BATHING ROOMS
‘What did the romans ever do for us? Apart from the aquaducts, sanitation, the
roads, irrigation, medicine, education and wine; well they also invented public
baths’.
Communal baths remained the place to keep clean right up to the 1800’s when bathing became out of favour
as it was seen as a carrier of disease. Instead people relied upon heavy
perfumes to cover up their body odour.
Thankfully with the industrial revolution in the 1900’s came
‘plumbing’ which actually means ‘lead’ in Latin. With it came the private
outside loo and flushable water closet ; believed to have been designed by Mr
Thomas Crapper of Yorkshire.
Bath time however was
still a portable and social affair, the
tub was generally made of a wooden trunk with a metal lining in order to make
it waterproof that would be pulled out for everyone to take their turn on bath
day. This was until Mr. Kohler a manufacturer of metal implements modified a horse trough by enamelling it and adding
legs to create the first free standing bath and from there evolved a more
permanent ‘bathing room’.
Actually having a room in the house dedicated to bathing
alone only dates back a hundred years, many of the Victorian town houses in
Teddington didn’t have a designated room
so a bedroom has been appropriated for
this use.
Once bathrooms had become commonplace in the 1920’s the fashion was to keep bathing separate from
the wc, both in relatively small rooms and this carried on right through to the
1970’s. These days with improved plumbing and ventilation methods we tend to
prefer a larger room with both the bath or shower and wc together.
Today bathing is now considered a necessity but I believe it
also an important daily ritual. First thing in the morning start off with a really powerful shower in a nice warm room,
plenty of space to dry yourself and all
your favourite pampering products easily at hand then your world is a positive
place. Then your day should carry on in that vein. Similarly if you enjoy a long soak in a huge
roll top bath at a chic hotel suite then you are likely to feel fairly relaxed
about life.
Critical factors for a great bathroom are:
Good water flow rate and pressure: essential to a good
cleansing experience
Large shower enclosure: 80cm
x 80cm standard shower enclosures
always feels uncomfortable, it is important to be able to duck out of
the flow sometimes for shaving, exfoliating etc.
Large work surface: traditional pedestal sinks have nowhere
for your products or toothbrushes and often have a curved surface which is useless, you need a
good sized vanity top so all your
products are to hand.
Good storage enclosed and open: most bathrooms have no
storage which is very frustrating as you need to keep back up products and
toilet rolls somewhere.
Natural light: this is not always possible but really makes
a difference for shaving and plucking, if a window is not possible then wall
lights either side of the mirror at eye level will create a good light without casting shadow over your face. Also little feature lights
in recessed shelving create great mood
lighting. It is good to have the lighting on 2 circuits, one for general lights
and one for mood lights so you can chose a more ambient feel when you want a
long relaxed bathe.
Space to dry: dress and pamper: really tight spaces and
space saving fittings can be quite frustrating.
Warmth: a warm floor and heated towel rails really make a
difference in winter.
Beauty: of course the bathroom should also look great, I am
not a fan of full height tiles all around
the room as it can feel quite clinical, natural stone is wonderful but can be hard to maintain if you have
children. Matt tiles rather than gloss are
a good compromise to create a modern look, you only really need full height
tiling around the shower. Leaving some walls as a paint finish is cheaper and
makes the room feel a bit softer.
By Tanya Dunbavin
www.amok.co.uk
