Photos of the hideous, shared bathrooms tweeted by visitors to the Olympic games in Sochi, Russia got me thinking about a typical Canadian bathroom, and whether there even is such a thing. I’m assuming those tweeted pictures of cramped, stark toilets were atypical in Russia. At least, I hope so.
I’ve visited a lot of loos across this great land and from Newfoundland to B.C., I have yet to find one that contains a beaver pelt or back-bacon-scented-soap dispenser. One might encounter a small soapstone sculpture on the back of the toilet, but that’s certainly not the norm. I did once use a toilet paper holder made out of an old hockey stick but that was in a cottage where anything goes where everyone goes. It occurs to me that the older the homeowner, the more likely it is there will be a fuzzy bath mat and matching fuzzy toilet lid cover but there is no proof that it’s an exclusively Canadian phenomenon.
More and more, people are looking for a little maple leaf insignia on their products in order to support home-grown manufacturers and, therefore, preserve Canadian jobs. Still, this great melting pot of a country borrows the best from other nations for its food, its fashion and even its bathrooms. Like some of the best Canadians, some of the best Canadian products have been influenced, and even created, with the help of other nationalities.
Cutler Kitchen and Bath’s parent company, Cutler Group, was founded in 1973, and is still based in Mississauga, Ontario. Its mandate is to develop contemporary high-end design, made in Canada with European styling, and market it in affordable big box store settings. They offer a luxe look for the tasteful homeowner with an ordinary budget. Their fashionable cabinets with clean-lines are sold with sink tops and doors, and their drawers are fitted with soft-closing hardware. Cutler’s offerings are available at retailers such as Lowe’s and Home Depot. And the fact that they’re manufactured in Canada makes them rare, indeed.
Kohler’s international suite of manufacturing plants includes one in Armstrong, BC. They have a new product that improves upon the common powder room nightlight. If your aim is to perfect your or your partner’s target practice when nature makes a late-night call, Kohler’s new form of assistance is the Nightlight toilet seat. It looks and functions like any other seat but has an LED lighted hinge that casts enough of a glow so you can find your way to the bowl without shining a bright light on the situation and into your eyes. Kohler also recommends the seat for seniors and children and touts its “quiet close” feature that ends the startling sound of a slamming lid.
If a bathroom renovator was willing to do the legwork he or she could use only products with a Canadian manufacturing base. In a short list of examples, there’s Rubinet and Valley Acrylic for faucets. Made-in-Canada flooring companies include Uniboard and Satin Finish Hardwood. Even the walls and windows can be finished in Canadian-made Beauti-Tone or Canadian Blinds or any number of small-business covering-makers. It only takes a little time with Google to wade through the Canadian-based companies that don’t actually make their wares in this country.
I’ve concluded that the typical Canadian bathroom isn’t about the way it looks. It doesn’t have to contain a single thing that’s classically Canadian. It’s whatever the home owner wants to use to create it, starting with things that are made here, where the true north is strong and free. Unlike the grey, cinderblock restrooms of Sochi, we can boldly go in whatever environment we see fit to sit.