The Life of Bath

The ancients invented them, the Enlightened brought them home, and the Victorians gave them feet. Tubs continue to evolve but are as much a luxury today as they've ever been.

- Tim McKeough

Art is a must, but get moisture-resistant frames to avoid steam damage. Photograph by Gerald Incandela. Consider a statement chair like this vintage French shell, but have it recovered in a robust performance velvet. If you live in a French manor house, you're going to want a classic cast-iron claw-foot, like this one by Margot. The primary bathroom of Robert Couturier's former manor house in Normandy, France.

For centuries, a warm bath has remained one of life's great luxuries. From the earliest examples of bathing facilities at the Palace of Knossos on the Greek island of Crete to modern architectural marvels like Peter Zumthor's Therme Vals in Switzerland, the reassuring comfort provided by a deep soak has long been treated as nothing less than sacred.

Winston Churchill was so enamored with bathtubs that he routinely took two baths per day (with the water temperature set at a precise 98 degrees) and made many of his most important decisions while submerged, even when England was under attack during World War II. Although few of us have the time to follow Churchill's example today, as we speed through showers to rush to morning meetings, bathtubs haven't lost their allure.