Half a Bathroom - The Concept

After a long, drawn out, and pedantic discussion with my partner about the definition of a bathroom, and how on earth it is possible to have half a bathroom, I thought I would explain myself, as it is obvious that my partner is not going to be the only person to have difficulty understanding this concept. So, before you get the wrong end of the stick, let’s see if I can explain.

Once upon a time, in a land not so far from England, water closets were then located in the rear garden. Some would have a room inside their house which they could exclusively use for keeping the bath in, while some were not so lucky and would pull out the bathtub and bathe wherever it was convenient.

With the advent of modern plumbing, it was a blessed relief when toilet facilities were able to be relocated into the house. Most, but not all, of these toilets were placed reasonably close to the room which held the bath. Some people even began to have their toilet plumbed into their bathroom and would have to go to the bathroom in order to go to the toilet.

As the generations came and went, bathroom facilities came to include a toilet, whether it was in a separate cubicle nearby or inside the bathroom. Bathroom stores began selling toilets. We began to see matching toilets and baths.

A house with singular bathroom facilities indicates that there is a bathroom with a toilet inside or thereabouts. After all, we say that we are going to the toilet, even if it is located in the bathroom. It’s position relative to the bathroom is quite irrelevant. So, how can you have half a bathroom?

I must admit that the terminology of half a bathroom was invented by the Americans, and we could get into a long discussion about the need for a bathroom to include a bath, but with a little understanding, it will all become very clear.

As bathroom facilities are assumed to contain some kind of washing facility (be it bath or shower), a washbasin, and a toilet, we needed to find some kind of place for the more modern addition of the toilet/washbasin combination which was created to combat the tensions caused by their being only one toilet located within a house.

A new creation calls for new terminology, and that is where the half bathroom was created. Houses were already being sold as 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom with the assumption that there would be a toilet nearby the bathroom. Agents needed a numerical value to add to the 2 bathrooms to indicate that it was only a toilet, and the half bathroom was born.

In conclusion, a half bathroom is a toilet with a washbasin. It is not a full bathroom, as it does not have bathing facilities. A one and a half bathroom house means two toilets, and one bath/shower. Personally, I think I would be divorced if I didn’t have one and a half bathrooms.

Richard Hull is the webmaster of Your Property in France, advertising property for sale in France. He and his wife run Living in the Loire, a lifestyle website on life in the Loire Valley of France.