Bidets also come with varying fittings -- as a kid, we had one that was like a little fountain water feature that I thought was great for enacting rainstorms on my little boats...my mum was less impressed. In Thaliand toilets come with a hand held spray--plumbed for that in Canada but had to import the high-end mixer from the UK--just not common here.

Advantage of US bathrooms: larger space, usually an en suite, tub AND separate shower, under sink cabinetry. No washer/dryer in the bathroom.
Disadvantage: No bidet. Toilet not separate from tub & sink.

Here's what I don't get: With so many daily showers we take, why we don't see the advantage of having a bidet. Frankly, I don't want to rinse in the same place I just did my business.

i will not get involved in the whole bidet business, I was born in FL, never seen one, but on tv and magazine ads. Actually don't even see them in most redos, so on topic of average American bathroom, I would say not important.

Now everyone seems to be into subway tile. I like it, but I would not get because it is so been there, done that. On the 2 sink idea, my husband and I have both worked for years, but if we have 2 sinks, I have to clean his and mine. Yes, I know he can do it, but it is a matter of self defense, once every year or 2 is not going to do it for me. I am strongly in favor of at least one half bath in every home and definitely on every floor. Wait til you get older, you begin to see the importance - remember 2.2 million wear disposable underwear. Not us, luckily, but the bath room is important. I love and can fully understand the desire for a fairly large shower with many heads. Head aches, back aches, one low enough for the puppy or the 2 year old. My husband loves a good soak, being both tall and big boned, none of our baths have ever provided him with one, I would love to get him one, even though I would just float around in it. Noone has even mentioned the towel warmer or floor heater, both not so expensive and sheer ecstasy.

So, for us, one large shower, one large tub, 1 good sized sink - keep those whiskers in please, lots of storage a towel warmer, floor warmer and an extra half bath on every floor. For resale, a master bath and a regular bath-both containing bath tubs one with a shower combo, the 2 sinks in the master, and those half baths.

And to think I grew up in 1500 sq ft, 1 bath for 4 of us - 2 girls, bath about 8x6, and none of the extras and we were lower middle class. In Italy and even France i heard 15 years ago of toilets as holes in the floor and these were nicer hotels, or not unusual for several suites to share one bathroom. If they thought these accommodations were fine, home was probably not a ton better. Face it most of us lived in far less than what we demand now. Is that why we are so nuts about it?

@Benesse--- You do not do your business in a bidet. You do that in the toilet. You rinse in the bidet; instead of using those little teeny weeny wipes that got so popular lately. If you want to do a freshen up without doing a whole shower------- bidet. It is not to do your business in.

@thickskin: I didn't make myself clear. (I know the purpose of a bidet and I find it very useful...wish I had one)
By saying "I don't want to rinse in the same place I just did my business" I was referring to the type of toilets (favored in Japan) where there's also a way to rinse yourself after....

I love American style bathrooms and I love not having to share mine with guests. I would love having a bathroom for each bedroom but realize it's a bit extravagant. Europeans are not as hung up on that and are quite OK with having say, a 3 bedroom house with one bathroom. They also favor those tiny corner (1/4 pie footprint) showers with accordion doors where you can hardly turn or wash your hair properly, even if you're an average sized person. I am definitely not a fan of most European bathrooms I've seen and used but bidets rock.

A toilet....a shower or bathtub shower combo....a window...maybe some storage, vanity with double sinks. Not too fancy but not too plain.....seems like a typical American bathroom to me.

"Describe the typical American bathroom"

* Built to last 2-5 years

* Has shower pan that holds water and is leaking

* Shower has a $15.00 drain

These would be my top three points. It does help the economy with a constant turn over renovations. Imagine how much less land fill there would be if every shower had to at least be flood tested (a test to see that the shower is water tight from the beginning prior to installing tile).

Just that one thing would be amazing.....

@Benesse-------Mea culpa.

First, no to the bidet. When I first traveled to Europe, imagine my surprise when in two different hotels in two different countries (France and Germany), I had to walk out of the bathroom and down a hallway (past an open living area in one hotel) to wash my hands after using the facilities. I want, no need, the toilet and the sink together! To me, that's an American bathroom. While other creature comforts and finish details are desirable, the essentials are a toilet and a sink. All else is gravy.

Really, a sink and toilet in the same room ought to go without saying. As flexible I am about other things like small rooms and no closets, a potty without a sink is a deal breaker.

