Bathtub

Lore & Background

The earliest surviving personal-sized bathtub, a 1.5-metre pedestal tub made of hardened pottery, was found on the Isle of Crete. The clawfoot bathtub originated in the Netherlands, not England, and its popularity spread to England as hydrotherapy became fashionable. Early English bathtubs were made of cast iron, or tin and copper, and were coated with paint that tended to peel. Vitreous enamel was first applied commercially to sheet iron and steel in Austria and Germany around 1850. Following a fire in 1880, the Kohler Company produced one of its first enameled products by applying a porcelain coating to a cast iron horse trough, creating a bathtub. Kohler and J. L. Mott Iron Works sold porcelain-enameled cast-iron bathtubs. The clawfoot tub was popular from the 1880s to the 1930s, but its decline began after the post-WWI flu epidemic, as people feared germs could breed in the hard-to-reach spaces under and behind the tubs. The Crane Company introduced colored bathroom fixtures to the U.S. market in 1928, further reducing the clawfoot tub’s popularity. In 1979, James R. Wheeler and his brother Richard adapted the acrylic used for outdoor spas to create durable, co-extruded acrylic bathtubs. Modern bathtubs are commonly made of thermoformed acrylic, porcelain-enameled steel or cast iron, or fiberglass-reinforced polyester. They are usually placed in a bathroom, either built-in, freestanding, or sunken, and are often white, though other colors exist. Two main styles are common: Western-style bathtubs, which are shallow and long for lying down, and Eastern-style bathtubs, known as furo in Japan, which are short and deep for sitting up. Clawfoot bathtubs come in four major styles: classic roll rim (or roll top), slipper (with one raised, sloped end), double slipper, and double ended. Pedestal bathtubs, which rest on a pedestal in an art deco style, date back to Crete around 1000 BC. Baby bathtubs are small, stand-alone baths or supportive devices for infants not yet able to sit up.

Reader's Guide

The bathtub has evolved from ancient hardened pottery pedestal tubs on Crete to modern acrylic and fiberglass designs. Two main styles exist: Western shallow and long tubs where the bather lies down, and Eastern short and deep tubs (furo in Japan) where the bather sits up. The clawfoot bathtub, popular from the 1880s to the 1930s, declined partly due to concerns about germs and hard-to-reach spaces after the flu epidemic following WWI, though these concerns were not based on fact. The Crane Company introduced colored bathroom fixtures to the U.S. Wheeler and his brother Richard adapted acrylic used for outdoor spas to make acrylic bathtubs, working with Spartech Plastics to develop the modern co-extruded and durable acrylic bathtub. American Bath Factory expanded acrylic bathtub diversity to include whirlpools, clawfoot, pedestal, and modern styles.

Did You Know?

• The earliest surviving personal sized bathtub, a 1.5-metre long pedestal tub made from hardened pottery, was found on the Isle of Crete.
• The clawfoot bathtub was popular from the 1880s to the 1930s, and its decline is commonly attributed to the rise of built-in tubs and showers for easier cleaning and space efficiency.

The One-Wall Constraint

Bathtubs present a distinctive spatial challenge when it comes to curtain rod installation. Unlike a typical window opening that can be framed on multiple sides, a bathtub frequently offers only a single wall to which hardware can be attached. To accommodate this limitation, L-shaped and oval-shaped curtain rods have been developed as the primary solutions for tub enclosures. The L-shaped configuration allows the rod to project from one wall and then bend, creating a partial barrier along the tub's edge. The oval-shaped alternative provides a more continuous curved path, following the contour of the tub in a smoother arc. Both of these specialized geometries exist to solve the fundamental problem of securing a curtain to just one available wall while still achieving adequate coverage along the bathtub. This single-wall constraint is what distinguishes bathtub rod design from the simpler straight-pole arrangements typically found above windows in other rooms of the home, where multiple anchoring points are naturally available.

Bathroom-Specific Construction

The environment of a bathroom imposes particular demands on curtain rod design, and bathtubs are no exception. When a curtain rod is found in a bathroom setting, it tends to be telescopic and self-fixing in its construction. This means the rod can be adjusted in length to fit the specific dimensions of the tub enclosure, and it secures itself to the surrounding surfaces without the need for elaborate permanent mounting. This stands in clear contrast to curtain rods installed in other areas of the home, which are often affixed with decorative brackets or finials that serve both a structural and an aesthetic purpose. The telescopic, self-fixing approach suits the practical realities of a bathtub enclosure, where the available mounting surfaces may be limited and the geometry of the space—particularly when only one wall is usable—demands flexibility in fit. The result is a rod that is functionally oriented rather than decorative, prioritizing secure attachment and adjustability over the ornamental hardware that characterizes window treatments in living areas.

Materials and Design Range

Curtain rods intended for bathtubs, like their counterparts used elsewhere in the home, can be constructed from a range of materials including wood, metal, and plastic. This material diversity means that a tub enclosure can be fitted with a rod that matches the aesthetic of the surrounding bathroom, whether that calls for the warmth of a wooden pole or the sleekness of a metal one. Beyond material, the available styles and designs span a wide spectrum. While many curtain rods are simple straight poles, the bathtub context specifically calls for curved or L-shaped options, and hinged designs also exist for more complex configurations. These varied geometries facilitate installation in corners and around curved walls, which is particularly relevant when a tub sits in an alcove or against a single wall. The market for these products ranges from inexpensive big-box store items to high-end specialty products made by companies that cater to interior designers and architects, meaning the quality and price of a bathtub curtain rod can vary enormously depending on the buyer's needs and budget.

Placement and the Broader Ecosystem

A bathtub curtain rod does not exist in isolation; it is part of a broader ecosystem of curtain-hanging hardware that spans every room in a home. The same fundamental device—designed to suspend curtains—serves windows, showers, and bathtubs alike, though its form adapts to each context. In the case of a bathtub, the rod is positioned along the edges of the tub, and its placement is governed by the constraint of available walls. In other rooms, a different principle of placement comes into play: mounting a curtain rod high above a window can create the visual illusion that the window is considerably larger than it actually is. This design trick, while not directly applicable to a tub enclosure, illustrates how the positioning of the rod relative to the opening it frames can dramatically affect perception. Bathtub rods, by contrast, are positioned to follow the tub's edge, with L-shaped or oval profiles ensuring the curtain tracks along the tub's boundary. Related hardware such as curtain rings and shower curtains form a connected system of components that work together to make the entire arrangement functional.