Like a giant-sized Swiss Army knife, this narrow column unfolds to reveal everything your bathroom could need – a NASA-worthy, space-age modular design idea.

A water-transmitting ‘spinal cord’ connects independently-rotating ‘vertabrae’, each of which includes a core function, from shower heads and cisterns above to storage in the middle and basins and toilets below.

The combined system mounts to the ceiling and floor to form single set of pivot points, providing stability for the spiraling functions in between and a single simple pair of inflows and outflows.

From Design Odyssey: “The Vertebrae was designed by Paul Hernon and it basically incorporates a toilet, a sink, a water cistern and two showers into an 8 foot tall compact steel column that can be folded up when not in use.

As for the intention: “It was designed for those living in a small cramped apartment who might not have the room for a bathroom with all the amenities they would like. Each module is hand crafted from 3mm aluminum with polished hand welded seams.”

Little architectural effort is typically spent on public restrooms – they’re perfunctory, with looks reflecting embarrassment about the functions carried out within. But they’re a necessary part of every city, and, as some architects have proven, they can stand as impressive landmarks, conversation pieces and works of public art.

Kumutoto Toilets by Studio Pacific

These two headless dinosaur things in Wellington are actually – believe it or not – public restrooms. Studio Pacific architects took their inspiration from “the crusty saltiness of the sea” in the nearby harbor, comparing the structures to crustaceans or sea creatures, though they call to mind armored slugs. Each one has a concrete base containing one accessible public toilet, while the cantilevered appendages provide natural ventilation.

Don’t Miss a Sec Restroom by Monica Bonvicini

We’ve all had this nightmare: needing to use the restroom, and having no place to go but in front of a room full of people. Artist Monica Bonvicini has recreated that feeling, but without actually requiring indecent exposure, with a glass cube restroom outside London’s Tate Britain gallery. The work, called Don’t Miss a Sec, is based on prison bathrooms. It’s mirrored on the outside, but from inside, it feels like you’re on display.

Public Toilet Proposal by FAT

In the Victorian and Edwardian eras, British public toilets were the best in the world, and a matter of civic pride. The Royal Institute of British Architects sought to revive that tradition with a challenge for architects to design outlandish restrooms that could stand as “a center piece for urban regeneration and to ultimately improve people’s lives.” Does FAT’s decapitated Hercules head do that? The answer is subjective, but it’s certainly an eye-catcher. The architects are presumably being a little cheeky when they say, “It is hoped that Hercules will inspire those who enter to conjure up whatever strength they require to complete their transactions within. Inside will be a view of the sky through an oculus in Hercules’ truncated neck.”

Gravesend Public Toilets by Plastik Architects

The Gravesend Public Toilets features a pointy prow rising up into the sky as a ‘minor landmark’ for public convenience, as requested by the local council. The toilet likes along a new public footpath linking the heart of the town to public park land, and is shaped according to the topography and geometry of the site.

Hiroshima Park Restrooms by Future Studio

A colorful series of structures located throughout the city of Hiroshima are public restrooms inspired by origami cranes. The concrete facilities are dotted with round ventilation holes and acrylic windows to let in air and sunshine. There are seventeen in all, each one pointing in the same direction, with the entrance moved to various sides as needed at specific sites.

Next Page - Click Below to Read More:
Rad Restroom Designs 15 Actually Awesome Public Potties

From the outhouse to the White House, the best toilet brushes never bristle when it comes to cleaning the latrine. Combining carefully engineered ergonomics and sometimes surprising style to produce spotless results where it counts the most, these 15 concept designer toilet brushes won’t drop the ball when you drop a deuce.

Ballo “Dancing” Toilet Brush

(images via: Normann Copenhagen)

The Ballo Toilet Brush was designed for Normann Copenhagen by Jozeph Forakis, an alumnus of Domus Academy in Milan and the Rhode Island School of Design. As the latter was where the members of Talking Heads first met, it’s really no surprise Ballo (which means “dancing” in Italian) merrily wobbles around the bathroom thanks to its atypically rounded base. Big suit not included.

(image via: Spotted By)

“Ballo is a different, amusing and happy toilet brush,” states Forakis, who’s undoubtedly the first to describe a toilet brush as being happy. Forakis goes on to describe Ballo as “a funny but functional product that creates pleasure and gives an experience in people’s daily lives.” Having a toilet brush & holder dance around the bathroom whilst one answers the call of nature would be a very special experience indeed.