I've seen this in France...toilet and no sink..to me that is totally yuck

Typical is the key word... in most of the U.S. it is the tub shower combo with a one sink cabinet, medicine chest and toilet. However I think more and more what we want is a nice big shower, a cabinet style vanity with double sinks and ample storage, a comfort height toilet that is efficient, if there is room for a tub one that is comfortable with jets would be great. The higher end or newer the home the greater chance that the master bath will be upgraded with more space and features like separate large tub and walk in shower or double sinks and extra storage...

are their pants different than here? do you put one foot on the ledge? Certainly wouldn't put anything else there. This isn't for ladies too?

I'm trying not to think about the details! lol

Here are instructions for the Asian toilet. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squat_toilet#/media/File:How_to_Use_the_Japanese-style_toilet.jpg

now, I am not what you call flag waver, and I believe in live and let live. But this bath/shower (?!) makes me want to break out in song - " I am proud to be an American". lol

makaloco, picture brought more questions. When did Japanese women start wearing baseball caps? Where do men urinate, this seems convenient, are they shaped different or something? Where do they put the toilet paper?

LOL, I think that's supposed to be a nose, not a baseball cap brim. When you enlarge Miacometlady's photo, the t.p. is hanging right above the front of the toilet. From what I've seen, the only anatomical difference is that in some cultures people are more accustomed to squatting (for various reasons, not only this), just as they are to sitting cross-legged on the floor, and can do it easily. Adult westerners rarely have to do it, so they tend to be far less coordinated at it.

Which is why the sprayer common in Thailand is a great idea--and more hygienic than simple toilet paper, actually.

ok, I don't want to be a pain here, but it says it is not for men to squat and pee, so where do they go? And since everyone keeps bringing up this water rinse is better, don't you still have to wipe yourself dry? Female dripdrying seems like it would take a while, do they really take that long to go to the bath room, and I saw no sprayers there. and where do you tuck your skirts or pants while all this is going on, do you take them off? Put them on your head? Cause I don't want to put them anywhere else if that is a public restroom. Another question, you get sprayed off, but doesn't public sprayer suffer from bounce back and drippage? And the fact that there is nowhere in the room to wash your hands after getting them wet from wiping yourself off...

Finally, Makaloco, I will go along with those are noses, but why are they so pointy and big, Japanese don't look like that, are they insulting someone? Sorry, but this whole thing is just more and more confusing.

@northgehl: You are asking all the right questions. Thing is, there will be bounce back and drippage from sprayers and the next person who uses it will, at the very least, have to touch the wet sparyer to hose himself off. And sometimes you can't just spray off without soap and being able to see.
Carrying plenty of moist personal towelettes is a must in these places...or learn how to "hold it".

@Northgehl---- How descriptive! LOL. Anywho, where is it written that men are not supposed to squat? In some cultures they do. The whole bathroom ritual depends on what culture you were raised in. e.g which hand do you use to clean; also, tp alone without use of water is considered unsanitary. Even within the US different cultures do different things.

Remember the actress who a few years ago said that you only need one (yes one) square of paper to clean up? Boy, did she take a hit.

@Benesse---- I have learned to hold it. When I can't hold anymore to the point my eyes are crossed, I squat. I have a bathroom phobia.

I have seen people put their heads in public toilets to throw up, and I cringe. YUCK.

Exactly. The sign would be for foreigners ... Japanese probably don't need instructions to use their own toilets. :)

Well, dear dear, how very rude. I see they don't believe in the adage,"If you can't say something nice...." lol. I thought I learned a lot by watching various international news shows on PBS, but this crosses all new boundaries. Back to the male urination thing, it isn't that I don't realize men squat, it is that the sign says it is not for male urination, odd since it looks like a urinal laying down. Once again, how do you spray off in pants, since I get the impression you have to move, drip in your pants, then spray. I am having a problem seeing where these other cultures truly are cleaner than us. Expiring minds are having a problem with the vision. lol

Why doesn't someone take a moment to create a new system, all the current systems are quite antiquated, aren't they? Or is it like medical, as long as it works, we don't care how embarrassing, awkward, or painful it is . Surely we can do better than their systems and ours now.

The first drawing on the sign (the one without the red X) shows a figure squatting, and I'm assuming it's either male or unisex.

Looking at the Japanese potty makes me laugh, and also makes me glad to live here in the USA.

I don't think the basic appointments in American bathrooms have changed much at all since indoor plumbing became standard in houses...In a full bath, there has always been a toilet, a sink and a tub. A 3/4 bathroom means a shower (no tub), and a half-bath (powder room) is still just a toilet/sink. Those are the standard, typical, American configurations that probably account for almost all residential bathrooms in the country.

