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12 Stupendously Lavish And Over The Top Bathrooms From History

Mariel Loveland
Updated September 24, 2021 797.0K views 12 items
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People need to relieve themselves and bathe somewhere, but nothing says they can't do it in style. History is full of absolutely insane famous bathrooms, from Napoleon's marble-encrusted retreat to Marie Antoinette's coveted flushing toilet. And then there's the Gilded Age – true to the spirit of the times, the Garrett family's bathroom had a gold toilet seat. These bathrooms in history are covered in artwork, adorned with velvet, and oh-so-fabulous.

True, not every historic bathroom is what a modern person would consider top-of-the-line, unless you're a fan of port-o-potties. In fact, ancient Roman royalty rarely got to use the porcelain (or rather, stone) throne without being bothered. Their bathrooms were almost entirely public and they saw bodily functions as a social activity. Bathing was seen as a total luxury, and you'd be hard pressed to find a pool of water, let alone an actual shower, in most historical royal residencies. It wasn't until Marie Antoinette popularized the flushing toilet in the 1700s that people stopped using latrines and chamber pots.

This bathroom history timeline will show you some of the most luxurious bathrooms on the planet – at least, at the time.

  • 1

    Louis XV's Versailles Bathroom Is The Height Of Opulence

    Louis XV's Versailles Bathroom Is The Height Of Opulence

    Versailles became synonymous with opulence during the reign of King Louis XIV, and that grandeur continued with Louis XV. He continued rebuilding and redecorating the palace, and this bathroom was one of the last things added to Versailles before his death. The woodwork was specially crafted with aquatic themes, and the green marble fireplace kept any bathing royals cozy. According to some sources, Louis didn't use the room for hygiene; he used it to store his personal accounts.

    2,784 votes
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  • 2

    King Henry VIII Had Taps For Hot And Cold Water

    King Henry VIII Had Taps For Hot And Cold Water

    It's good to be king. While indoor plumbing was rare in Tudor England, King Henry VIII had his own private bathroom at Hampton Court with both hot and cold water. Historian Simon Thurley described the opulent room:

    "The bathroom had deep window-seats with cupboards beneath and a ceiling decorated with gold battens on a white background. The baths were made by a cooper and were attached to the wall; they were supplied by two taps, one for cold water and one for hot. Directly behind the bathroom, in another small room, was a charcoal- fired stove, or boiler, fed from a cistern on the second floor which was filled by the coombe conduit."

    Henry's baths no longer exist, but photographs of the interior of Hampton Court Palace hint at how over-the-top they must have been.

    1,318 votes
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  • 3

    Mary, Queen Of Scots Had A House-Sized Bathroom

    Mary, Queen Of Scots Had A House-Sized Bathroom
    • Photo:

    Historians debate whether this structure was a summer home or a massive bathroom, but either way, Queen Mary had plenty of space to do her business. This quirky little house, located in Edinburgh, Scotland, is allegedly where Mary would bathe in sweet white wine during the late 16th century. Remember, back then baths were a luxury rather than necessity. Is there anything more lavish than filling up the tub with wine and taking a dip?

    2,532 votes
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  • 4

    Virginia Courtauld Relaxed In An Art Deco-Meets-Tudor Bathroom

    Virginia Courtauld Relaxed In An Art Deco-Meets-Tudor Bathroom

    Socialite Virginia Courtauld may not have been royalty, but this insanely wealthy wife lived in the luxurious Eltham Palace. Before Courtauld moved in during the 1930s, these digs belonged to Henry VIII. Courtauld's bathroom, located off her private master suite, was encrusted in gold leaf and onyx. The expansive space has Grecian-inspired elements, like a statue of Psyche resting above lavish bronze bathtub taps.

