A survey carried out recently by UKTVhomes.co.uk cited a freestanding bath as one of the most desirable design features in a home. The unique appeal of a cast iron claw-foot tub has been somewhat diminished in recent years, though, by some of the cheaper plastic imitations that are now widely available for a few hundred rather than thousand euro.
Fired Earth has come up with a seriously opulent freestanding bathtub that is impossible to emulate on the cheap, in the shape of the new Midas bath, which is worked from solid tin and available with a gold or silver leaf exterior. It is the sort of tub that dominates the bathroom, allowing you to keep everything else very simple and minimalist - which is just as well as you may not have much left in your budget after forking out the €8,645 for the Midas.
Fired Earth, The Club House, 20 Lower Georges Street, Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin, tel: 01-6636160.