So it’s 1890 and you are going to look at vanities with your interior designer.
Your designer might show you one of these from the local craftsman:
Most wash stands had a stone top (to protect the wood from splashing water) and some had towel bars on the sides.
Wash stands were just that. Stands. And you had your choice of pitcher and bowl.
The one below c. 1890 was constructed of pine and had a removable bowl–very much an ancestor to our sink bowls today.
Although millionaires like George Vanderbilt could boast a porcelain tub and modern plumbing in his 1855 estate, it was not the norm.
In 1940 only one half of American homes had running water.
This 1936 picture of a home in Indiana (via Shorpy) is a pretty good indication how some folks did their personal washing.
Fast forward a mere seventy seven years…the possibilities are endless, the choices overwhelming! We’ve come so far in our design!
And yet…
Designed by: Candace Barnes via Veranda
Designed by : Giannetti Home
Designed by: Barry Dixon
via Google Images
Designed by: Palm Design Group
Brandon Barré Photographer
via Elle Decor
I have gratitude for those who came before us and those who figured out how we can live better!
@
The bathroom second from the bottom is fantastic. As for pitchers of water and a bowl, well it sure makes me appreciate running water AND a water heater!
And for as many showers as you take we would be out of water in no time!
Loved this posting! My mom has a pitcher and bowl that was in my grandmother’s house that is absolutely gorgeous and I look forward to having it as mine one day. OMG…..the black and white pic of the personal wash area…..my stomach turns at the thought of the dna in that wash bowl!!!
Sally! You crack me up…I was thinking the EXACT same thing
As beautiful as most of those pieces are, you can keep your old-timey gracious living! Give me my leaky pipes any day!
Why did the Giannetti design have only one faucet?
Agreed Claire!!
I think Gianetti design might have used a two way faucet (like a kitchen) to be able to access cold or hot from one.
Some of the old time woodwork on the first couple was very nice — simple,worn, warm. Considered by itself. But the combination of stone and wood, tho necessary seems awkward and ugly… but this may be an unfair comparison with our modern desiigns which can make use of some many more fabrics, materials, plumbing… The one Brandon Barre photo’d bathroom was superb, my favorite — Japanese latticework for the shower, what a great thought!
Some of the old time woodwork on the first couple was very nice — simple,worn, warm. Considered by itself. But the combination of stone and wood, tho necessary seems awkward and ugly… but this may be an unfair comparison with our modern desiigns which can make use of some many more fabrics, materials, plumbing… The one Brandon Barre photo’d bathroom was superb, my favorite — Japanese latticework for the shower, what a great thought!
Since I live in a home old enough to have had the first kind…I too am grateful to those that paved the way. I love those black iron doors and the one designed by Giannetti…every detail is lovely…the mirror, the the lamp on the vanity, the sink…lOVE!
from shorpy to verandah in only 77 years, EGADS! aren’t we very very lucky
xo
debra