Swanky Little Pad

Tub Shelf Idea
Originally uploaded by daviderwin.

After college, my first apartment on my own was a veritable dream. It was an oversized one bedroom with a study, around 900 enormous square feet. It had one very long, large bathroom with a non-jetted garden tub.

At the foot of the tub was a shelf, about 12-18in deep, that sat just above the edge of the tub itself. It was ever-so-slightly angled to drain into the tub. It was the most marvelous thing. It made shaving my legs less treacherous, it was a place to sit when I wasn't feeling well, and when I felt like giving myself a personal spa day it was a perfect spot for oils and soaps and a cup of tea.

It was a stroke of luck when we ended up with just enough room in the master bath to design in The Shelf. No one knew what I was talking about; the draftsman and our contractor both thought I was on crack and advised against it.

Lo and behold, watching The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio the other night (a veritable sea of eye candy for those of us with a strong mid-century fetish), there was the shelf. David grabbed the camera and got a quick still.

This one appears to be a solid sheet of marble or possibly formica. I'll settle for either.

Too bad I couldn't find a pink, porcelain garden tub. *sigh*

ah, the marvelous tub deck ;) (dive right in?)slope it about 1/4"/ft towards the tub (1/8"/ft if you're feeling 'adventurous,' and its a smooth surface) and you're set. agree that they are totally awesome. side note, i toured a bathroom once and the shower had a sculptural hand sticking out of the wall, at the perfect height for shaving, lending a helping hand.

Brilliant! We are also renovating our bathroom at the moment and I had included a shelf just like this in the design! Our shelf will be concrete and will help make that end of the tub not feel unaturally long. It will also match the concrete counter, balancing the room.

So glad I'm not the only one on crack. I look forward to seeing your pics once the shelf is in!

Mo, LOL! The hand thing would prolly freak me out a whole lot, but, ah, nice pun ;-)

Justine, concrete is an interesting pick! Will it be smooth or swept? Marble and formica both seem a tad slippery...

Christiane,

Your story reminded me of my favorite bathroom of all time. I lived in an apartment that was an art-deco 6-plex. One of the coolest buildings I've ever lived in. The outside was yellow marble shipped from Italy. Anyway, the bathroom was the completely original bathroom from the 30's/40's (not sure when). It had golden rose shaped faucet handles on the tub and sink. The tub was HUGE! I could have moved in. It wasn't until about halfway through the year when I realized the enormous gold framed/fancy/ornate mirror actually opened. It was like finding a secret room. I wish I had taken pictures of that bathroom. I was 19, I had no idea what a real gem it was.