Over the years of my constructing homes, one aspect that has been always a secondary thought was plumbing fixtures. My attitude was if it flushed and did not back up it was fine. It took many years and many plumbers and interior designers to get me into a more refined frame of reference when it came to the management of water in a home.

I was fortunate to get hooked up with the Kohler rep here in Portland. He was a quality guy, representing a quality line of products. Over the years, as we chased after the newest “French Vanilla” color, Kohler had low flush products that actually cleared the bowl. Often times some manufacturers would present products that really weren’t available to the public, or still had a few flaws contained in them. Explain that to a customer who has selected an entire bath array of faucets that the Roman Tub spout would not be available for 6 weeks after completion of their ‘Dream Home.’

I remember the first time I looked into the tank of an air charged surge reservoir of a new Kohler toilet, extremely different then the flapper valve that simply raised up and released the water in the tank. This was liquid technology at the highest level. Using a very small amount of water, this mechanism shot out a blast of water that was guaranteed to clean the fixture.

A couple features that I included in the selection for the New Cottage in the Woods was the new sensor kitchen arched valve in which you wave your hand under the neck of the faucet to start/stop water flow. We see them in many public restrooms today, really useful for controlling water usage.

Plumbing fixture color is something that changes with fads and fashions. Walk into a home’s bathroom and you can usually guess the age of the home. Pinks, blacks, reds, beige, none of those were for me. I went with the timeless, non-judgmental color of white.

I also splurged and selected a self-cleansing toilet seat. This is a toilet with a bidet-like unit that guarantees a fresh/clean/dry tush. Oh, happy boy. How far I’ve come from the ignorant beginning builder and home owner.