Designing a Traditional Bathroom

January 13, 2016 Guest Post

With so many different types of bathroom décor being popularized over the last couple of decades, it can a little daunting deciding what theme best suits you and your house.

For those who’ve chosen a rustic, country house theme, a traditional bathroom comprising of all classic furniture, sanitary ware and décor can perfectly complement the warm, inviting décor adorned throughout your home.

To get a better idea of what a traditional washroom featured, and what era it came from, it’s a good idea to learn a little bit about the history of the bathroom, and how it has developed over the centuries.
Traditional Bathtubs
The bathtub has been around for millennia. The first bath on record dates from 3000 B.C, and the earliest surviving bathtub was created for the noblemen the Palace of Knossos in Create. Over the centuries public bathhouse became popular worldwide, but the single, traditional bathtub remained largely the same, except for addition of plumbing with hot and cold water. Jacob Delafon of Paris manufactured the first commercial bathtubs from the 1850’s to 1900’s, and his elegant design quickly became popular, and remains so to this day.
The Invention of The Shower
Despite what many people assume, the shower is far from a modern invention and dates back to a similar period as the bath. The ancient Greeks were known to have fully functional showers complete with plumbing supplied by the advanced aqueducts developed by their top masons. In 1767, Briton William Feetham developed the first mechanical shower, and it was this basic pump-action system that was repeatedly modified to become the shower we know today.

 

The History of the Toilet
As we all know, the toilet start life as nothing more than a hole in the floor, but surprisingly, it was rather early on in history that people began to build cleaner and more efficient models.

 

The first flush toilet was invented in 1596 by John Harrington, however it wasn’t until the 1850’s, when George Jennings took a patent out on the system, that it would become popular. John Crapper, often credited with the invention of the toilet, was not responsible for the creation of, but he was the first to pioneer the new system in the UK during the 1800’s.
Bathroom Vanity Units
Water containers have been commonplace in washrooms ever since one can remember, however the modern day sink is an item that wasn’t widespread until the 18th century, and even then these version were mostly dry sinks that didn’t feature plumbing. While the very plumbed sinks date back to the Roman times, most properties weren’t installed with them until the 1900’s.

 

The first sinks were simply made from bowls that sat on top of a table, this design gave way to the traditional pedestal sink, which is still popular to this day. Since these early versions of washbasin needed the user to manual fill and rinse with jug of water, it was only natural that carpenters would build wooden cabinets around the sink to store these jugs. This design became what now call bathroom vanity units, and is the basis for most modern high-end sinks.

 

Armed with a little knowledge on bathroom furniture has developed over the centuries, you’ll be able to better select classic pieces to give your washroom a truly authentic appeal. If you’d like to find out more about bathroom history and what it takes to remodel your washroom, check out this handy inforgraphic from Bathrooms and More Store.