30 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I AUGUST 2025
In November 2022, I wrote a
column called Is Your Bathroom
in the Kitchen? This piece related
a bizarre real estate listing that
emerged out of St. Louis that
had architects scratching their
heads and interior designers
cringing. Nestled in the historic
Central West End sat a 200-
square-foot apartment that com-
pletely defied logic. It wasn't the
size that raised eyebrows, it was
the layout.
Right in the heart of the
kitchen was a fully plumbed
E L E M E N TA RY, M R . WATS O N
by J ohn Watson, CID
Why Your PCB Looks
Like a Studio Apartment
bathroom: a toilet, tub, and sink
sat smack in the middle of the
culinary workspace. My first
thought was, "How does this
work?" Imagine sautéing onions
while someone was taking a
shower three feet away, or pre-
paring dinner while someone
was seated on the toilet. This
wasn't an open-air plan. There
was no floor plan at all.
I chuckled when I first saw this,
assuming it was a joke or some
creative Photoshop prank. No, it
was real. The longer I examined
the photos, the more "conve-
niences" came to light. Need to
reach the top cabinets? The toi-
let doubles as a stepstool. Doing
dishes? Skip the sink and use
the tub. Need a soak while your
lasagna bakes? Go right ahead.
This truly was efficiency taken to
absurd extremes.
Functionality? Check (but
barely). Sanitation? Question-
able. Logic? Completely missing.
Was this designed as an act
of desperation or maybe a ?mis-
guided attempt at minimalism?
