I love a good bath. There’s something about getting into a hot tub for a long, relaxing soak that makes me feel like everything is right with the world again.
I could never live in a home without a bathtub. It’s a total deal breaker for me. In fact, when I have clients who want to forgo a tub in the bathroom, I try to talk them out of it. Everyone needs a tub in their home. What if they have children or grandchildren someday? What if they get sick and need to soak in a tub to feel better? The bathtub doesn’t need to be grandiose or over-the-top, it just needs to be functional, cozy and pretty.
A bathtub can be a focal point in a bathroom — and a great way to add a pop of color. Did you know you can paint your bathtub? The photo below shows an old cast iron bathtub in my home in Portsmouth, NH. that I painted. And it's easier than you think. First, you need to clean it thoroughly and remove any rust. Then apply a good metal primer before you paint it with a water-based paint. This article, "How To: Paint Your Bathtub," from home improvement expert Bob Vila gives some great advice on how to paint your tub.
(Photo by Lisa Teague)
While I painted my tub in a classic, muted black, a bold color can make a huge impact . Check out these photos below for great examples of how color on your bathtub can help showcase the design of your bathroom.
There's a lot of ways to get creative with your bathtub. Check out this design from Sabbe Interior Design. Nashville-based interior designer Stephanie Sabbe designed this amazing bathroom drenched in warm blue and a tub surrounded by books. What a creative idea!
One of my longtime dreams has always been to have an outdoor tub. I'm a nature girl. How wonderful would it be to garden all day and then plop into an outdoor tub to clean off and enjoy the fruits of my labor? What a fantasy!
I once had a client with a bathtub smack dab in the middle of her garden. She lived in New York and had a lovely little country home in the Monadnock region of New Hampshire. I loved everything about that sweet home and her wild imagination. She wasn’t everyone's cup of tea for sure, but I was full of admiration. I was young and struggling to make a living. She was successful, had plenty of money and seemed to care not one wit what anyone thought of her. We once glued a nickel on her newly painted floor just so she could watch with delight as someone stooped to pick it up! And then there was her bathtub. Hot water plumbed straight out to the garden. She would arrive from the city with her two big dogs, strip down to nothing but her straw hat and climb into her outdoor tub. I’ve wanted one ever since. I don’t have one but if I did, it would look like this. I'd even settle for an outdoor shower.
No matter the season, a bathtub can be an oasis, a getaway and a salve for all that ails us. And we could all use that right now.
Life is hard. Let's make it pretty.
Lisa Teague