Given that, it made perfect sense to squeeze in a little sink. When it became necessary to wash your hands/face (dusty street? going into the dining room?), just go to the hallway and use the hallway sink. Problem solving without making everyone march upstairs.
HYGIENE?
This was a time when germ theory started making sense to people. Before this point people would think, “eh dirt builds character.” Fast forward, people thought washing your hands before dinner made sense. Now let me tell you, these bathrooms were few and far between, and in any case kitchens were quite busy places. Thus, the hallway sink was born!
It wasn’t designed for luxury, it was designed for function; you could wash your hands without interrupting the whole household. Particularly with guests. You think anyone wants a bunch of strangers wandering into bedrooms just to go wash hands and faces?
Funny and Small, but Served a Purpose
Some of these hallway sinks are so small, it is almost comical. I’ve seen a couple of sinks out there that were barely big enough to wash an apple—never mind your hands. But that’s all they needed. They weren’t for bathing or filling up buckets, just a quick wash.
I guess they had that classic two-tap, hot and cold (how long did that take to balance so you didn’t take your skin off)—but it did the trick. And it kept people from accessing that city grime straight to the dinner table.
Better than a single bathroom.
It’s got me thinking—if you’ve ever thrown a party in a house with one bathroom, you know what sort of chaos that gets. People lining up knocking every two minutes to ask “are you done yet?” Imagine if you had a hallway sink. You could just wash up there—no line, no deliberate awkward bathroom time.
