Bathing beauties: five of the best freestanding baths
Freestanding baths are becoming more and more popular - here is our pick of the styles on offer
Freestanding bathtubs are style statements that embrace an array of shapes and materials. Take a dip into our five favourite new designs…
The distinctive one
We love the playful and modern design in Clearwater’s Vigore natural stone bath, £2,699, made from stone that’s been polished for more than 10 hours to create a soft finish. This material retains heat well, keeping your water hot for longer, but our favourite feature of the bath has to be its curvy feet. They lift the tub to expose the floor beneath, making the room feel more spacious.
The colourful one
Dado and plinth detailing on a seamless curve with a neat white roll-top makes the Bute cast iron bath tub, £5,660, by Drummonds, a cool combination of classic and contemporary.
The hand-finished acrylic skirt wrap can be painted in any colour you like – such as this retro red hue – with options of antique brass, nickel, bronze and chrome for the waste and overflow. Made from cast iron, this statement bath weighs 179kg when empty, and as much as 400kg when full, so check the area you’d want to put it is strong enough to take the weight. Cast iron has many benefits including durability, heat retention and being low maintenance.
The contemporary one
This bath is all about sleek and seamless simplicity. Available in three sizes, 1580mm, 1680mm and 1780mm, the Viado bath, starting at £1,354 from BC Designs, is made using the brand’s Acrymite system, where an inner and outer acrylic sheet are formed together with no join lines. This process ensures heat insulation, and because there’s no gel coating on the outside, scratches that may appear can easily be removed.
The smooth surface also brings extra focus to the Axbridge cross handle floorstanding bath shower mixer in chrome, £975, from the Booth & Co collection at VADO.
The traditional one
If you’re looking for a classic look, it’s good to know the Dawlish single-ended slipper rolltop bath, £1,278, from The Cast Iron Bath Company, packs plenty of practical features too. Its traditional cast iron material will keep water warm, with space to both recline and stretch out. Pictured here painted in Farrow & Ball’s No. 82 Dix Blue Estate Eggshell, it’s got heirloom beauty, and with a 20-year guarantee, you can keep it fresh for years to come with a mini-roller and some paint.
The opulent one
The scratched aluminium-effect of this grand design conceals a combination of very modern, ultra-practical materials beneath. Made from high-quality acrylic and fibreglass, the bath is twin-skinned, which means it has double layers for retaining heat, while also being hardwearing and easy-to-clean. In addition, the double-ended slipper design (where both ends go up with thick roll-top edges) makes for comfortable reclining. Holborn’s Knightsbridge aluminium-effect freestanding bath costs £2,750.
