By Kerry Knight
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| TubKing Double slipper Clawfoot Tub |
Today’s builders are looking for ways to add value to the homes they build. Many homes, especially in nicer, upscale neighborhoods, are
adding designed bathroom and kitchens. These are two places that people spend a
lot of time.
Designers are always trying make a house more functional, and are
also striving to add elegance, beauty in places where home owners can relax and
get away from the hustle and bustle of today’s stressful life. Many designers are now calling for Clawfoot
tubs as their designed bathroom center piece.
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| TubKing Slipper Clawfoot tub in Red and gold. |
And it’s not just designers and homebuilders who are
doing this. Many who are in the market for buying, or having a custom home
built, are also looking to add a touch of elegance to the biggest purchase they’ll
ever make.
Clawfoot tub sales are up. Many are in the market to
purchase these elegant tubs. If you don’t know about this let me explain. About 150 years ago, Clawfoot tubs were
introduced to American society. At first, only the rich and famous had them. They
were mostly a European product, and they became very became fashionable after
the Civil War. Foundries abroad, using a
mold, would cast a bathtub out of iron.
They would then spray a porcelain glass material over the cast iron to
make a high-gloss finish that was both beautiful and functional. Legs, also made of cast iron, were then
fashioned into many exotic designs to fit on the bottom of these tubs. It became a craze that reached into the U.S.
very quickly, and the concept continued for over a hundred years.
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| TubKing tubs can be customized for color and feet type. |
Eventually, foundries in the U.S. began to close due to
lack of demand. They were being replaced
by a new substance called fiberglass. It
was much more cost effective and the units were not nearly as heavy. The one piece shower surround became the new
craze.
Today, many are returning to the retro look of the
antique Clawfoot tubs. Most have to be
imported, but the quality is the same.
The advantage today is there are more shapes and sizes to choose
from. The Slipper Tub, especially, is a
hot item. Made of cast iron and
porcelain, these tubs have the pronounced slope on one end of the tub that has
been seen on many movie sets. It is
exotic-looking to say the least, and especially attractive for ladies. The exterior of the tub can be done in any
color and the legs can come in many different metallic finishes.
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| At TubKing, we can create one just fro your taste & budget. |
We’ve found that many who are in the process of building
a new home
have created ways to really glamorize their bathrooms. Most builders will put in the standard 5-foot
fiberglass shower surround or an acrylic garden tub. These are all too common. A better choice might be to talk to your
builder about making an exchange. Get a
credit for his fiberglass tub and purchase one of the classic Clawfoot
tubs. It will immediately add perceived
value to your home and become the centerpiece for decorating your bathroom.
I’m currently in the process of building a new home and
have already told the builder I didn’t want his standard tub. I’ll put in my own cast iron and porcelain
Slipper Tub. The faucet, drain, water
supply lines and the legs will be oil-rubbed bronze. It will also have the “English
Telephone Faucet” with sprayer. Yes,
there will be a separate shower stall, but this tub will be the focal point of
the entire bathroom.
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| Another TubKing Clawfoot tub. |
You spend a lot of time designing a home; do something
special in one of your bathrooms. You
can even make it into your own private oasis. Guests will love it, and you’ll
get a hundred years of use out of your Clawfoot and your bathroom will be the
envy of all who visit.
In this article, I discussed how you can have a new Clawfoot
tub installed in that new house you’re planning to buy instead of having to
settle for a plain old shower/tub combo. Many home builders and designers are
using Clawfoot tubs as a showcase item to bring elegance and beauty to the
designer home they’re selling. In many cases, you can get a credit for the planned
tub or shower enclosure in exchange for the Clawfoot tub.
Customer testimonial for a clawfoot tub.
If you found this article useful, please share it with
your family, friends and co-workers. If you have a comment related to this
article, leave it in the Comments section of this blog. If you’d
like to find more articles about Clawfoot tubs, enter “clawfoot” in the search
box at the top of this blog. Have a question? Feel free to contact me at the number or email
listed at the end of this article and I’ll personally get back to you. It’s
been my pleasure sharing this information with you.
Thanks again for visiting with us.
Alan
and Kerry Knight are the owners of Tub King, Inc., andSeniorBathtub.com in Jacksonville, Florida. Together
they have many years of experience in the antique and senior bathtub
industries. Their companies not only provide superior products, they are also
award winners, receiving the “Best of Jacksonville Chamber Award” three years
running. If you’d like to contact them, call (800) 409-3375 or (800) 843-4231;
or send an email to alan@tubking.com.
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