Have you ever had the opportunity to visit Kohler, Wisconsin and wander around the Kohler Design Center and the Kohler Museum on the floor below?
If so, you were probably struck by the story of the first “modern” bathtub. In 1883 John Michael Kohler took a cast iron horse trough, covered it in enamel, and added four decorative feet—the precursor of the claw-footed tub. The one featured in the museum is a later model – 1905. This one looks a bit more ergonomically designed than what I imagine a horse trough would be.
Kohler also invented the first cast iron skirted bathtub and the one in the museum looks like many tubs we see today.
Over the years, bath designers have been tweaking and modifying the bathtub. The “roman” tub was a large, deep tub designed for soaking and was typically dropped into a platform surrounded with tile.
I believe the eighties were the heyday of the whirlpool bathtub. We designed primary baths with giant whirlpool bathtubs and tiny showers. Tubs those days were mostly oval and still dropped into a platform surrounded with tile.
But with the new millennium, showers started to grow in both size and popularity. Let’s face it, no one wants to take a shower in a 3′ by 3′ “phone booth”. As the shower grew, so did its features. A single faucet was no longer enough. We needed pulsating, messaging jets of water, rain head shower faucets, body sprayers, and handheld shower heads.
When the great recession hit the housing market, December 2007 through June 2009, both showers and bathtubs were downsized again and many features were downgraded. Many plans eliminated the bathtub altogether.
Let’s face it, there is something wonderful about taking a relaxing bath. Add a cool faucet to fill your tub and you have a full-blown water feature inside your home. The sound of running water, and the look of it if you select a cascading waterfall style faucet, is almost as relaxing and soothing as soaking in the tub!
But what if you could have your cake and eat it too ? What about an awesome shower and an elegant tub – not a giant oval dropped into a sea of tile – but instead one that is free standing and sculptural. Today’s freestanding tubs have taken that first claw-footed tub and combined it with the convenience of the skirted-tub and created a piece of art that you can relax in – the perfect way to unwind and eliminate all the stresses of the day.
My favorite – the Veil – is pictured above. I just love the sensuous curves and the non-symmetrical shape – quite the journey from a horse trough with feet!
Adapted from Housing Design Matters Blog