Defunction, Hooks and Rods: How to Outfit Your Clawfoot Tub With a Shower

March 12, 2019

UPDATED AUGUST 26, 2019

Clawfoot tubs are an elegant and timeless improver to any bathroom, merely let's confront information technology: Sometimes yous demand to shower. When y'all don't have a shower in another bathroom (or yous'd simply like to expand the versatility of your clawfoot tub), what should you do?

Converting the bathtub to a tub and shower combination is the perfect solution. From finding the right size shower curtain to choosing the proper hardware, here'southward how to add a shower to your clawfoot tub.

Clawfoot Tub Shower Hardware

Outfitting your clawfoot bathtub with shower capabilities can make your bathroom more user-friendly with minimal work.

"Rather than install a brand new shower, a capable DIYer can add a shower to a freestanding or hook-foot tub," says Improvenet author Jacob Hurwith. Whether you're ready to DIY your own tub or you're having someone revamp your tub for you lot, there are a few things to keep in mind for your new bathtub setup.

The first accessory on your agenda? Hardware. Choosing the right shower rod, for example, can brand all the difference in your bathroom remodel. Where the shower rod is placed affects where the shower curtain liner falls in and around the tub. The shower curtain can impact the bathing experience (also-short liners cause leakage, for example), and so it's important to get the height correct.

Freestanding tubs also require a different way of shower rod. While oval rings are the most common option, they aren't the only choice. Square and rectangular rods also can be used to hang a curtain effectually the tub, says Rhonda Bonecutter, occupational therapist and founder of Nothing Barriers Consulting and Homeability. If you're non seeking full 360-degree pall coverage, alternating solutions for freestanding tubs include U-shaped, D-shaped and bendable shower rods.

Shower Defunction

Next up? Shower curtains. There are a few things to keep in mind when acquiring a shower pall for your freestanding tub. First of all, it's essential to get a curtain that'southward the proper width and length. Benna Crawford at Hunker says that while the manufacture standard for shower curtains is 72 inches by 72 inches, it may be that you lot crave a custom shape for your antique clawfoot.

Custom curtains for freestanding tubs should be about 180 inches broad so they tin encircle the entire tub — if that's what you're going for. They should also be around 68 inches tall so they tin can hang from a rod on the ceiling.

This is a solid baseline to follow, but measuring your clawfoot tub is still a skillful thought. This is the next near important step to remember in choosing a shower drapery. Afterwards all, different tubs from different eras and manufacturers can vary in size.

"You should measure out their length to allow for a chip of overlap of the curtains and of the liners to trap water inside while allowing easy entry and exit—then not besides long or too brusk of an overlap," suggests interior designer Jeff Schwartz.

An example of a shower curtain that's the proper length tin can be seen in this colorful embankment style blueprint, photographed by Ken Gutmaker of Architectural Photography. The gauzy fabric is long enough to rest within the tub when information technology'due south non in use, which ways it'due south long enough to continue the water within the bathtub when someone is using the shower.

Another affair to go along in mind is that it might exist more than difficult to find a wide selection of extra long and extra wide curtains in the right sizes. And if you tin't find the colour and style that suits your needs in the proper length and width, interior design author Kimberly Bartosch says that a seamstress or custom drapes maker might be your best bet. This will ensure that you lot attain exactly the expect and size that yous want, without having brand any blueprint or usability sacrifices.

Clawfoot Tub Shower

Faucets and Shower Caddies

There are two chief types of faucets that outfit clawfoot tubs: phone and gooseneck. A phone faucet takes the shape of a vintage phone, while the gooseneck faucet has a large spout with a more than classical design, Scott Sidler explains at The Craftsman Blog. Regardless of which faucet type you have, a showerhead is possible.

"Both can be adapted to replace the handheld shower receiver with a shower pipe and shower head if you wish to have a more than traditional shower experience," Sidler writes.

You might as well consider ownership a clawfoot tub shower kit, like these from antique and modern supplier, The Menstruum Bath Supply Company. The kits come with everything you need for your clawfoot tub, including a wall mountain tub filler faucet, a shower band and a riser — which is used to adapt the rod's height. Another kit option can be found at Danco, which offers quality, fashionable hardware for converting your clawfoot tub to a shower.

Once you've found the right faucet and showerhead for your tub, you'll need a shower caddy to keep all of your toiletries organized. Shower caddies for freestanding tubs demand to be more minimalist and streamlined than your average caddy, as y'all're typically working with less infinite than a normal shower.

