Vintage Bath at a Budget Price

Save up to $3,394 with these affordable alternatives to luxury products

By Deborah Baldwin

Get the Look, Cut the Price

We all love the look of marble floors and polished faucets. It's the top-dollar price we can live without. Which is why TOH editors scoured the marketplace for money-saving replicas of the high-end goods found in this tony retreat. The results? Products that are proof positive you don't have to take a bath to make a bath.

Basket-weave Floor Tile

Two takes on the classic trick-of-the-eye mosaic: pale marble with hints of gold and green and crisp black-and-white porcelain.

Splurge: Shades of Light

Italian Calacatta gold rectangles and dots made of pale green give the Parramore Basketweave marble tile its luminous palette. Its polished, light-reflecting finish requires sealing.

About $90 per square foot; Waterworks

TOH Save: Graphic Look

Contrasting colors and finishes—matte white rectangles and glossy black dots—give this pattern its updated look. Interlocking mesh-mounted squares make this tile extra-DIY-friendly to install.

About $10 per square foot; Nemo Tile

Savings: about $80 per square foot

Cross-handle Faucet

Multispoke handles and flared spouts were staples of early spigots. New versions do wonders for a plain sink.

Splurge: In Fine Detail

The hand-polished nickel finish on this widespread faucet gives it a vintage patina, and the porcelain buttons and wide spout are authentic period details. Its French-made, all-brass construction comes with a long-wearing ceramic disc valve and lifetime warranty.

Julia faucet, about $847; Waterworks

TOH Save: Compact Curves

This chrome-finished centerset faucet, suitable for a sink top with holes 4 inches apart, gets its charm from a curvaceous spout and handles. Made in Taiwan, its all-brass construction has a 10-year warranty, which doesn't cover a washerless cartridge valve that may need replacing every five or so years.

Model 32184, about $72; Plumb USA

Savings: about $775

Wood Medicine Chest

Painted or not, early mirrored cabinets typically hung on the wall above the sink with framed inset doors and nickel knobs.

Splurge: Well Framed

This painted, 33-inch-high solid-wood cabinet has a vintage-style inset door with a beveled mirror, three adjustable glass shelves, and satin-nickel knob. Finished with a decorative wood frame, it can be recessed or wall hung.

Devon cabinet, about $660; Afina Corporation

TOH Save: Wall-Mounted Simplicity

With its wood-framed overlay door, laminated box, and single fixed shelf, this no-knob cabinet is a trim 19 by 15 inches. It's meant to hang on the wall.

Sheridan cabinet, about $74; NuTone for store locations

Savings: about $586

Leaf-Motif Border

Decorative subway tiles with floral or leaf patterns were popular in the 1890s. Today's versions may serve as both border and cap rail or just as an inset.

Splurge: Cream-Colored Leaves

Its warm white color, crackle glaze, and detailed acanthus leaf motif give this border tile—which doubles as a wainscot cap—a Victorian-era feel. Each 3¾-by-6-inch tile is hand-pressed and hand-glazed in California; purposeful pooling of the glaze adds dimension.

Archtectonics Collection bay-leaf tile, about $28 each; Waterworks

TOH Save: More Nature Inspiration

A semitranslucent 4½-by-8-inch snow-white-glazed tile is meant to give its factory-made consistency a hand-crafted look.

Acanthus tile, about $14 each; Daltile

Savings: about $35 per linear foot

Candlestick Sconces

Baths of yore were softly lighted with chandeliers and sconces—a look that's making a comeback. Here, two candle-style fixtures, each a foot tall, in polished nickel.

Splurge: Fully Fashioned

Its designer provenance (it's credited to Bill Blass), linen shade, and concealed fasteners give this fixture a flawless traditional look.

Single French sconce, about $126; Circa Lighting

TOH Save: Streamlined Value

The taller shade, made of synthetic silk shantung, on this slightly simpler version has a more contemporary look, as does its all-metal candlestick. It attaches with two screws that have decorative caps.

