Clawfoot Victorian Bath

By Author: Robert McCallum
Total Articles: 1
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Clawfoot tubs are often thought of as integral features in a Victorian bathroom. But what does a vintage tub bathroom actually look like and how do you get an authentic clawfoot inspired interior?

This is a question we get often at www.clawfoot.com and the answer can often surprise. There are three things to keep in mind: Period details, Victorian accessories and Vintage Tub and Bath plumbing

The first is to get the period right. The bathroom as we think about it today didn't really appear until the early 1880s, and for much of the Victorian period many houses treated the bathroom as a functional necessity, with little ornamentation or even recognition as a domestic interior. So few authentic restorations are ever really truly authentic, and often it makes sense to fast forward a few years and adopt the style of the next few decades, the early Edwardian era.

The second is to pick the right Victorian accessories. The Victorians loved rich ornamentation, and the decorative arts reached a high point during this era. The right Victorian touches include gold ball ...
... and claw feet and decorated clawfoot bath tubs, with matching external gold wastes and faucets. Interestingly a finish we often see in Victorian inspired bathrooms is oil rubbed bronze, which few Victorians would recognise.

The third is to understand that Vintage tub and bath plumbing isn't designed for today. Water pressures, bathroom usage patterns, multi storey living etc are very different from the Victorian era, and few restorations work if they use the original vintage tub and bath plumbing. So an interior that works as well as it looks will have a real focus on getting the plumbing (literally!) right first.

When done right a Victorian bathroom with vintage tub and bath accessories can be beautiful and transforms an entire house. But when done badly a vintage tub interior can look like a poor mixture of styles and fitting and lets down an entire house instead.

Are you planning to install a vintage tub in your Victorian bathroom? We'd love to share our experience at help@clawfoot.com with you and look forward to hearing from you.

If you are interested to know more about Clawfoot Bath Tub, please search our site for more in-depth information and resources.

Robert McCallum is an author for the Clawfoot; Visit the site (http://www.clawfoot.com/) for more information about Clawfoot Tub Accessories.