apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Turn the water off and plant some bulbs...

Flower potty!

From what I've been reading about eco-friendly renovation, having a urinal is a really amazing way of conserving water. So-- I would decorate around it and allow the men to enjoy it. Of course some of those urinals are "no flush"....um...anyhow one link on treehugger.

Will a man be sharing the space? If so definitely use it! Wouldn't that forever end the whole "you left the toilet seat up!" argument?

Remove it immediately. Just tell the landlord someone broke in and stole it. But they turned the water off first. Then, they patched the wall.

Or, have someone fashion a plexiglass front for it and use it as a fish tank.

I think it's a great idea and would love one myself.

Just leave it as is. Any attempt to conceal it will just draw additional attention to it. I like the idea of the "men's" & "women's" signs just for fun, but nothing more.

It's fun and quirky...keep it!!!!

I would keep it, whether or not a man will regularly use it. I once looked at a two-floor apartment that had been rehabbed as a bachelor/party pad. The upstairs was a huge open space, with a half-bath that had only a urinal. That wasn't the deal-breaker, but I didn't take the apartment [I'm female]. It would have been a great conversation piece, though.

Keep it.... Helps keep the rest of the bathroom cleaner (I hate cleaning up 'overspray' from around the base of the toilet). And, yes... it saves water.

I think it would be beyond nasty to sit next to a urinal. It puts your face at just the right (or just the wrong) height.... ick. If I were a guest in your house, I'd be kind of revolted (and I'm sure you are a lovely person!). Is that really the sort of conversation you want a piece to inspire?

I would ask a carptenter to build a wooden box to cover it up from the floor to above the pipes, paint it the same color as the wall, and put a plant on the top as if it were a shelf.

If you want to keep it because it's functional, I would at least build a temporary partition the same color as the wall to separate the thing from the toilet. And I would keep it scrupulously clean.

It's no big deal. Go with flow and put up "men" and "women" signs.

Can you exchange it for a bidet?

Oh my husband would be sooooo happy. He swears the next house we own will have a urinal. We have the worlds tiniest bathroom right now or I think he would install one. Why would a properly used & cleaned urinal be any yukkier than a toilet? I say introduce it to a man in your life and see what they say.

my husband would be all over this!

I like the idea of a partition...maybe a bamboo screen?

That's so funny, I love it!!!

But, don't you have to put some sort of sanitizer disc in it or something??? I worked at a restaurant, and the bus boys used to have to periodically put ice in the urinal?! Not sure why?!

hell no!

Take it out. I agree with the comment regarding the gross-out-ness of sitting right next to it, face at urinal level. No way around how wrong that is. Take it out!! Create anew!

"I worked at a restaurant, and the bus boys used to have to periodically put ice in the urinal?! Not sure why?!"

Because many American men are phobic about toilets - They don't flush, lower the lids or wash their hands afterwards...
...the melting ice helps wash the waste down the pipes.

I like the idea of a partition or wall too... but I have to say I like the idea of a urinal- living in a house of men it would be far cleaner and use less water! I joke with my Mr. that in the next house (or this one if we build another bathroom) there WILL be a urinal for them to use.
I am afraid if you try to disguise it, then it will just look like a urinal in disguise. (sort of like air freshner- it never just smells like flowers- it always smells like fish and flowers, or garlic and flowers....)

yuck! If you keep it don't use the restroom at the same time...i could see you getting sprayed. gross!

I agree with the grossness factor of having your face at the urinal level when you're on the toilet... That thing needs to go.

Man! I would KILL for a urinal in the bathroom! Although, I want the floor-to-chest model...and a direct flush toilet (the kind you see in public restrooms with no tank)...and library in the bathroom...can you tell I've given this a bit of thought :-D

Put up a nice wall divider hiding the urinal. Most male bathrooms put a divider up between urinals and toilet. I would say something like a 2 feet out and 4 feet hi polished plexigalss held to the wall with chrome attacments. I do agree just leaving it out as is would be a little gross for guests.
See if a male friend will help you sneak into men's rooms to see the dividers I am talking about.

