Federation Details: Federation Bathrooms

The Federation Bathroom

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The Federation Bathroom

Revolutionary indoor plumbing:

Fall of the pedestal hand basin:

Modernised bathrooms:

And how else could we be bathing?

Victorian bathroom with luxurious decorated porcelain

"A typical Federation bathroom had a tiled floor and tiled walls, with a free-standing cast-iron bath, sitting on four claw
feet.

Pipes were usually nickel-plated and exposed to view.
A large, perforated shower-head stood ready to deluge anyone rash enough to turn the tap.
Sturdy nickel-plated taps were fitted to both the bath and the nearby wash-basin or 'lavatory' as it was then known.
Hot water came from a reservoir in the kitchen range, or ...from a chip heater".^[1]
And the loo had its own room at the back of the house, or even at the back of the garden.

Original Federation bathroom with beautiful tapware of the period

"In the short half-century between 1875 and 1925 – the period of time between when indoor plumbing began to be widely

Modern Edwardian style bathroom fixtures

available and when it became almost universal – our attitudes toward privacy and modesty changed significantly.
What were once communal and family activities have become very personal and private activities."^[2]

"Before running water, washing up, bathing, and (using the loo) happened in different places.

Washing took place at a washstand in the bedroom, with a pitcher and a bowl;
(the loo was) in the outhouse or the chamber pot;
bathing, when it occasionally happened, was often in a tub by the stove in the kitchen, where the hot water was."^[3]

A reconstructed Victorian style bathroom with wooden floor and furniture, showing pitcher and bowl, 'modern' decorated handbasin (lavatory). Thomas Crapper equipped decorated toilet installed!

Revolutionary indoor plumbing:

"Thanks to the Industrial Revolution, steps were taken to mechanise the bathroom. Hot water could be produced for use in the home, and so personal bathing became much more common.

Original Federation style bathroom with modern shower and tap ware and no loo yet.

By the end of the 19th century, there existed a room that could be used by all members of the family, with a growing trend towards replacing the wooden elements of the room with decorated and elegantly tiled patterns. Now the time had begun where the bathroom was seen as more than simply a room of function."^[4]

Fall of the pedestal hand basin:

Note how the Victorian pedestal hand basin has given way to the modern combination vanity unit, with the wash basin again part of a more utilitarian bathroom design.