These three appointments (toilet, sink, shower/tub) seem to have served Americans pretty well for their bathroom needs. LOL So much so, that they are required in all building codes, rental codes and real estate listing information. I think that to be deemed "legally habitable", bathrooms must provide a working toilet/sink/place to clean up. At least, that was the city's requirement when we built our guesthouse....

Fancy fixtures (bidets, urinals, double sinks, soaking or jet tubs, steam showers, etc) and large square footage en suites are just that--fancy. Most Americans, I would guess, do not have these features in their bathrooms.

What has really changed (in my lifetime anyhow) are the materials used for the basic/typical, and the fancier, features--counters, sinks, faucets, lighting, flooring and plumbing. All much different than in the past. :)

This thread has gone down the toilet.Literally.

Just accidentally ran into this on the interwebs... lol. Here is how the Japanese clean those urinals, apparently. :)
(from http://www.talesofinterest.net/the-26-most-outrageous-japanese-inventions-of-all-time/)

ok, I know this going downhill, and I am probably helping that Makaloco, you are right, the sign does not signify, but the explanation does, this is only for women, and men having a bowel movement. I guess they also have urinals like above in the same bathrooms.

What I meant was, somehow I think we can do something that might be better than what we have and better than what everyone else seems to be leaning towards. i still want my massage shower, soaking tub and sink in the same room, though having a special space so one can shower and one can use the toilet would be very nice. I can't imagine what it would be , but i don't think it would be the worst way to use your brain.

lol, with this I think i will move on, unless someone can explain why men should not use that toilet, or what you are supposed to do to keep your silks or wool skirt/pants clean there. ugh!

omg, the thing needs its own bedroom, and are they gonna give us weightlessness in order to get up there? Actually, that could be fun in general life, bet I would need less oxygen. but do we have to be suction cupped to keep every thing down? look I know we went downhill or the tubes with this. But it has been fun and inspiring in its own way. Thank you everyone for your participation. I know I will not be allowed to travel around the world like i wanted to, but this has had some of those rewards. lol

On Asian toilets.. if you travel in China, ladies, wear skirts.. so much more convenient for bathrooms... wish I had gotten that advise BEFORE I went.

Thanks everyone, especially fissfiss, glad to know my thoughts were not so crazy after all. I think I would flip my skirt over my shoulders, maybe carry a clothes pin. I like it, an international clothes pin. lol

@Kenkilgore--------I am also bi-racial and bi-cultural, whose husband is Indian(India). So I can relate to what you are saying. I have hand held shower hoses in all bathrooms so my in-laws can wash themselves after the TP dryclean. That little damp towelette just will not do it for them.

Now regarding the squat. In several countries it is considered the natural way, since that is how our bodies are aligned. I am an old labour and delivery nurse; when the baby is having trouble descending, the patient is placed in a squatting position. It works. Before women went into hospitals for childbirth, and got comfortable lying on their backs with ten pillows for comfort, they squatted.

This kind of question makes no sense as the room is utilitarian. If you're looking for Design ideas, then you would need to add a decade as that would help in envisioning the furnishing and the design elements of a room.

"Typical" implies most ubiquitous. So, re utility: one room that has a shower head over a bathtub, a sink, a medicine cabinet, a toilet, and, depending on the date of the house: radiant heat or forced air, maybe a window that opens, one light fixture on the ceiling, maybe two that bookend the medicine cabinet. If the house was built in btw 1920s and the 1960s, there will likely be tile everywhere in various hues of pastels with black accents.

ok, can't argue with your logic, its fun you lack. lol

Fascinating discussion on international toilets, and thank you all for commenting on your experiences! There is an American product called squatty potty that mimics the Asian squatting 'method'. If the way you use a toilet could be called a method, lol. I think a bathroom should be all ages- and abilities-friendly: grab bars,, wide openings for shower and toilet, comfortable heights for young and old. It seems to me that the tub is going out of style these days. What do people with babies and small children do without a tub? I am curious to know. I have two bathrooms, one is upstairs and near the bedrooms, which is our family bath. It has one sink, a toilet in an alcove, and a one piece acrylic shower and tub. No storage. I love the acrylic tub/shower combo because it is very easy to clean and there is no mold or mildew growing in grout! The downstairs bath is in the public space, it has a jacuzzi tub with tile surrounding it. The builder did not put the toilet in an alcove so people see the potty every time they pass by it. Every time I see a reno with tub tile, I am turned off. I never want to deal with it again. And a jacuzzi tub in the public area just doesn't feel right. We will redo the bathrooms next year and the first thing I am doing is getting rid of that jacuzzi and put in a shower.