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A splash of art-deco glamour for bath time
Deco delights to brighten up bath time
Meryl Streep’s performance is noteperfect as the deluded diva in Florence
Foster Jenkins. The American socialite and amateur soprano was both celebrated and mocked for her terrible singing and flamboyant performances in 1930s and 1940s New York. My favourite moment in the film is not one of the hilarious stage scenes, though, but a luncheon Foster Jenkins throws for her acolytes, serving up a mountain of potato salad in a bathtub.
It’s the tub that steals the show and made my design-loving heart beat a little faster. Its curvy, pale-pink beauty is complemented by the matching basin and loo. It is glamour personified and the sort of solid, coloured suite that was once reviled and is now revered.
Considered luxuries up to the start of the 20th century, it was only in the 1930s that fully integrated bathrooms were developed. Prior to this, a bathroom could mean just that – a room with a bath. A washstand and bowl would be filled with warm water from the kitchen stove and the loo was outside. Little wonder that the thrill of a purpose-built, comfortable room led to glamorous spaces – for those who could afford them.
‘The bold geometric shapes, clean lines and lavish finishes of art deco-inspired pieces are ideally suited to contemporary bathrooms, and they can be mixed and matched to create completely different looks,’ says Fired Earth’s creative director, Rob Whitaker.
Other bathroom companies are embracing the art-deco aesthetic, too. American brand Waterworks has a wealth of designs inspired by classic buildings. Its west London showroom is well worth a visit if you’re seeking styles that won’t date.
The Water Monopoly has a stylish reproduction of a classic 1930s bathtub, which founder Justin Homewood discovered at the Savoy Hotel. ‘The Soho bath encapsulates everything that I think characterises good design – a classic aesthetic and timeless appeal,’ he says. The new incarnation is manufactured in England from Vitrite, a stone composite that replicates the look of the original but is lighter.
Just add jade-green tiles with dark grout for the perfect finishing touch.