I'm trying to read "Ready for a Nice, Soothing Bath? Just Head to the Backyard. Cheaper than pools and more private than hot tubs, the bathtub is leaving the bathroom and has designs on your garden, or even your treehouse" (NYT).
We're told that "wellness" is a big "concern of homeowners" and that includes "intentional outdoor features, like bathtubs." These are not "hot tubs," which, we're told, are "social features" — associated with multiple users and drinking. These are for "one person just being with nature, being with themselves, having that detox from devices and daily life."
In the summer of 2020, Megh Wingenfeld, a home and garden content creator who lives in Cleveland… [repainted] a used bathtub... and set it up on her patio. Now when she needs to cool off, Ms. Wingenfeld fills the tub with her backyard hose.... On the rare occasion that she wants the water to feel warm, she uses a portable water heater. “I feel like there’s no one else around, even though I can see my neighbors’ houses,” Ms. Wingenfeld said.
Key words: "content creator."
What do you think of a bathtub as an outdoor feature?
As for what I think, here's a photo I took at an Austin café back in 2007:
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I installed an oval galvanized horse trough in the back yard of my last house. It was about 80% buried in the ground with a flagstone paved area around it. I also built a wood fired water heater next to it. I'd light the fire in the water heater about an hour before I wanted a bath, and it provided enough very hot water for the 90 gallon tub. It also fit two people nicely, if that was what you had in mind, but I usually used it for myself. I had an indoor tub as well, but almost never used it. The outdoor one was so much nicer. My house was on about an acre with industrial properties around it, so privacy was not an issue.
how does this tie into the whole "full windows in bathrooms" thread?
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At my age, it would be easier to climb in and out of than a kiddy pool, which honestly has tempted me in summer. I adore outdoor showers.
Hold on to your taboos - Tucker Carlson
I take a bath maybe once a year.
For nudists and exhibitionists.
“I feel like there’s no one else around"
I get the same feeling after a lot of tequila.
After a few shots of tequila, I like to go outside in my Speedos and a filthy bathrobe, light a cigar and mow the lawn. This relaxation technique is not only cheaper than a pool, it's cheaper than a pair of pants.
Three of the reporter's friends bought outdoor tubs. It's a national trend!
You can rent a hot-tub-boat, and parade around Lake Union in Seattle
I live in Wisconsin out in the country. An outdoor tub would mean I could use it for only a few months a year. Birds would fly overhead and possibly poop on my head. Mosquitoes could bite my exposed skin. Even though I live 1/4 mile from the nearest neighbor, there are hills upon which drivers on the roads on top of those hills are able to look down upon upon our buildings. I'll pass.
IIRC 'In Dubious Bathtubs' was a Steinbeck novel.
My views on taking baths may be idiosyncratic, even irrational. Though I have no reluctance to jump into a swimming pool or jacuzzi, both of them inevitably rife with bacterial life, I feel that slipping into a still water tub is a matter of taking the body oils and bacteria that inhabit my dermal surfaces and using them to make a soup that I would rather not sit in. Also, most tubs lack a comfortable sitting option that is typically present in a jacuzzi. I am reminded by the pictures I see in advertising of people in tubs languidly luxuriating in a pool of tepid water of just how much salesmanship is going on. Plus, waiting for the tub to fill, waiting for it to empty, and being responsible for regularly cleaning the debris seem like a lot of effort for a meager payoff.
Give me the refreshing sting of needles of thermally perfect water coming from a good showerhead, and I will emerge feeling clean and refreshed in just a few minutes.
Rub a dub dub three snakes in the tub....
Way back when, I lived in a cabin in the woods. I bought an old double-ended clawfoot tub at a junk yard (this was early 80s) and stuck it in the woods, running garden hoses from the hose bib and water heater. My girlfriend and I had many lovely baths out there, nothing like it. We had an outdoor shower, too. Winterizing was a snap, mostly because it was very, very rustic. I'd do it again though, it really is a pleasant experience when you've got some acreage wrapped around you.
Stupid idea.
Cialis ads always showed two people in separate outdoor bathtubs. Made no sense.
Cialis ads always showed two people in separate outdoor bathtubs. Made no sense.
We had a bathtub set up in the meadow in New Hampshire at our secluded summer place. It had a beautiful mountain view and people (in both swimsuits and regular clothes) took turns sitting in it and reading, thus soaking up knowledge and electrolytes. But I can't really imagine putting a bathtub in the front or backyard here in Wisconsin in the summer. As I understand it, nothing is allowed on a lawn except a lawnmower or a sprinkler in front and a grill in back. If a bathtub, why not a mannequin in the tub and an old toilet and a car up on cement blocks? and some graffiti on it all. And some old Christmas lights. The whole with a sign: "Homage to Chicago." Some broken beer bottles.
Aggie gets it. The rest of you can pound sand. Outdoor tubs are at their best when it is raining or snowing.
I rarely take baths, but I can see the attraction of an outdoor bathtub...assuming there are privacy screens of some kind to block views from neighbors.
Ha ha. Just got home, while listening to NPR interview AG Sulzberger about serious journalism. What a tongue-bath. In its hardest hitting moments, maybe the tongue stiffened a bit, briefly, for a tiny thrill.
You could always have a hot tub without other people or alcohol in it.
The NYT has a new motto: "Searching for the lower bound."
A gawker republished. A legal opportunity with benefits.
I'll just fill up a plastic kiddie pool. It's only slightly less deep and is easy to move around (or out of the way).
Everything old is new again.
When I was young we called these "farm watering troughs". We couldn't afford a pool, so dad purchased a water trough from the local "feed and seed" and filled it with water from our well. Two or three of us younger siblings could fit in it at once. It was a great way to cool off on a hot southern July afternoon. Those who had already had their turn in the pool could cool themselves off by squirting each other with the garden hose. If you were lucky, you could sometimes sneak outside when the others weren't paying attention, take your book with you, and relax in the "pool" by yourself.
My grandson's first pool was a round watering trough. He played in that thing until he was about five.
This is how king David got into trouble.
"I take a bath maybe once a year."
We know.
Give me the refreshing sting of needles of thermally perfect water coming from a good showerhead, and I will emerge feeling clean and refreshed in just a few minutes.
Custom dictates that you are now fit to enter the tub and gently soak away the worries and wounds of life in the fast lane. Take all the time you like.
I think most people who are passionate about water features and have space already have them. This includes pools, lap pools, hot tubs, fake waterfalls, fountains, etc. All of these features cost money to install and require significant maintenance. Those who use them and love them don't mind the cost.
An outdoor tub appeals to yard fashion and impulse buyers, and most tubs stand to become dingy, algae-and-leaf-filled mosquito breeding centers. I expect most would use a tub 3-4 times a year in good (hot) weather. People would almost certainly be better off with an inflatable kiddie pool that can be cleaned, dried, and put in storage for 6-9 months of the year. Or, they'd be better off taking a winter cruise or summer beach vacation.
How do you drain, and where does the water go? Also breeding ground for mosquitos.
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