Where does the time go? It is already the 4th of July and we are in the midst of summer. This a great time to spend with family and friends and enjoy summertime rituals. I will take the rest of the week off and see you back here at The Perfect Bath next week.
A page from the French Empire style. A bathtub for Napoleon.
This bathtub falls in the category of “work of art”. It has a tin lining with a carved stone exterior. The base is a wood molding with great patina and the gold decoration Napoleonic. In fact, this tub was designed for Napoleon himself. He was a fanatic about his personal hygiene and was devoted to cleanliness at a time (1850’s) when the average Parisian bathed 2.25 times per year. History tells us that Napoleon had a passion for hot baths and often spent more than an hour in the steamy atmosphere.
Elegance, simplicity, classicism and modernism come together in this space. The light colored textured stone walls and floor, both of the same material, against the figured marble tub creates a sense of tension; rough against smooth, light and dark, modern and traditional, minimal and complex.
Paul's father owned this 1959 Ferrari 250 GT PF from 1962 to 1964. He loved this car, washed and waxed it religiously and drove it in the driveway before he had a license. To this day he remembers every detail right down to the machine tooling on the ashtray cover, the curve of the sheet metal where it scooped under the headlights and the stitching of the upholstery that he cleaned with saddle soap. He thought of it as rolling sculpture and feels it influenced his taste and how he designs objects.
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Paul Egee, interior designer, great friend and collaborator, has been working with me for more than 30 years. He gracefully navigates the choppy waters from creating interiors for houses or single baths and medical offices to products such as lights, toilets and faucets.
