Bathroom Design Ideas: The 100 Mile Bathroom & Slow Design
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 03.25.08
First, it was slow food, the slow food movement and then slow homes and slow design in general. As slow food gained prominence, so too did the "100 mile diet" and local food, so it makes sense that the local focus would make its way to design as well.
Remodelista shows us a great example of the 100 mile bathroom remodel in San Francisco. Mixing vintage and locally manufactured items into their ideas for modern bathroom design, they've come up with a whole new take on bathroom design ideas. Hop across the jump to see some of their bathroom design photos.
The sink is designed by San Francisco architect Bruce Tomb, who created it for Infinite Fitting.
Sonoma Forge, located in Petaluma, 40 miles north of San Francisco, produces hand-forged faucets, exposed shower systems, and bath accessories. The list goes on, to include everything from a towel rack to a toilet paper holder to the bathroom tile in the top picture, from Heath Ceramics in Sausalito, all created within the specific 100-mile radius. If you're thinking about a green remodel, you could do worse than the 100 mile design diet; find a salvage yard near you and get more inspiration via ::Remodelista
I'm such a stickler! I'm reading this, thinking, "Was the ore for those faucets locally smelted?" lol. Great bathrooms!
just because something was produced locally doesn't mean it is going to be better for our environment. This is the same deal with local food...some times things produced 1000+ miles away is better...it just depends on how things are done locally.
My concern where reclaimed plumbing is discussed is the possibility of lead or other heavy metals getting into the water supply from old pipes, fixtures, etc. That being said, I think it's a really interesting idea to do a "100-mile" re-design of any kind. I wonder if it will eventually lead to other rooms, like kitchens--I'm sure that old restaurants would provide unique opportunities to reclaim materials.
I've been thinking about the dual-sink bathroom lately, and how unnecessary it is. We moved a few years back, to a house built by an old-timer. Fanatically well constructed but frugally appointed. Of course only one sink in the bathroom. Our old house had two.
We have kids and lots of visitors, but have never wished for a 2nd sink. Looking back, the old house's extra sink was used to hold a baby while I shaved. Not much more.
So why incur the cost (think of the piping, faucet, and sink itself) and space requirements for something so little utilized? It really does not make sense, and you could substantially "green" a bathroom by designing it around a single basin.
Tt12s
PS You can be pretty confident of the green-ness of locally-made stuff in this case, as many of the options (fixtures from the big-box home stores) are made in China.
When a project is a "one-off" then local purchases are not as necessary. It is when you intend to buy the same item in an ongoing way (like food) that it matters far more.
However, reclaiming used items is a fine way to be both environmentally responsible, and frugal at the same time.
@ Cory ~ Led is not often an issue in a bathroom re-do as used fixtures are generally installed with new piping. Any led joined piping no longer meets building code. Led leaching from the glazings of antique led crystal fixtures was never ever a problem.