    1,824 votes
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  • 5

    Napoleon Built A Marble-Filled Bathroom

    Napoleon Built A Marble-Filled Bathroom

    Napoleon Bonaparte had a lavish bathroom built for him at Palazzo Pitti in Florence, Italy. The room, constructed in 1790-1799, featured ornate tiles, pillars, and statues, as well as plenty of sunlight. But Napoleon never actually used that bathroom himself, though the reasons why are unclear. Perhaps he wasn't in Italy that much, or maybe he didn't like the idea of those statues staring at him while he bathed.

    1,956 votes
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  • 6

    The Garrett Family Had A Gold-Covered Bathroom

    The Garrett Family Had A Gold-Covered Bathroom

    Baltimore's Evergreen Estate – today a museum owned by Johns Hopkins University – was built in 1857 by the Broadbent family. Railroad magnate John W. Garrett bought the property in 1878, and set about transforming it into a Gilded Age fantasy. Perhaps its most notable architectural feature is one of its extra fancy bathrooms. The aptly named Gold Bathroom, decorated in 1886, features surfaces completely covered in gold – including a 23-karat gold toilet seat.

    1,447 votes
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  • 7

    Tsar Nicholas II Had A Huge Swimming Bath

    Tsar Nicholas II Had A Huge Swimming Bath

    Tsar Nicholas II had quite the retreat at the Alexander Palace. His private bathroom was designed in 1896 in the then-popular Moorish style, complete with dark wood and hanging lamps. But its crowning glory was the swimming tub, specially engineered to hold 7,000 pails of water. It was basically an indoor pool. Unfortunately, the room no longer exists in its original form.

    1,292 votes
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  • 8

    Marie Antoinette Had An Early Flushing Toilet

    Marie Antoinette Had An Early Flushing Toilet

    Marie Antoinette's bathroom is one of the most lavish in history. It was one of the first ever to have a flushing toilet installed; previously, people used public latrines or chamber pots. In order for Marie Antoinette's luxurious toilet to work, you had to send someone upstairs to open a valve and flush it. Thankfully, if you're royalty, you have plenty of staff.

    1,523 votes
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  • 9

    Edith Vanderbilt Had Running Hot And Cold Water Before Most People

    Edith Vanderbilt Had Running Hot And Cold Water Before Most People

    Edith Vanderbilt was the wife of American millionaire businessman George Vanderbilt. The couple lived in the Biltmore Estate, a sprawling property in North Carolina that was constructed between 1889 and 1895. The mansion featured 43 bathrooms, including a private one specially set aside for Edith. Like all the bathrooms in the estate, it featured hot and cold running water – a rarity at a time when most houses had neither.

    1,543 votes
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  • 10

    Queen Caroline Soaked In A Private Tub

    Queen Caroline Soaked In A Private Tub

    Queen Caroline's bathroom in Hampton Court Palace is bigger than most New York City apartments. Caroline lived in the palace with her husband King George II in the early 1700s. During this time, bathing wasn't typically a daily activity. But she got to soak in a full-length bathtub, filled with water from her own marble cistern.

    1,061 votes
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  • 11

    Queen Katherine Parr Used A Velvet Toilet

    Queen Katherine Parr Used A Velvet Toilet

    Katherine Parr was the sixth and last wife of Henry VIII, and royal life seemed to suit her. She famously had a toilet outfitted with a red velvet seat to add a regal touch to her visits to the facilities. A crimson velvet canopy, cloth-of-gold pillows, and a removable commode trimmed with ribbons completed the royal room.

    Katherine's toilet was rebuilt at Sudeley Castle in 2012; the queen had lived there with Thomas Seymour.

    1,293 votes
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  • 12

    Empress Eugénie's Bathroom Featured Sumptuous Fabrics

    Empress Eugénie's Bathroom Featured Sumptuous Fabrics

    Château de Fontainebleau served as the residence for numerous French monarchs, including Louis VII and Napoleon III. Obviously, where royalty rests they've also got do their business, and the bathrooms in this palace are fit for a king – or an empress. This bathroom belonged to Empress Eugénie, the wife of Napoleon III. Not only was it spacious, but the swaths of fabric around the tub and on the matching walls really added a touch of luxury.

    979 votes
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