Skull Head Toilet Brush Set

(images via: Pirates N Plunder, Nerd Approved and Jezebel)

You don’t have to be One-Eyed Willie to own the Skull Head Toilet Brush Set but no Goonie geek worth his doubloons would be caught without one. The set includes a “life sized skull” and the matching handle (topped with a voodoo-mini-skull) detaches so replacing a worn-out toilet brush is as easy as plundering an unarmed merchant frigate. Arrr, scrub those decks AND the toilet, ye scurvy dog!

Pinocchio Toilet Brush

(images via: E-Goods/Rakuten)

Pants on fire? Yes please! Pinocchio must’ve really told a whopper to get himself in this sort of fix. Designed with a red, blue or green hat for a base, the Pinocchio Toilet Brush “nose” just what to do when unsightly stains rear their ugly head… and that’s the truth.

(image via: Daily Home Tips)

Anthropomorphic products are appealing to some, off-putting to others and the Pinocchio Toilet Brush is definitely one of those love-it-or-hate-it items. “If there is such a cute restroom brush,” suggests the sales copy at the Japanese product page, “the cleaning seems to become fun.” Oh really? Methinks some noses may be growing at a certain ad agency.

Clean as a Whistle Bathroom Brush

(images via: ModCloth and Trend de la Creme)

The Clean as a Whistle Bathroom Brush adds a dash of pastoral charm to any bathroom. Modeled after a songbird sitting prettily on a tree branch, the design employs a second faux branch to act as a hanger for the handle thus suspending the toilet brush and keeping the brush head high & dry. Ideal for those social media addicts (and you know who you are) who can’t resist “tweeting” anywhere and anytime.

FRAGILE Toilette Brush

(images via: Selectism and Yatzer)

One doesn’t usually associate bathroom cleaning supplies with fine wine but Antonio Gardoni isn’t your usual designer. His FRAGILE Toilette Brush cleverly masks a functional toilet brush within a plastic shell modeled after an upside-down wine glass. Of course, should you overindulge on the bubbly and find yourself driving the porcelain bus, a wine glass is probably the LAST thing you want to see.

(image via: Yatzer)

FRAGILE is one of Gardoni’s “5 Collection”, designed to “transform an ordinary bathroom ‘visit’ into an unforgettable experience!” Fine, but what if you’re drinking to forget?

Istanbul WC Brush Holder

(images via: Stylepark, Mat and Me and First Bathrooms)

The Istanbul (not Constantinople) WC Brush Holder is one heavy hitter: 4.13kg or 9.1 pounds to be exact. Designed by London-based industrial designer Ross Lovegrove for the Turkish brand VITRA, the WC Brush Holder exhibits a smooth, rounded shape that works well with today’s organic inspired appliances.

KaKaK Toilet Brush

(images via: An Ad a Day)

There’s not much that can be said about the KaKaK Toilet Brush besides the fact it was designed in 2012 by Jordi Pla of Jordi Pla Studio S.L for Homewood International of Taiwan. Then again, one might say the design speaks for itself and any description would be redundant… not to mention repugnant.

(images via: Behance)

The KaKaK Toilet Brush comes in your choice of black, white, blue, pink and brown (of course). Made from molded polypropylene, the in-your-face design makes sure you make no mistake when fumbling for your toothbrush after not getting enough sleep the previous night.

Mahogany Skittle Brush

(images via: HGTV)

Nina Tolstrup of Studiomama exercises her creative muse by repurposing wood. The Skittle Brush is just one example. Named and designed after Skittles, the old European sport ancestral to bowling, this sleek and slender organically curved toilet brush allows you to strike and stains, sparing no messes.

Alessi Merdolino Toilet Brush

(images via: 4M and Furnish.co)

We’re not sure if it’s intentional or not but the Merdolino Toilet Brush from Alessi seems to be named after “merde”, the French word for poop. Designed by Stefano Giovannoni in 1993, Merdolino turns the humble toilet brush from a utilitarian object to a decorative accessory.

(image via: DesignBoom)

A subtle variation on Merdolino sees the budding branch replaced by a slender Saguaro. Now if only they could replace the brush head’s bristles with real cactus thorns. Mesquiteolino, anyone?

Rock Star Toilet Brush Holder

(image via: Pioneer Linens)

Those “pot of gold” jokes you’ve been saving up? Let ’em rip, ’cause the $525 Rock Star Toilet Brush Holder has entered the building! Designer Windisch Nameek plated an otherwise unremarkable toilet brush handle and cylindrical holder in 24-karat gold for the very commonsensical reason that pure gold won’t corrode, pit or tarnish. Which raises the question… if you can afford $525 for a freakin’ toilet brush, why not just gold-plate your toilet so you’ll never need to use one?