Blake Lockwood at Decor Snob points out two principal different styles. One caddy can be hung on the shower head, if a permanent spout is installed. Another is a corner shower caddy, which is shaped similar a triangle and can exist installed in the wall corner near the bath. This might not be convenient if you have a wraparound shower curtain, even so, so it depends on which style drape you lot've chosen.

Clawfoot Tub Shower

In one case you've installed the proper shower drapery hardware, you'll want to ensure you're making the well-nigh out of your tub/shower combination. A few user-friendly tips for getting accustomed to the new combination come from Allie Ellenbogen at The White Flat.

For one, Ellenbogen says it'due south important to shower with the liner inside the tub to prevent h2o from splashing out during the shower. Getting i large liner and mantle, rather than hanging multiple curtains, tin also aid preclude leaks.

Another common result that occurs with freestanding tub showers is drape billowing. When the curtain blows into the tub while you're showering, it tin can be a major inconvenience. "The reason the billowing happens is considering the temperature exterior your tub is significantly cooler than the temperature inside," she explains.

Ellenbogen suggests keeping the temperature in the rest of the bathroom similar to that of the shower. This can be achieved through a space heater, a congenital-in heater most the shower or heated floors.

Get Inspired

Looking for ways to make your glorious clawfoot tub into something a bit more than applied for the 24-hour interval to day? Take a look at these 15 beautiful and functional clawfoot tub shower combos.

1. A 107 Year Old Home Remodel with Original Tub

Associate art manager Jenny Fischer and her married man Andrew had a large project ahead of them when they bought a 107-year-one-time home that was in need of some TLC. The only bathroom in the home was especially in demand of a reboot. "The bathroom had no personality," Fischer explains. "It was dated and everything was brown and beige. Although it was clean and usable, it didn't spark joy. The merely thing that fabricated me grinning and was worth saving was the vintage clawfoot tub."

To make it cute and functional, they had to remove the almost 400 pound bandage iron tub from its original position, strip the old layers of paint, repaint it white and spay the anxiety gold. Then they moved information technology back into its new turned-around position. With all the hardware, including shower pies, oil rubbed bronze, the bathroom was transformed into a mod, monochromatic space with an authentic connectedness to its past.

2. Dark Fixtures Add a Mod Touch

The team at OUTinDesign has adult a number of beautiful bathrooms. 1 of their modern cottage bathrooms is habitation to a classic white clawfoot tub. Dark contumely hardware pairs well with the floor in blackness and white tile. An oval curtain rod allows for a white mantle to environs the bath, adding lite. The bath is placed under a window, that both offers natural light and sill on which to place pocket-size toiletries. Soft greenish walls and pale wood brand the bathroom feel perfectly inviting for soaking or showering.

3. Mannerly Oval Curtain Rod

The elegant bath in the Victorian Redux remodel by designer Kelly Scanlon Sullivan is filled with neutral colors and soft touches of blue and gray. The primal focal point of the bathroom is the lovely clawfoot bathtub with an oval curtain rod. The curtain features a classic pattern that matches the neutral color scheme. Defunction don't have to be cheap plastic that cling to your legs; they tin add to the elegant nature of your bathroom.

4. Mod Farmhouse Inspired Bath

A vintage tub always looks proficient in farmhouse bathrooms. It fits a design that is both vintage and modern. Even small, outdated bathrooms can exist transformed into the beautiful bath of your dreams. Designer Jenna Sue shows how an old alcove tub tin can be replaced with a stunning clawfoot tub that still serves as a shower. Dissimilar previous clawfoot tub shower combos, this tub has wall mounted shower faucets. The concrete colored tub downplays the lacy curtains to create a fun and not overly femnine farmhouse bath.

five. Brass Fixtures with Rustic Tub

Painter and possessor of domicile decor shop General Store, Serena Mitnik Miller and her family live in Topanga Coulee, California. Her home is full of natural light, forest and California beach vibes. Unlike other classic clawfoot tubs, her tub has an unfinished, rustic advent where age appears beautiful, not outdated. It is paired with modern brass shower head and oval drapery rod. The aged bohemian tile backside the bathroom completes the look.

6. Mixed Medals in an Industrial Bathroom

This gorgeous industrial inspired bathroom has it all — a black vintage tub, exposed shower pipage, black hexagonal floor tile and black matte sink fixtures. Designer Sandi Mazzi used a variety of materials to bring the infinite together. The exposed shower pipage and matching mantle rod bear witness that the practicality of calculation a shower to your clawfoot tub doesn't have to be wearisome. It can be a beautiful way to add together to the experience of your bath.

