How it all began
From the beginning, Dan not only listens to his clients, He observes them. He also has always had the trait of always needing to know why things are done a certain way rather than just accepting them. This curiosity, mixed with the great group of clients he has had the privilege of working with, led to the following inspirational moments and empirical questioning which led to the creation of his “Functional Bathroom Design” concept.

The First Piece of the Puzzle
In 1979, his second year in business, he had already done over 50 kitchen remodels, but had never done a bath remodel. After the completion of a small Kensington area kitchen the young homeowners instructed Dan to immediately begin work on a bath remodel. They gave him one criteria: The counter tops in the bath had to be at least the same counter height as the kitchen, 36"or taller. Dan, standing 6'7" tall, at first found this odd, since the husband was no taller than 5'2" and the wife about 4'10". The couple went on to explain that even short people have to bend down while brushing their teeth, washing their face, or shaving to minimize water splashing all over the counters. They wanted the counters higher to avoid the stress on their backs and be more comfortable while using the bathroom sink.

This made a great deal of sense to Dan, but combined with the fact that the official industry standard was and still is 32" for bath counter height, it also bugged the heck out of him. So he went on a quest to find out who determined this industry standard and why 32" was chosen.

He found that in the late 1930's and into the 1940's the US government commissioned the University of Illinois to do what is now called an ergonomic study to determine standards to be applied to residential appliance, plumbing fixture, and cabinet manufacturing to insure compatibility and unimpeded growth in those industries. The model home they used as a basis in their study was a two bedroom one bath home with two adults and two children in residence. The study clearly found that the optimal height for work counters was a minimum of 36" for the average sized adult female. What confounded the researchers was what to do in the bathroom regarding children. Here is, in Dan's opinion, where they made a very poor choice. They lowered the bath counter height to 32" solely to accommodate the children.

In Dan’s mind this 32" bath counter height makes no sense for children either. Those 4" only have a positive affect on a child’s accessibility to the bath sink for less than 4 years of their childhood. (The difference between the age at which they can reach the 32" counter faucet, and the age they can reach the 36") They grow so darn fast! So the remainder of their childhood (8 to 11 years) they also, would benefit from the 36" bath counter height. A far better solution is to add a step stool in the bath for the child to use for the short time they will need it.

So, the first piece of the puzzle is: All bath counter height's (or with today’s vessel type sinks, the top rim of the sink) should be a minimum of 36" in height.

The Second Piece of the Puzzle
This came, not from one single client but rather, the accumulative observation of all Dan’s bathroom clients over the next three years. Dan repeatedly saw bath counters cluttered with all the implements that his client’s family used daily, on the majority of his first visits with them. He began asking the few clients whose counters were void of these items on his first visit, if they had cleaned up and put things away knowing that he would be viewing their bath that day. The overwhelming majority said, YES!

This observation led Dan to question the actual purpose of counter tops in bathrooms. Again, he began questioning each of his clients to find out exactly what homeowners use their bath counters for, if anything, other than as a bath storage catch all. What he found was that other than as a storage location for all implements used daily and decorative items, there are only two reasons some, not all, clients actually use counter space for functional activities. 1.) Changing diapers and 2.) Medical testing and administration, such as blood sugar testing and injections for diabetes.

This finding led Dan to the following universal conclusions. 1.) Base cabinets in the traditional bathroom layout are not used to store everyday items because it is too big of a hassle to bend over and open drawers, pull items out, plug them in, and then put them away when finished. 2.) What a truly functional bathroom needs is a way to store implements within arms reach of a person standing in front of the sink. If they are electrical implements there also needs to be electrical outlets in their storage compartment so these items never need to be plugged in or unplugged.

So the final piece of the puzzle is: With the exception of one bath in each home that has a minimum of two feet of counter space next to a sink for changing diapers and medical use. There is no real functional reason for counters in a bathroom. What is needed instead, is a way to store all the daily used implements and items in a storage area at least 6" and a maximum of 24" above 36" counter height (42" to 50"), and within arms reach of an average height person standing in front of the sink. This should be the primary bath storage area for all implements used daily in that room.

Conclusion:
What you will see in our Kitchen and Bath Remodeling Photo Gallery is how he implements this knowledge into his bathroom design through the use of shallow pantry type cabinets within arms reach of the sink with electrical outlets inside. It offers a unique and European look to his designs, and these bathrooms really function well having far more floor space to move around in than a typical bath with the same room dimensions.

Right Click on any of the photos to the left of this text area to view that how "Functional Bath Design" was used in each of those bath remodeling projects.