Afro Collection Toilet Brushes

(images via: DesignBoom)

Gumption Design is based in Thailand, and that’s as far as we’ll go lest Spike Lee sees these so-called Afro Brushes and fires off another errant tweet. According to GD’s sales copy, what we have here is “a brush with a 70s afro look, the handle of the brush is in the form of a cool ‘hippy’” See, only cool hippies need be offended.

(image via: DesignBoom)

If you can get past the, ahem, distinctive design of the handle, what you’ve got here is a fun & funky… no, that’s not right. OK, these day-glo plastic psychedelic toilet brushes add a little color… forget it, we give up, gonna quit while we’re a head. Doh!

Kleinkindsichere WC-Bürste

(images via: Tchibo)

Also known as the Child-Proof Toilet Brush, the Kleinkindsichere WC-Bürste is an idea whose time has come – just like curious toddlers who can come into any room at any time and get into a heapin’ helpin’ of toilet brush-related trouble. Then there are the dogs who see “toilet brush” and think “big white bone!” German designer Peter Praktisch has a solution, one that will be very familiar to anyone who’s tried to remove a child-proof cap off a bottle of pills. Of course, if you have trouble with those than your bathroom will reflect it.

WC7 Electric Toilet Brush

(images via: Design Spotter and Castiglione/Morelli Design)

Does your toilet’s criminally encrusted condition call for a special kind of cleaning agent? Then call on WC7, the electric toilet brush whose orders are “shoot to clean.” Designed by Francesco Castiglione Morelli with Annamaria Carelli, this is one polishing potty pistol that will leave even the most evilly stained commode shaken AND stirred. Lock (the bathroom door) and load!

(images via: Castiglione/Morelli Design)

The WC7 packs a pair of AA batteries in the brush’s handle. Once installed, take careful aim and pull the trigger… the spinning brush head will eradicate those stains faster than Don Corleone erases his competition. Now there’s an offer nobody can refuse.

DIY Self-Disinfecting Toilet Brush

(images via: MAKE Projects)

Designer toilet brush? Why ask why when you can DIY! The clever lads at MAKE Projects combined a classic barbershop glass Barbasol container with a standard toilet brush to create this awesome self-disinfecting toilet brush & holder that ends up being much more than just the sum of its parts. Er, you might not want to store your combs in there once it’s been re-purposed and used, though.

THE Toilet Brush

(images via: Gigazine)

It takes a pair of big brass ones to dub your new toilet brush “Toilet Brush,” as if any and all other such devices are suddenly, hopelessly irrelevant, and Japanese housewares company Marna seems to have ’em. Their new & improved product has been re-designed from handle to holder to be THE best toilet brush EVAR… and give Marna some credit for not calling it that.

(images via: Gigazine)

How does Marna know their brand new Toilet Brush will please their target market of finicky Japanese housewives? They asked them, of course: the company brought in 200 average housewives and asked them how the humble toilet brush could be improved. It was a smart move and besides, who’s gonna tell 200 housewives they’re wrong?

(image via: Gigazine)

Suggestions ranged from incising grooves on the handle to help secure the grip, using both hard and soft bristles on the brush, and engineering a floating holder design that keeps the brush head high & dry between uses. Now if only they could re-design the toilet itself so toilet brushes aren’t necessary, suggested one Marna employee just before he was, er, canned.

Outhouses… before the advent of indoor plumbing, these permanent porta-potties were a necessary evil whose use wasn’t an option. Though most outhouses in developed countries have been torn down, a rare few remain. These iconic one-room restrooms serve to remind us of those dark days when if you had to go, you had to go out first.

A Room with a Half-Moon View

(images via: Ray’s Town Primitives and Space Squirrel)

What makes an outhouse different from any other outbuilding? Most people would say it was the iconic crescent moon window cutout on the door. Oddly enough, the half-moon isn’t a de rigeur requirement for outhouses, nor is it especially common.

(image via: D Scott)

Some say the style was popularized by cartoonists and comic book illustrators of the 1920s and 1930s. Others point to sun and moon symbols used to differentiate his & hers outhouses in times when most of the population was illiterate.

