Why Is There a Bathtub in the Backyard?

We've explored plenty of outdoor showers on Houzz, but people are also adding outdoor bathtubs. Eschewing the 1980s party hot tub, they're settling for simple bathtubs outdoors; ones they can drain and refill instead of keeping that same mystery stew in there for seasons on end. Others are using outdoor tubs for a cooling dip after the hot tub soak or sauna sit, as planters or as microbrew chillers at parties. You needn't have grown up in a "naked house" to enjoy a long soak out in the backyard. Here's a look at how it's being done.

This tempting tub in Sydney sits off the master bathroom and has a terrazzo concrete finish. Other than there being a view of it from the master suite, or maybe a snapshot taken from a drone, this tub offers total privacy in a tropical garden.


Architect Cathy Schwabe's clients for the home shown here love getaway weekends at places with private outdoor spas, and they brought a similar sanctuary to their own house. She created privacy with louvers, sliding doors and planters in this second-story garden.

The greater garden area is also full of edible plants. "Bathing outside, whether soaking in the tub or standing under the shower, is quite the amazing experience, and is not something we do much, after a very young age, without a swimsuit," Schwabe says. "Imagine starting the day by taking a steam shower, then walking out the glass door to the outdoor shower to cool off, and stopping to graze on berries and various stone fruit before returning to get dressed to go to the office."


When homeowner Sloan Schang looked into hot tubs for his yard, the $6,000-plus price tag gave him a shock. Instead of buying one, he built his own backyard bathhouse, complete with a vintage claw-foot tub. He did it in about a week and a half for $750.

Learn more about this project


This backyard bathhouse has Javanese reclaimed wood, an uplighted tub and a mini garden. A stone figurine watches over the bather.


This eclectic yard in Portland, Oregon, does have a hot tub; this embedded river-rock-lined tub offers a cooling dip.

See the rest of this unique home, yard and pub


This bathtub, by Concreteworks, offers an alternative to being indoors in the adjacent bathroom yet has a bit of sheltering cover with an open patio roof.


A private tub terrace makes the most of Hawaii's warm climate.


This tub isn't used for people anymore, but rather to chill the family's microbrew. Original to the 1920s Victorian house, it wound up in a pile with other materials that landscape architect John Feldman of ecocentrix landscape architecture reclaimed for the yard.

"I've seen this tub play center stage during one of the client's holiday parties; her son has a microbrewing company, and they were premiering the line at their holiday party a few years ago," he says. "The tub served as the front and center ice bath to their host of quality microbrews, which a hundred guests enjoyed that night."


This vintage claw-foot tub now serves as a planter and a backyard fish pond.


Here's a closeup.


If you're too shy to go for a soak under the stars but are intrigued by the idea, look into doors that open completely, giving you a choice between completely indoors and feels-like-outdoors.


This bathroom, by Lane Williams Architecture, has Japanese-inspired custom lift-slide partition panels by Quantam Windows and Doors. This allows the bather to let the outside in when the mood strikes.


A glass ceiling gives this bathing courtyard an outdoor feeling.


So Houzzers, what's the verdict? Which would you prefer?

a) A soak under the open sky
b) A partially covered tub area with doors that open to the outdoors or a pergola
c) A completely covered and private room for your soak

Let us know in the Comments section below!

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