in a house with their parents, and one restroom was enough for all of them.
They never feel this setup inappropriate for their whole life. Even if they have a combined bathroom and toilet, they did not waste or spend more time there. That means they use it only for their need and not for enjoying or resting purposes.
Separate bathroom and toilet
One reason behind having a single bathroom in a house is the separate toilet and bathroom areas.
It was the same in old times. The houses that have separate toilets, the residents of the house will not suffer from the need for more restrooms.
Separate toilet areas make it very easy for all the members as they only go to showers or bath there.
Everybody can easily adjust their shower time and routine within 24 hours in compliance with other members.
You will not see this setup in all the old houses, but many of them have this setup which made the life of old-times people easier.
Moreover, it depends upon the shower routine of house members, which means if they were not habitual of taking baths daily or not.
Separate dressing areas
Another lifestyle difference between both eras can justify the presence of one bathroom in the house.
Today we have our dressing area, vanity, and closet inside this area, which means we must have bathrooms for all the house members. Back in the old ages, people did not have their vanity, closet, or dressing areas.
They had all these areas in their room, or possibly they did not have all these setups. In the old house, they did not have any personal items or things, and they remained a common area for all.
Cost of bathroom
When we talk about the old-time, we usually think that everything was inexpensive or less costly, but it is not right.
Although, many things were less pricey and affordable at that time. Do not forget that there were also fewer resources.
It indicates that people had fewer choices for materials and luxuries, and they have to adjust to the existing things.
Installing the equipment is not easy, and it requires so many things such as a sink, toilet, bathtubs, shower, plumbing pipes or vents, and others.
The plumbing materials, construction materials, and other requirements for bathrooms were expensive at that time.
All these were not very cheap at that time because there were not many options or varieties.
It was not easy for all people to afford that as there were fewer salaries or bank balances. They had no option other than to adjust to this, and they did compromise on it.
Area of the house
Again the old houses are not too big, and you may see a very small square feet-area of homes of that time.
They used to live in a small-area home with all their families. Cost or budget could be a reason, or there may be other reasons for this.
Understand the fact that when you have a small house, there will be fewer rooms in it. Several old homes had only one bedroom in them, and they had only one kitchen.
You can easily understand that making a house in small square feet requires intelligent design and construction. There was less access to engineers or professionals to make their homes.
They usually designed or constructed their homes themselves, which means they do not have the best idea to utilize every inch or square of the area.
Lack of constructing or engineering skills and lack of home-space led to this type of construction in old times.
Old construction patterns
There is a difference in the construction patterns and styles of houses between today and the old days.
With time, the trend and style change and you can see that by comparing new and old houses. In every era, there is a typical design and infrastructure. Everybody wants to make their home according to it.
You will see some old houses have even three to four bedrooms, but still, they have less than two..
In this case, it does not depend upon the area available, but it depends upon designing and construction patterns.
The old people believed that one bathroom is enough for all of them because it was the trend. They did not think and realized the need, and they remained satisfied with this kind of setup.
Luxuries and facilities
When we talk about facilities and luxuries, there is no comparison between both old and new times. You can say we have 90 to 100% more facilities at this time.
We can lead a luxurious life easily. In the old-time, there were not many facilities. They did not have the craze of a luxurious lifestyle, which means old-people lead a simple life.
Those places had only a sink, toilet, bathtub, and a few other things in them. This lack of luxuries and facilities made these bathrooms less interested, and people used to use them for their basic needs only.
People used to spend less time in this place, and they never thought about adding more charm and facilities to it.
It was only a place of few minutes per day for them, and they consider it the most unimportant area of the house.
Old living system
When it comes to the lifestyle or living system of people of that time, you can get the idea.
The living system back in the 80s or 90s was too different, and it varied in people’s thinking, priorities, expense, salaries and bank balance, and trends.
Old houses had nothing to relieve and rest. They are some basic things there and had nothing of interest in there.
These lifestyle differences lead to the difference in the number of restrooms in old and new houses.
Small spaces were the demand of that time, and they were used as per need only and not for rest or entertainment purposes. Therefore one bathroom was more than enough for old houses.
Related Articles:
Why do mansions have more bathrooms than bedrooms?
Why is my bathroom always cold?
