How many toilets is enough?

I’ve been house hunting recently.  It’s not a serious search but I’m interested to see how the market’s picking up and I’m also incredibly curious.   I like to see inside people’s houses and, with my Feng Shui spectacles on I like to see the layout.  (Take note estate agents and realtors – include big, easy to see, legible floor plans.) 

Anyway, nosiness aside, I’ve been surprised by the amount of toilets that are put in new houses.  ‘Ensuite’ seems to be the must have closely followed by a ‘Guest Cloakroom’.  

Treat toilets the Feng Shui way and be flushed with success

Now, I can understand the benefits of having multiple bathrooms when you’ve got a busy household trying to get ready for school or work in the morning.  I can also understand the luxury of having a bathroom all to yourself: you can soak in the tub, sing in the shower or read War and Peace for as long as you like.  And of course, for that unknown visitor who asks ‘can I use your loo’, the guest cloakroom is ideal because you don’t want a stranger wandering around upstairs do you? 

A few generations ago, at least here in the UK, the loo was a solitary affair and often located outside the house.  War and Peace wouldn’t have got a look in on a cold, frosty December morning.  But it hasn’t always been that way.  We have a long tradition of communal bathing brought to us by the Romans who used hot water, either from natural springs or heated, to supply central heating to buildings.  It is said that necessity spurned invention because the Romans found our weather cold and pretty hostile. 

For the Romans, bathing wasn’t the only communal activity.  I once visited a reconstructed Roman villa and the toilet, a fore runner of our modern composting toilet, consisted of a trench in the ground with a bench with 6 holes in it.  Community was important to the Romans at all times it would seem. 

But, all these watery sections in our modern houses make me a little uneasy.  In Feng Shui there are two schools of thought around water.  One is that it represents wealth and, if it goes down the drain then so does your money.  In my opinion it does represent wealth for some people but not for all.  However, the tips suggested are useful and can be implemented for another reason. 

That is simply that water represents energy.  If any of your bathrooms are in an auspicious section of your house then you don’t want that energy to be dissipated.  However, if the area is inauspicious then it’s a very good place to have a bathroom. 

This draining of energy can also have an effect on us if we spend a lot of time near a bathroom.  For example if we sleep in a room that has an ensuite. 

So there are some general rules with bathrooms: 

• Keep the toilet lid down (men this means you!)
• Try not to enhance the water theme with blue colour schemes, lighthouses, dolphins and buoys.
• Instead use the element of wood to help drain the excess water energy.  This can be with green colours or leafy upward-growing plants.
• Keep it clean.  This may seem obvious but any excess of energy will only exacerbate dirtiness.
• Keep the door closed.  This is especially important if it is an ensuite.

In my perusal of houses for sale I’ve come across ensuites that are really part of the bedroom.  They’re either in an alcove or behind a screen and there is no door to close.  If you have this in your house try to find a way to fix a door or section it off.  You’ll benefit from the effort. 

There also seems to be some individually designed houses that feature the bath in the bedroom with no attempt made to call it an ensuite at all.  It’s a ‘feature’ I suppose. 

All I can say is NO, NO, NO.  It may look good as a picture in a glossy design magazine but just try living with it for a while and you’ll want to move that bath right out.  Your bedroom is your haven, sanctuary, boudoir, love-nest or whatever else you call it. You sleep in it to repair, refresh and rejuvenate yourself.  You may entertain in it too which is fine.  But your bathroom is about basic bodily functions, however well you decorate it, and basic bodily functions do not mix with sleep or romance. 

So, remember that toilets are good and necessary but don’t go overboard with the quantity and keep the ones you have clean, tidy and shut away if you want a ‘I practise Feng Shui’ gold star. 

Jackie Notman is a copywriter, feng shui consultant and e-commerce retailer.  This article is from her blog ‘Life – and everything else’ where you’ll find an eclectic mix of articles and information. 

 This Feng Shui information is general for everybody. However, there are deeper levels of Feng Shui which take into account you and your specific environment.  

 If you would like to find out more about living in harmony with your environment, and using energy to your advantage, contact Jackie Notman on 07920 461574 or through her website www.fs168.co.uk 

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