Butler sconce, about $59; Murray Feiss Lighting

Savings: about $67

Washstand Sink

Sinks with exposed metal console supports (and pipes) span the 1880s to the present, keeping baths open and airy and towels right at hand.

Splurge: Like the Console of Old

Its marble top—in this case Italian Calacatta gold—with a graceful ogee edge, vitreous-china basin, and nickel-finished tubular frame, replicates console sinks of an earlier era. It fastens securely to the wall and is poised on ball feet.

Danby console with Savoy, about $1,890; Waterworks

TOH Save: Leggy Wall Mount

This vitreous-china sink gets old-fashioned flair from a built-in washstand-style backsplash that secures to the wall. Chrome front legs attach to the floor, and optional towel bars snap onto the sides.

Essex sink, about $530; Cheviot Products

Savings: about $1,360

Tub Filler

These two versions of the statuesque Victorian tub filler feature cross-handle faucets and a cradle for a hand shower.

Splurge: Stand-alone Sculpture

This large-scale Edwardian-style floor-mounted tub filler, made in England, stands on exposed legs and rises nearly a foot above the tub's rim. It has a polished-nickel finish over all-brass construction, a 5-foot hose, and porcelain trim on its diverter lever and cross handles. A generous ceramic disc valve is designed for fast tub filling. Comes with a lifetime warranty.

Model U.3521X, by Perrin & Rowe, about $4,292; Rohl

TOH Save: Off-the-Wall Value

Chrome-over-brass construction and porcelain trim give this smaller set its retro look. It is shown as a wall mount but can be deck- or floor-mounted with additional parts. Made in India, it has a 5-foot hose, ceramic cartridge, and lifetime warranty.

Besco Chrome Tub Filler, about $299 (wall mount) or about $695 (floor mount); Baths From the Past

Savings: about $3,597

Train-style Towel Rack

Credit railway cars and hotel baths with popularizing storage racks that can hold a stack of terry cloth.

Splurge: Euro-style Flair

This solid-brass rack is 28 inches wide and 11 inches deep, with a hand-polished nickel finish, hidden screws, and four beefy hooks.

Lugarno towel rack, about $329; Restoration Hardware

TOH Save: Scaled Down

This lighter-weight, chrome-over-hollow-brass rack is 22½ inches wide and 9 inches deep, with curved top and bottom rails, and semiexposed screwheads.

Hotel towel rack, about $69; Dynasty Hardware

Savings: about $260

Pedestal Tub

Like the earlier tubs they echo, these centerpiece soakers are made of cast iron to hold the heat.

Splurge: Right Curves and Complexion

This 68-inch-long, 13½-inch-deep, two-piece tub has a porcelain enamel finish with a tough titanium glaze guaranteed not to peel or corrode for two years. It weighs 383 pounds and costs about $100 to about $350 to ship.

Dual model 806, about $2,650; Sunrise Specialty

TOH Save: Same Shape, Different Finish

This two-piece cast-iron tub, 66 inches long and 13½ inches deep, has a porcelain enamel finish with a glaze guaranteed not to peel for one year. It weighs 552 pounds but shipping is free; just be sure to check your floor supports.

Double-ended pedestal tub, about $1,400; Vintage Tub & Bath

Savings: about $1,250

Dual Showerheads

The Victorians cleaned up under rainhead "roses" atop exposed nickel risers with attached hand showers.

Splurge: High-rise Profile

Porcelain levers, an exposed mixer, and a hand-polished nickel finish give this single-stem French-made unit its true vintage style. The 8-inch rose, fed by a large valve, is designed to drench; the handheld shower has a porcelain handle and 60-inch hose.

Easton Exposed Shower System, about $3,677; Waterworks

TOH Save: Two Easy Pieces

This octagonal 9-inch rainhead is a simple retrofit for an existing wall shower. A separate chrome hand spray, with four shower settings, has a 69-inch hose and can be positioned anywhere along its 30-inch bar for hanging.

Inspire showerhead, about $68, and four-function hand shower, about $215; Moen for store locations

Savings: about $3,394