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Last week I had the opportunity to visit Kohler, Wisconsin. The weather was amazing, and the trees were vibrant with fall colors.

But for me, it was also very educational as I wandered around the Kohler Design Center and the Kohler Museum on the floor below.

I was struck by the story of the first “modern” bathtub. In 1883 John Michael Kohler took a cast iron horse trough, covered in enamel and added four decorate feet. The one featured in the museum was a later model – 1905. This one looks more ergonomically designed than what I imagine a horse trough would be.

The claw-footed bathtub may look cool and nostalgic – but imagine trying to clean under it. I learned that Kohler invented the first cast iron skirted bathtub and the one in the museum looks like many tubs we see today.

Over the years, bath designers have been tweaking and modifying the bathtub. The “roman” tub was a drop-in tub – typically dropped into a platform covered in tile.

I believe the eighties were the heyday of the whirlpool bathtub. We designed primary baths with giant whirlpool bathtubs and tiny showers. Tubs those days were mostly oval.

But with the new millennium, showers started to grow in size and popularity. Let’s face it, no one wants to take a shower in a 3’ by 3’ “phone booth”. As the shower grew, so did its features. A single faucet was no longer enough. We needed pulsating, messaging jets of water, rain head shower faucets, body sprayers, and handheld shower heads.

When the great recession hit the housing market, both showers and bathtubs got downsized in size and features. Many plans eliminated the bathtub altogether.

But there is something wonderful about taking a relaxing bath. – as I rediscovered in my hotel bathroom at The America Club. Hey – this is Kohler so of course my tub was the best of both a shower and a tub. I took a picture – as I tend to do in hotel bathrooms. Then I turned on the water. If you thought the faucet was cool, the water coming out of the faucet was even cooler. Could I use that faucet for a water feature on my roof deck?

But what if you could “have your cake and eat it too”? What about an awesome shower and a tub – not a giant oval dropped into a sea of tile, but instead one that is free standing and sculptural. Today’s freestanding tubs have taken that first claw footed tub and combined it with the convenience of the skirted tub and made sculpture than you can relax in.

Check out my favorite – the Veil. Yes – I’ve already added it to one of my current projects. I just love the sensuous curves and the non-symmetrical shape – quite the journey from a horse trough with feet!