Fancy toilets have a surprisingly rich art historical context. From Marcel Duchamp’s groundbreaking urinal-turned-sculpture The Fountain to Maurizio Cattelan’s 18-karat-gold toilet recently installed at the Guggenheim (and later, amusingly, offered to Donald Trump in lieu of a Van Gogh painting), it seems there’s a natural inclination among artists toward spiffing up something otherwise totally utilitarian. Still, most of us — even the most hardcore of aesthetes — don’t think too much about what our own porcelain thrones look like. At least, we don’t yet. But if the existence of this glittery gold toilet seat currently for sale at Urban Outfitters is any indication, toilet seats may be the latest home accessory to undergo a makeover.
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For between $69 and $79 (depending on seat size), you can have a vaguely Cattelan-inspired bathroom experience, with all the glimmering excess that implies. Made of clear plastic punctuated with gold flecks, it’s reminiscent of the Goldschlager you got sick off of in high school. Or, alternately, those pills that make you shit glitter. Basically, if you’ve ever wanted what comes out of your body to perfectly match its receptacle, well, this is your moment. God bless all that is the year 2018.
The most obvious downside — aside from the fact that you’ll be dropping close to $80 on a toilet seat when you probably already have a perfectly good one that you didn’t have to personally pay for — is that, because the seat cover is see-through, you’ll have to be especially diligent about regular bowl cleaning. Because nothing ruins the spectacle that is a glittery toilet seat like a less-than-spotless bowl. Though, in our era of Top Shelfies and aspirational bath decor, perhaps that's already a given.
And while it’s definitely over-the-top, should the trend towards toilet beautification truly take off, it wouldn’t be the first time. In the ‘70s and ‘80s, carpeted toilet bowl covers — often made to perfectly match the carpet — were all the rage. Was this trend weird and inexplicable? Yes, but no more so than introducing glitter into the situation. At least this time, it feels more sanitary.
While the Urban Outfitters version is the one that initially caught our attention, it’s worth noting that it’s far from the only place one can procure such an item. Amazon, Bed Bath & Beyond, Etsy, and Wayfair all have their own versions, cementing the notion that going to the bathroom in luxe style is primed to become a thing.