I've lived in an apartment with these for the past 15 years - There's nothing you can or should do about it except get used to it...
...because if you hide the pipes - you can't flush your toilet.

I have that same terlet. I just make sure the pipes are always shiny. It looks industrial, but clean and nice.
Also, mine had sheetrock behind with crumbly bits around the pipes, and scratches. So I filled it in, sanded and painted the wall behind it a nice putty color. It makes the shiny pipe and white porcelain look sharp!

That's how my toilet is and I just left it all visible since it doesn't bother me.

Since you have a storage closet directly above, can you hang something that will block the view of the pipes, such as a curtain or hanging plants? Or wrap the pipes in a fabric that is close to the color of the wall so that it blends in more.

Hmm. What is your intention for concealing the pipes? Isn't that where the flush handle is? Why would you want to cover that?

Maybe you just can't wrap your head around having a tankless toilet... in which case, let me encourage you... it's cool. It is no more an eye sore than a tank in my opinion.

I have the same one!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/singleclickchick2/306336776/

Just switch the toilet out for a new toilet with the same rough in measurements. Usually these toilets (what you're calling 'industrial' toilets) have a 10" rough in. You can buy a tank style toilet at Home Depot for about $175, and have your building handyman install it.

Just be sure the new toilet with the tank has the same rough-in measurements. We just did it in our house, and the amount of plumbing work was minimal.

get used to it! its cool.

Im actually a tiny bit jealous of it.

bronxmaria -

The problem with your suggestion is twofold:

The plumbing would have to be rerouted within the wall behind the toilet since there are no tank-toilets that have water entering at the back of the tank (the plumbing fixture is in the bottom of the tank) - and the entire building's water supply would have to be shut off for that to happen.

Building handymen aren't capable of doing that for you, and building management won't allow it.

I'd just clean up the tile and grout to make it spic and span. In Manhattan you're not even allowed to install those toilets in private residences anymore-- not even as replacements. My folks kept theirs in their recent high-end renovation (changed out the porcelain but kept the pipes) because there's no flush like an industrial flush...

Gosh, I like my pipe toilet so much more than the ugly tank toilets. It flushes better and I feel it uses less water (but I may be wrong).

I don't think there's any easy way to cover the pipes unless you got a metal cylinder and had a hole cut in the side for the handle to stick out from. But...then you're stuck with a large pipe-looking object instead of a smaller one.

I'd stay away from fabric or anything that can't be wiped down easily because...ew.

Don't fight it, play up the industrial look -- it looks great, better than most toilets.

I agree with everyone who says to get used to it. I think bare pipes like that look great.

What about wrapping the pipes with a colorful twine or fabric?

I've had that toilet in my last two apartments. I've learned to love it.

It's true that nothing rivals the flush.

I truly dislike the look of toilet tanks, so these exposed pipes are great!

Wish I had one like that

Build a wooden box??
Hang a wooden or metal screen in front of it??

wrapping fabric or twine would be fine if it weren't a toilet. the swirl still causes a fine mist to go up with every flush that deposits minute traces of fecal matter etc on everything around the toilet. that's fact of life. so stick to hard, non-porous surfaces.

I am an architect and we have done several retrofit projects with those types of toilets, and how to cover them up while still leaving them functional. We specify for a 12"x6" box to be built around the flush valve assembly, but the box leaves a small slit in the side so that the flush handle is still exposed (barely) and usable. I think you could use a similar technique, and even maybe put a shelf over the whole box so it is even more disguised. You'd have to reach under the shelf to flush the toilet, but it would still work, and hide the controls. Hope this helps!

embrace it. it's a cool detail that makes your place neat. also, i think it visually opens the area. just enjoy it.

I have one of these toliets in my 1920s-era apartment and it is actually one of my favorite features of the bathroom. I am lucky in that I have the original white hexagonal tile and subway tiles.

I love the fact that it makes the room seem more spacious than a tank toliet and it's "industrial" nature works with my tile. Additionally, it flushes better than any other toliet original to an apartment of this vintage.

I played up the toliet's "non-domestic" qualities by painting the walls with a subdued silver (the metallics line by Ralph Lauren found at Home Depot). I also purchased a more industrial looking toliet seat (the stainless steel toliet seat called "Racken" from Ikea). With the addition of stainless steel accessories (toliet roll holders, toothbrush holders, shelving, etc.) it can be a very cool feature and not an eyesore.

It looks really great in the bathroom above (Pauls black and white bathroom)---maybe you need to get all new pipes and finish the wall very nice.

Question for "Lady J"... Why do people say that flushing the toilet causes fecal contamination of the whole room? Don't people flush with the lid down? Or does the areosol-ized feces come flying out from under the closed lid of the bathroom bowl?

I think this style of toilet looks great, much better than the decorative thing the former owner put in our house... but if it really bothers you, what about making some kind of framework around it, with a gap for the flush-handle, and fill in with metal mesh, or whatever material pleases you; you could add a shelf, or shelves to the top surface.

Check out this really cool bathroom for ideas (I really like these style of toilets!):

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/sf/look/look-pauls-black-and-white-bathroom-064409

I have the same kind of toilet. At beginning when I first moved in to my apartment, I hated the way the toilet looked. But after a while, I start liking it more than the other tank style toilets. Being in a small space in New York, this really makes the bathroom look more roomy. Besides, it flushes so well! What I did to make it look nicer is put a plant below it. Now as the plant grows around it, it really disguises it well, and it gives the small bathroom some green without taking too much space. Just make sure to trim the plant regularly so your guests know where the flush handle is. ;)

yes, I like them too.

I feel for you as I'm in the same situation. I only noticed the industrial toliet after I signed my lease (how could I not notice beforehand!) and then the first time I flushed, it sounded like the kind of toliet I would see at a night club. Ugh! I love feminine bathrooms so this really depressed me. But as everyone said, grow to love the uniqueness of it. I only get odd looks from non-New Yorkers. But try and find a great toliet seat cover and then perhaps a different handle that slips over the current one. And a great shower curtain to jazz up the rest of the room. Good luck!