The bathroom as an architectural space did not exist prior to the late nineteenth century. In the pre-plumbing era, reluctant bathing customs revolved around portable containers-tubs, pails, chamber pots, and washstands-which were used in the kitchen or bedroom.
As modern plumbing coordinated the delivery and removal of water and waste from the home, the toilet and tub assumed a necessarily fixed position in the home: they became fixtures. While early plumbed bathrooms maintained the decorative features of traditional domestic spaces-draperies, carpets, carved details-the "modern" bathroom emerged at the turn of the century as an overtly industrial ensemble of porcelain-enameled equipment, with white, washable surfaces that reflected contemporary theories of hygiene.
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