It’s been almost a decade since I’ve looked for a house – combing floor plans in search of my dream kitchen with a small attached home doesn’t count – so I’m  shocked lately to find out how far behind the times I am.

Number of bedrooms: Usually listed in online ads. Square footage: Nice, but apparently not essential information. Endless photos of the throne room from every angle possible:  A must-have.

There are photos of shower stalls, sinks, vanities, fixtures and toilets from every possible angle. Multiple shots of garden tubs to prove, I suppose, that they aren’t really in a garden.

There’s the occasional image of a kitchen, often just enough to demonstrate that there’s an appliance there to nuke your Lean Cuisine. But the bathroom shots usually outnumber kitchen photos 3:1.

On the off chance that the rental market is somehow askew, I also checked “for sale” links.

I saw the same pattern: Bathroom photos galore.

Is this really useful information to folks or is it simply an easy photo to take in an empty house because someone at some real estate seminar told agents the ideal listing has X number of photos and now everyone is determined to provide X number of photos no matter how goofy?

To me, a floorplan would be far more helpful.

The house we live in now, for example, should have plenty of room for the four of us at 1,500 square feet, but a goofy layout means one room has no use other than as a toy refuge. The bedrooms, meanwhile, are slightly larger than postage stamps. So I have no idea how to interpret square footage listed on ads – when it’s even listed, that is.

Ay, but when it comes to bathroom space, apparently there’s no such thing as too much information.

Perhaps I’m simply slow to catch on to what Dad has known for years: That the throne room reigns as the center of the house. Forget curb appeal. Focus on potty paradise.

If not for the bathroom, I swear my husband would be illiterate. I’ll have to say he’s a more well-rounded person as the result of his reading habits. Since we dropped our newspaper subscription, he’s gravitated toward parenting magazines and Dr. Seuss. Anything will do, including a DVD case if it’s the closest literature at hand.

If agents are marketing to  him, though, why aren’t they making bookcases standard features in bathrooms – upgrade options at the very least.

Meanwhile, could Realtors cut me a break and offer a peak at a few things other than the potty? Really, I don’t spend nearly as much time in there as the men in the house do.

Copyright 2009 Debra Legg. All rights reserved.

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