7. Wet Rooms Fit the Whole Family

Your master bathroom is usually merely for the parents, but it can be a place for your kids to splash with no restraint. A clawfoot tub placed inside the shower is a great solution. Ashley Harrison and her family remodeled an 1858 Italianate home in Missouri, salvaging an onetime rusted-out tub from the battered basement. They completely transformed their master bath into a modern wet room for the family, full of cute tile and enclosed by a glass door.

8. Tub Salvaged from an Empty Lot

Sometimes bathrooms tin can be transformed with a statement piece institute simply down the street. When referring to her quondam bath, ceramicist Sarah Van Raden says "information technology was a mess of principal colors, with a plastic shower, reclaimed sink and cabinet, and terrible lighting." At present information technology's home to white hexagonal floor tiling, subway tiles on the walls and a beautiful clawfoot tub. "We plant the old clawfoot tub down the street from our house, in a vacant lot where they had recently demoed a little cottage. My husband offered the contractor some cash for the tub and surprised me with it for Valentine's 24-hour interval. It's still my favorite thing in our whole firm." Though the tub doesn't have a standing shower faucet, it remains true to the period with a telephone faucet that can exist used for showering.

nine. Put the Shower in the Eye of the Tub

When clawfoot tubs are converted into a tub-shower combo, the shower head is ofttimes placed at one side. This can atomic number 82 to a feeling of lopsidedness. "It ways you're crammed in the front when yous're showering," says CEO and creative director of Zio and Sons Anthony D'Argenzio. "Then, we had the piping moved and then there'southward a range shower issue over this cute old-world tub. I wanted it to exist functional and beautiful but still be enjoyable to employ." Though this tub has a pedestal base, the same can exist applied to a clawfoot tub. The exposed piping paired with the wood paneled walls adds a mix of industrial and warm touches.

ten. Consider linen draperies around your tub

Desire added and palatial privacy for your bathing and showering space?  Designer Julia Starr Sanford placed a soaking tub behind cream colored linen draperies. The draperies are hung from high ceilings, making the space even more elegant. The tub itself has a pedestal base, but the same approach could be used with a clawfoot tub and shower.

11. Stick with the Gold Hand Shower

Founder of the lifestyle company A Beautiful Mess, Elsie Larson transformed a dated home into one full of color and glam. The bathroom features a classic white clawfoot tub paired with a gold gooseneck faucet and handshower. The infinite is filled with natural light, white tiles and muted pinkish curtains that add a pop of color. The drapes and spectacular light fixture draw attention to the summit of the room.

12. Clawfoot Tub in a Walk-In Shower

Are you feeling unsure nigh whether to cull a walk-in shower or vintage tub? Designer Elizabeth Roberts created a bath with both. This clawfoot tub is placed inside the walk-in shower, with a glass half-wall to keep the space divide from the rest of the bath. This is an elegant way to mix modern and vintage. The subway tile on the walls and hexagonal tiles on the floor pair well with the classic tub and modern shower.

13. Santa Monica Rustic Charm

Want a no-fuss clawfoot tub? Accept a look Canyon Coffee founder Ally Walsh'south casual Southern Californian abode. Her entire dwelling is filled with earthy tones and natural wood. The aforementioned is truthful for her bathroom. Her white clawfoot tub sits on hardwood floors, side by side to a window that allows natural low-cal and ventilation. A white shower drape hangs from the oval ceiling-mounted rod and a simple wooden stool and bathroom tray are inside easy attain.

14. Install a Petite Tub in a Pocket-size Infinite

Tubs aren't just for big spaces. Clawfoot tubs come up in smaller sizes and with hardware can be a tub-shower philharmonic. Expect at this modern bathroom designed by the team at Aaron Gordon Construction.The custom wallpaper on the accent wall highlights the blackness tub with its silverish feet, bringing big attitude to this pocket-sized space.

15. Go Big or Go Abode

Here's another example of putting your clawfoot tub inside your shower. To create this spa-like bathroom, you'll need plenty of space as in this bathroom remodel designed by the Cabinets of the Desert. It features a clawfoot tub in a spacious modern shower with 2 rain showers, in addition to the handshower in the tub. The gorgeous mixture of vintage and modern will brand you never want to leave.

Images by: Sylvain Robin/©123RF.com, Alexey Koldunov/©123RF.com, Erika Wittlieb, siraphol/©123RF.com, sylv1rob1/©123RF.com, Paolo De Santis/©123RF.com