Why Choosing a Bathtub is Like Getting Dressed

When a woman dresses for an evening out, she would never think of first choosing which earrings she will wear and then making the clothes fit around that choice—unless she intended wearing nothing else of course… Neither would a man choose his necktie and try to make his clothes suit the tie, unless… It’s common sense that you choose the main item of clothing first, and then choose the accessories to match the outfit.

And yet when it comes to planning their bathroom, many people do the equivalent of choosing the earrings or necktie first—or rather they choose the outfit, the shoes, the accessories without giving a thought as to how they fit together and the total visual effect. They choose a bathtub, and a vanity, and a color for the walls without thinking of the total effect… and then wonder why they feel disappointed with the end result.

But if we take a leaf from the book of common sense as applied to dressing for a night out, the job becomes so much easier. The trick is to think of the main focal point of the bathroom—and for our purposes that main focal point is the bathtub—first, and once that decision has been made plan the rest of the bathroom around it.

Think of the bathtub like an altar in a place of religious worship. It is the main place of attention, and the rest of the bathroom should kneel in worship… So if you decide that a sunken, contemporary bath is for you, a bathtub with clean, straight lines, perhaps not a curve in sight, the rest of the bathroom should follow suit, with minimalist ironmongery, with perhaps a lot of shiny chrome and brushed steel. If you go for a vintage clawfoot bathtub with beautifully curved back made for reclining and soaking in hot water, then the rest of the bathroom should follow… so think ornate finishes, possibly a vintage antique mirror on the vanity with gilded gold frame… You get the idea. Get the main focal point—the bathtub—in there first and let the rest follow naturally.

If you do this, it will be like dressing properly—choose the outfit and then choosing the accessories is easy. Of course, you might want another item to be the focal point of your bathroom, but then it’s probably not worth calling it a “bathroom”… If you want a real bathroom, then make the focal point that bathtub.

So when you come to plan that bathroom, think of yourself getting dressed. Never choose the earrings or necktie first. Choose the outfit and the accessories later. Unless the earrings or necktie are all you’re going to be wearing of course…