Urinals use about 1/3rd of the water of a traditional toilet- so from a water conservation standpoint it makes a lot of sense.

that is so cool. embrace it. i like the idea of a divider. why not go all out and put up the signs and find a "commercial" looking stall wall? like in any public restroom. i don't know where you can find one, but i think it might just be so quirky, its cute.

Definitely put up a partition between the two! It would weird me out to have my face that close to a urinal while using the bathroom.

Since it is quite humorous to have a urinal and toilet in the same bathroom, I'd play that up and put kitchy men/women signs above each.

What a weird concept, though. I wonder why someone would install a urinal?

I would totally go for it!

I think it is quirky and funny... and not gross

my only thing is I always but the lid down when I flush because bacteria can mist into the air and land on your toothbrush...
so with the urinal you can do it... how close is it to the sink?

If there is a man around, keep it (but keep it clean!) with the signs.

Otherwise, clean it well, disconnect the water and use it as a funky planter. (then it won't matter that faces are near it)Any attempts to cover it will just draw more attention to it.

Why don't you put a glass divider in the middle so you won't have to "look" at it when using the toilet? Every guy would rejoice if they had a urinal in their bathroom. It certainly keeps your toilet clean because guy don't always have the best aim. Assuming you will be living with a male, you should try to see it from his point of view.

ohokrachel: urine is sterile -- no bacteria to worry about.

Embrace it if only for efficiency and "being green."

When I was a kid, there was one house with a bunch of boys that had a urinal in the garage -- most of the the other mothers (with sons) on the block wanted one, too!

I think a stall wall divider thingy would be perfect. Find some restaurant or something that's being demolished, and ask the owner or the demo folks if you can take it.

Then maybe take that to a MAACO auto body painting place to paint it all fresh and new for you.

Actually, the reason some restaurants/bars/clubs put ice in urinals is because men are nasty/drunk/high and sometimes "forget" to flush, and in a hot and stuffy in environment, that can be a problem. The ice stops the urine--and thus the room--from smelling so...ummm...pungent, for the lack of a better word.

PS. I am a guy, and yes, I flush.

I think it's fantastic. Leave it!

And sitting next to a urinal is not nearly on gross as sitting ON a toilet.

I'm more amazed to see wooden floors in a bathroom than a urinal.

It is my boyfriend's lifelong dream to have a urinal in our apartment ... he would kill for this! What is everyone on about, of COURSE it's sterile. Sheesh.

My husband would think he'd died and gone to heaven if we found a place with a urinal. Seriously, he talks about this *all the time*.

I say learn to love it. It's pretty cool.

Add a divider, but keep it!

Like a couple of the other posters, I think you've got a gem on your hands! Keeps overspray out of "your" area, and conserves water, too! Wish I had one in my bathroom (for the guys in my life).

I'm sorry, this in poor taste, but I just can't get this scene out of my mind.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ej_PwrjZCs

forgive me.

If you want to play-up the quirkiness, sign it "R. Mutt, 1917". That would be hilarious, at least to trivia buffs and art history majors!

i don't understand what you are worried about sitting next to a urinal. do you think there is urine constantly flying off of the thing? your face wold be several feet in front of it, as it appears to extend out only as far as the tank of the regular toilet.

there are some germophobe's on here.

There's one in my parents' house -- weirded us all out at first, but now we've gotten used to it. Of course, it's more sleek, and automatically flushes (which surprises you when you happen to walk too close!)

*shrug* Not bad. But, also, it's not next to the toilet, so no eye-level view ;)

funny, I don't consider myself a germophobe at all. In fact, I've commented here that I think fear of particulate matter generated by a toilet flush infecting every towel and toothbrush within a 5 foot radius is silly. I'm just someone who doesn't want her face inches away from a porcelain wall that gets peed on. It's not fear of flying urine, it's more like fear of bad design.

I think it'll look better with a partition of some sort between the toilet and the urinal - doesn't even have to be full-sized or opaque. Just some translucent plastic 3 feet high and a foot or two deep, mounted to the wall, would probably make the area look a lot better.

why stop there? i think you should put a air hand dryer, and maybe make the bathroom door not go all the way to the floor. that way you'll complete the truck-stop feel.

