Thanks goodness for Thomas Crapper eh? The man we like to think of as having invented the flush toilet didn’t, actually. That honour belongs to a couple of gentlemen by the names of Harrington and Cummings if you’re interested – and history can’t quite decide which of them should take the greater credit. A toilet paper parade to the winner!
But good old Thomas Crapper did a lot to refine and promote the concept of the flush toilet as we know it today. He even devised improvements to the floating ballcock! So thank goodness for that. And thank goodness that things have moved along so much in the design and development of toilets over the last hundred years or so!
Contemporary toilets are a fry cry from the antiquated behemoths of the Victorian age. And aren’t we all glad about that! Modern toilets are smaller, more discreet and impeccably designed and built, ready to take their rightful place as unobtrusively as possible. That being said, discretion isn’t always the main aim. Some toilets are so well designed you’d almost be inclined to celebrate them publicly. But not quite! Japanese designers in particular have elevated the design and functionality of the toilet to astonishing heights, giving one the opportunity to interact with one’s throne in a whole new way! (And thanks to them incidentally for the ‘warm touch’ toilet seats that you’ll find on many everyday models!
But for most of us, a common-or-garden piece of porcelain is going to be quite sufficient. Or so you might think. The fact is, our suppliers don’t do ‘common-or-garden’ – they do affordable, elegant and cutting edge, so you’ll just have to content yourself with that!
So if you’re looking for a toilet – either as part of a bathroom suite or on its own, what exactly should you be looking for? The good news is that your choices are far from limited. From the bog standard (excuse the pun) floor mounted toilet to wall hung variations and super space saving ‘back to the wall’ models, you’ll be spoilt for choice.
Invariably models are made smaller and more compact than ever – that’s not just a space saver; it’s an environmental factor too. Utilising far less water per flush helps us all to conserve our supplies. To that end, half flush toilets are commonly available, giving one the opportunity to flush at full or half force!
While the basic shape of the toilet hasn’t changed radically, it is getting ever more refined; more rounded, more contoured. There’s precious little bulk to any of these models, meaning they’ll fit right into the smallest space in your smallest rooms. If you’re in a pinch, look for a corner toilet to free up space in your bathroom the easy way. With their specially shaped cisterns and more economical design features, you can slide them straight into the corner and have done.
Also pushing the boundaries are the less ‘bulbous’ design toilets, characterised by a smaller bin shaped aperture; we can’t hope to do them justice here, so check out our suppliers for more details. They make for an altogether more elegant way to spend a penny.
The top and bottom of it? As one of our primary household requirements, the toilet could come in any size and shape and we’d buy it; lucky for us then that there’s more great design and invention in a contemporary loo than we’re ever likely to appreciate.
© Bathroom Furniture.org.uk 2006