Thunderbox Road

(images via: Imagine Omit)

The art of the outhouse? It had to happen, being as the humble outhouse has imbued itself into pop culture regardless of how many of today’s populace have ever used one. Take the Thunderbox Road art exhibit, which had a respectable run at the Menger Hotel in San Antonio, Texas, in 2009.

(images via: Imagine Omit)

The exhibit featured a dozen outhouses embellished by a selection of Texas artists. A nice tough to the tribute is that after the show’s conclusion, the outhouses were auctioned off with the proceeds donated to medical research and the Western Art Museum in Kerrville, Texas.

Double-Decker Dumpers

(images via: Roadside America, Burbia and Ghosttowns)

Just as not all houses are bungalows, not all outhouses are single-story. The double-deck format was arguably a luxury in its day. In the case of outhouses built onto existing structures, those residing on the upper story of better homes, hotels or rooming houses would be able to use the facilities without venturing out into inclement weather. And no, despite what might appear to be obvious, lower-level occupants were in no danger should somebody enter the upper level – an inclined chute diverted effluent, negating the need for those below to exclaim “Oh crap!!”

Bryant Pond, Maine’s Three-Story Outhouse

(image via: Roadside America)

Kudos go out to whomever designed and built the three-story outhouse attached to the Masonic Lodge in Bryant Pond, Maine. An engineering wonder of the mid-19th century, the outhouse was so effective it took until the year 2000 for the owner’s to finally install a modern flush toilet – albeit only on the lowest floor.

Outhouses with Running Water

(images via: RRBJ and Survival of the Sickest)

(images via: Hickerphoto and Impactlab)

Common in third world countries with access to rivers or a seacoast, outhouses built over water would seem to be as clean and convenient as an outhouse can get – provided they’re used as little as possible. The sampling above would seem to be idyllic places to answer Mother Nature’s call… except when she’s in a bad mood (floods, hurricanes and the odd lightning strike).

AYYY, I’m In Here!

(image via: Treehugger)

Several attempts have been made to upgrade the outhouse to meet the needs of modern life, as if today’s bathrooms with their newfangled hot & cold running water, heat lamps, fans and water-saving flushes don’t already do that. Regardless, outhouses such as the Fons do their best by providing what the manufacturer calls “responsible sanitation.” The Fons features a composting toilet, sink and shower with a rainwater collecting cistern on top. Forget the crescent moon window, today’s sophisticates get a curved sliding door. As for the name, well, Calfinder says it best: “If you’re going to reference Happy Days, shouldn’t it have been called “The Potsie?”

WPA Outhouses

(images via: Lithic Designs and RetroRenovation)

If you think President Obama has struggled to sell health care to the American people, you’ll find parallels with an earlier Democratic president: FDR. One of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s initiatives under the New Deal was the WPA, or Works Progress Administration.

(image via: RetroRenovation)

Under the WPA’s direction, thousands of unemployed victims of the Great Depression were put to work on a variety of projects including the construction of solid, reliable, two-seat outhouses in rural towns and isolated farms. So solid was their design – not to mention their construction – that many WPA outhouses are still being used today!

Wild West Outhouses

(images via: John O Burns)

“John O Burns, Outhouse Photographer”… with a moniker like that, he’s GOT to be good. And so he is – Burns has compiled several photographic compilations of outhouses he has encountered in his travels through the American West and Baja California.

(images via: John O Burns)

Seen through Burns’ camera lens, these lonely, wind-blasted and sand-swept outhouses take on a noble aura, certainly much more than their builders ever would have imagined.

Thomas Jefferson’s Outhouse

(images via: Donald Mark)

They may have a somewhat low-rent reputation but outhouses were used with no qualms by the world’s high and mighty because, well, what was the alternative? The carefully constructed brick outhouses at Thomas Jefferson’s retreat at Poplar Forest, 65 miles south of Monticello, show that even presidents answer to a higher calling: that of nature.

The Outhouse Is In!

(image via: Pixdaus/Connie)

It’s said that a well-made, properly maintained outhouse is a thing of beauty. Functionally perhaps, but even the best built outhouse can still be an eyesore. Olgeir Andresson doesn’t think so and frankly either do we, at least when it comes to his matter-of-factly titled art photo entitled Outhouse In Iceland. An outhouse, in Iceland, at night would not be someplace most would associate with either beauty or warmth but gazing at this exquisite image it’s hard not to feel a sense of both.