And hire an attendant to sit there all the time to hand you paper towels and offer an assortment of gum, colognes and hair products...

I agree that the urinal seems to be too high. I would definitely suggest a floor-to-ceiling divider (plexi-glass type of airy material) for hygene and privacy.

I am more concerned about the wood flooring in the bathroom, though... how do you keep it clean, other than using bath mats?

What's up with the face next to urinal comments? Have a look at the picture, imagine where your face would actually be if you were sitting on the toilet. Unless you guys have some sort of reclined face to the right stance I imagine your face is no where near the urinal, in fact you would be closer to the bowl of the regular toilet. I think the whole thing is funny and unique! Plus, it's kind of a good looking one.

This is hilarious. Since the bathroom door would be closed while you were doing your thing, I don't think it matters.

That said, this reminds me of when I was in university -- my dorm was *just* beginning to experiment with going co-ed. I lived on a female floor, but we had men in the adjoining building who used our washroom. The building had been traditionally for men only, so our washroom had a urinal that you had to pass to get to the sinks or the shower...or even the regular stalls. The college, which was rather old school, though that this wouldn't do, so they installed a plywood box around the urinal, and painted it white. I think we ended up using the top of the box as a shelf for shampoo and things. The college also installed extended dividers (like, 8 feet tall!) around all the toilet and shower stalls, which went from floor to ceiling. I guess they were afraid of men spying on us while we did our business??

Leave it as is. Spray shouldn't be a factor unless he's really, REALLY drunk. As long as it's kept clean, who cares if it's at face level?

Ewww! All i can think of sitting down to pee and having my nose be at the exact WRONG height right next to the urinal. Ugh.

Learn to pee standing up! Chicks can do it.

When my mother-in-law potty trained my husband, she taught him how to pee sitting down (like a lady). She is a genius.

I would recommend Alexander Kira's The Bathroom Book, for its dispersion models of various urine streams if you are concerned about 'back splash.' The photos are hilarious.

I know a very wealthy guy who, when remodeling his house, installed a large urinal (the kind that is built into the wall, from just-above waist-level to the floor). When he had female guests over, he put a large fake potted plant in its place. (He had a regular toilet in another part of his Very Large bathroom.)

Put some decorative rocks in it :-)

If you're living with a man, or will have male guests over frequently enough, just keep it and put in a divider of some kind (pick a design you like and make sure it's solid plastic or powder or expoxy-coated metal so that it won't react with any of the ... ingredients ... from the other side). You might want to look at those auto-flush sensors, however. My wife has trained me well, but there are some men out there who can't be trained to remember to flush, or always use airspray after any ... output ....

When my wife and I first moved to Belgium, the apartment we rented had both a toilet and a teeny-tiny urinal on the wall, only slightly larger than the teeny-tiny handsink they had on the opposite wall (which was just barely big enough for two hands to fit under the cold-water faucet at one time).

I used it all the time, and due to the design of that particular model it never caused any splash problems. Flower-form models like are becoming popular today could learn something from teeny-tiny apartments over in Belgium. I've seen some apartments that were litterally the size of a closet. A famous closet-size apartment over in London was recently on the market for an astronomical price, due to its very central and convenient location. And you could literally touch both walls with your hands at the same time.

You guys just think you know something about small apartments....

;-) ;-) ;-)

You should get a marker pen and sign it R. Mutt, turn it upside down and contact your local modern art mueseum.

A) Absolutely keep it--unnecessary & costly bathroom renovations in a rental bathroom? Nope. I'm sure it will be put to use by someone.

B) Who wants their face in the urinal? Probably noone, but a simple wall shelf installed vertically between the two (Ikea's Lack shelf, for example) would do the trick and make it easier to clean up in the bathroom.

100 years of indoor plumbing and you act like men are still supposed to go out behind the barn. Get real. Men live here too. Indoor plumbing for men should be required by the building code in all residences where men are expected to live.

We have urinals in our master bath and our main/guest bath. My wife never has to complain about leaving the seat up. The water usage is significantly less, there is a lot less splash than from men peeing into a toilet, and its easy to keep clean in a home environment.