I keep getting this question, so I figured I’d go ahead and answer it. We love the way that our office bathroom turned out, but I realize that it’s strange to a lot of people that we stuck a tub in what looks like a tile shower. (It’s actually not a shower, it’s just tile on a wall surrounding a tub that has a shower attached…if you want to get technical.)
Two main reasons: 1) babies, and 2) shower curtain phobias. Let me explain…
We are so happy with our master bathroom, and know that we really want to keep that as a sort of retreat in the future. But as my mom likes to remind us, we “need a tub for washing babies.” So to keep future bath toys, baby shampoos, and baby tub seats out of our spa-like bathroom, we decided to add a tub to the office bathroom (the only other full bathroom upstairs). The appropriately-named baby clawfoot is just the right size, and the tile curb of the shower makes a great place for kneeling. (I should note here that I am not pregnant, nor do I plan to be any time soon. But you have to plan ahead people!)
The next reason is strange. Charles and I both have issues with shower curtains touching us. I know it’s weird to a lot of people, but damnit it’s our house and we can do what we want! (See how worked up I get about these things?!) I don’t know why, but there is nothing grosser to me than being in the shower and having the liner stick to you, and it’s even worse in a clawfoot. Ugh I’m cringing just thinking about it.
Because we both feel so strongly about shower curtains, we decided that having the curtain on the outside of the tub would be best. But that sends water all over the floor, so we needed to remedy that. Solution: tile in the area all around the tub and put a drain in the center of the floor. Actually, the tub doesn’t even have a drain pipe…water flows straight from the tub onto the floor and down to the center drain. An added bonus, having a curtain (on the outside of the tub of course) around the back of the tub protects the window with wood trim. If we had made this space into solely a shower, that window would have gotten wet and we would have some nasty mold and/or rot to deal with.
One thing I’ve learned in renovating our house: do what works for you. Some people will like it, some people won’t. Whatevs. We had the luxury of knowing that we plan to stay in this house forever, meaning we don’t have to worry so much about resale value. But in any house, do the things that make sense to you. This was our only shower for a few months while our master bathroom was being finished, and we both really love it!
Do you have any more questions for me? Send them on over!
PS- you can see the step by step process of refinishing this tub here!
Sarah, I absolutely love the idea and solution for your claw foot tub. Actually, I thought it was genius. I was looking at the practicality of having the water to drain rather than sit on the floor. If we ever have the opportunity to have a claw foot tub, we will be doing the same thing.
Thanks, Renee! It definitely works for us! :)
I think this is such a creative, out of the box idea and I LOVE how it looks! Great choice!
That is interesting, it does look like you put a tub in the shower. It was a good idea though. I would probably do the same.
I am trying to convince my husband that this is a good idea for our claw foot. I hate the way the shower curtain makes it so claustrophobic. Now that you have lived with it, is there anything that you would change? Do you find it hard to clean? Do you like the fact that the tub empties onto the tile and not down the tub drain? Looking forward to your reply!
Hi Melonie! This isn’t our everyday shower, so it gets used much less, but the cleaning and upkeep is really simple. Just be sure to leave enough room between the tub and tile so you can get back there. I love that the tub empties right onto the floor…to me, that’s one less drain to clean and one less to get clogged too! Good luck! :)
I love it. We have a tiled large shower in our master bathroom but I miss having a tub. I started exploring the claw foot tubs because I have one & also have a small one that I was told by a family member was used for baby’s. How can I find out what they are worth? Thanks for any suggestions
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It looks nice, actually :)