When asked to list essential, life-enhancing furniture around the home, there are not many people who would include their toilet. However, remove it from their home and they’d be aware of it in a very short time. The humblest seat in the house is also the most vital. For that reason, let us celebrate the ingenuity, creativity and widespread influence of modern toilets  – because to build the ideal home, you really should start at the bottom.

(Images via: MSN and Tension Not).

First up, some public toilet designs that you might see moving indoors sometime soon. This design by Monica Bonvicini uses one-way glass to create the unsettling illusion that you’re performing your ablutions in full view of the whole world. If you can fight down the feeling that surely somebody can see you with your pants round your ankles, it’s a fascinating (and deeply weird) way to watch the world go by.

(Images via: Spluch and John Chow).

But if a public convenience in full view is seen as a very public inconvenience, why not hide it away? These two toilets take up the challenge by using the y-axis to hide all sins. The toilet at top is normally stored underground, so all you can see is the scenic sculpture on its roof – but pop a coin (1 yuan, in this case) into the slot and hey presto, one toilet. (We’re presuming that it won’t sink down again while it’s still occupied). The Urilift is designed to meet the needs of boozy gentlemen weaving their way back home after an evening in their cups – during the day it looks like a manhole cover, but at night it twirls into view to present urinals in all directions.

(Image via: Whole Wheat Toast).

And for making sure that nobody takes your public toilet for granted? Okay, so this design is a spoof (at the Hunter’s Point Shipyard Studios, SF). But this is guaranteed to make any guy think twice about doing what comes naturally to him. A design that heightens awareness, shall we say.

(Image via: luxurygaze).

And if you want to want your toilet out of sight in your own home, here’s a classy-looking option. This Bench Toilet doubles as an elegant table, thanks to a sliding wood panel. (But there is a catch: it costs over $11,000 – so this is one for when you are really…er, flush).

(Images via:  Yanko Design).

For a commode that you’d be proud to display in full view, have a look at Sung Hoon Mun’s Cell toilet. Its polished surface and fashionably curving lines make it look like it was designed within the supercar industry…and under the hood – I mean lid – you would be surprised to find that it doesn’t require a tank, hence the unusually ground-hugging egg shape.

(Images via: Pinny Cohen and Diamond Vues).

So now for toilets that take things a little too far. On the left, the winningly-named Pimped Out John, sporting a frankly ludicrous array of modifications including a laptop, a gaming console, TiVo, a fully-stocked refrigerator and even some exercise pedals to help you lose weight while you…lose weight. This is a one-off item and not available in the stores, and frankly we are glad of it (imagine the effect it would have on kids that already hog the bathroom in the morning). Another distinctly noncommercial example is the Isis toilet, which shimmers because it is studded with $75,000 of crystals. On a practical note, I bet it gets cold in the winter.

(Images via: Propelair and Cooler Solutions Inc.).

The house of tomorrow will hoard its precious water. There are already methods in development to use kitchen sink grey water to flush toilets, but until they’re part of a designer’s standard toolkit, it would be sensible to cap the amount of water available without detracting from the unit’s function. This is what Propelair aims to do – by sealing the bowl and pushing air through it, it uses just 1.5 litres for a full flush (around 80% less than the standard).  The Dignity toilet provides a sanitary alternative to a regular water supply in drought conditions – it holds its contents hygienically for a week, and then the top is undocked, augered into the ground in a safe spot, and opened.

(Image via: Collections Etc.).

BAD boy.You know how pets do that really disgusting thing with the drinking of the water in the toilet? This toilet-themes dog water bowl has us in two minds: obviously dogs will love it, and the design makes good sense (automatically refilling as it empties). But isn’t it teaching your dog to drink out the toilet? If you have given up trying to dissuade Fido from his disturbing habits, this is a practical way to concede defeat.

(Image via: Yanko Design).

And while we’re talking about items that give the wrong message – how about a toilet seat that tells you exactly how much weight you’re losing? That is precisely what the Toilet Seat Scale does (precisely). People with a weight micro-management problem form an unhealthy queue here, please.

(Images via: Spluch and Freshome).

So we are agreed – toilets can look great. But would you want to live in one? For South Korean Sim Jae-Duck, chairman of the World Toilet Association, the answer is a firm “Yes” – or at least, a house that looks like one until you go inside and see the luxury on offer. This stunning example of ultra-modern designwork (with a touch of eccentricity) is advertised as “a place of sanctuary” – just like its humbler counterpart.

(Image via: The Register).

But if you think a house-sized toilet is faintly ludicrous – what about this building? Could this be the world’s most monstrous porcelain throne – and why?