There’s an increasingly common new design feature in the ladies’ loos that one woman believes is an “absolute nuisance”. 

On Moncrieff,  Irish Independent columnist Sarah Carey said she most recently encountered it at the brand new Grand Central Station in Belfast, which opened last year to great fanfare. 

 “When it came to installing the sinks, rather than having individual handbasins, they installed what I described as a steel cattle trough,” she explained. 

“That’s one continuous long sink and all the suds accumulate in it.” 

There is, she continued, one big problem with this design. 

“What it doesn’t have is somewhere for a woman to put her handbag,” she added. 

“Not only do you have to put your handbag down when you are washing your hands but also when one of the things that women do a lot in the ladies’ toilets is put on their makeup. 

“So, you need to put the handbag down and you need to get out your makeup. 

“I was arriving for a meeting, had to put the handbag on the filthy floor, bobbing up and down.” 

Not only does Ms Carey  think this an “inelegant” design but also an “absolute nuisance”. 

“If you are an architect or toilet designer, I strongly advise against them,” she urged. 

“If you are being told to do it for cost purposes, please resist.” 

Main image: A woman with a ponytail walks into the women's toilets. Picture by: Alamy.com.