Affaire d'Eau

Quality | Replicas | Sinks | Faucets | Tiles | Toilets | Accessories | Lighting | Mirrors

The time that we used to find our tubs in a field are definitely over. Those tubs were often very damaged by external factors. Nowadays we really try to find bathroom items that are still in good condition. Tubs that does not show damaged or worn enamel. Worn enamel has lost its shine and can’t be repaired. Re enameling isn’t possible anymore. Enamel, a smooth, durable coating made of melted and fused glass powder is a procedure that is not adapted anymore in Holland. Some people try to cover damaged enamel with a chemical coating, a kind of lacquer layer. This looks like enamel but it remains a kind of paint that can’t be compared with the shine of real and original enamel. This superficial layer will come off at a certain point and after that it will be very difficult to restore the old tub again. This is – beside the fact that original enamel in good condition is much nicer than a layer of paint – the main reason that we never coat our tubs.

Affaire d’Eau aims to buy only bathtubs with original enamel that still has its luster. The tubs also have to stand on the original claw feet. You can’t change the feet of a tub. Different kinds of models have different methods for attaching the claw feet and since this is a fact claw feet are not interchangeable with other baths. At Affaire d’Eau we only sell baths with their original claw feet.

Around 1900 sanitary ware became a real mass product. Tubs and sinks and all the other articles that were needed around a bathroom became products that made part of daily life. They were used and therefore needed to be replaced from time to time. Not only because of the fact that they suffered damage during the years but also because of the fact that the fashion for bathroom equipment changed. Not as fast as it does today but still, people wanted from time to time redo their bathroom with a more modern furnishing. Just as it is today, bathroom equipment was not kept for a later generation, is considered as something valuable.

Only in the past decade this has changed. There is certain awareness that old bathroom equipment in good condition is something you do not find so easily anymore and that some items have become even extremely rare and valuable. This goes for complete toilets, for shower trays on claw feet, some decorated sinks, copper baths on claw feet and different kinds of accessories. When some items can’t be found as originals Affaire d’Eau tries to look for the best replica’s of these items. Our collection of well made reproduction consists of various types of bathtubs, shower trays on claw feet, fixtures and accessories. We can add these ‘new’ elements to a bathroom that is equipped with original elements. Some clients wish to create a bathroom with a nostalgic look but hesitate when it comes to using real old elements. With our collection of period reproductions we can offer our clients a good alternative.

The earthenware or porcelain sinks were made of has been far more vulnerable than the cast iron of the tubs. Hence Affaire d’Eau is very critical when it comes to the conditions of sinks that we offer in our collection.

Sinks use to be made of ceramic or porcelain. The difference between these two materials lies hidden in the use of materials and in the backing process. Porcelain becomes so strong during the backing process that extra glazing isn’t necessary anymore. Ceramic, which is being backed at a lower temperature, needs an extra layer of glazing to protect it. You can easily see if a sink is ceramic or porcelain. A fragment of a porcelain sink will be white. A fragment of a ceramic sink will be brown and will show a small line of white glaze.

Sinks were the most used item in a bathroom and suffered often from the fact that something was dropped causing damage. Restoring a damaged sink is not only very difficult but also very expensive. Affaire d’Eau offers only sinks that can be used again and that do not need extensive restoration. Also we never combine pedestals of one sink with another model sink. As with claw feet pedestals are interchangeable.

Affaire d’Eau also offers a collection of antique faucets. Antique faucets are often very difficult to install because of the size differs to the standard sizes that are being used today. They almost always need restoration and repair and renickeling or rechroming. For restoration projects and the clients that really wish to install an antique faucet this remains – in spite of the possible difficulties - always an option.

Antique bath faucets (or kitchen faucets) usually aren’t mixers but consist of two taps, one for cold and for hot water. Since mixers are mostly preferred by our customers, Affaire d’Eau offers a wide range of replica faucets that can mix the water. These reproductions look very much like the old taps but they are much easier to install and to use because of the standard sizes and the ceramic valves. Another big advantage of installing a reproduction is the fact that the whole bathroom can be equipped with the same type of fixtures. With antique taps this effect is very difficult to achieve since complete sets are difficult to find.

Affaire d’Eau is often asked the question if an antique sink can be equipped with a one hole mixer. An antique sink has often two holes for two taps. A mixer can be realized easily, in various ways.

The most beautiful solution is using the two holes for two separate taps and combining this with a little thermostat that is mounted under the sink. The thermostat provides that ‘mixed’ warm water runs from the tap for hot water and the cold water remains cold. Affaire d’Eau offers taps in her collection that can be mounted on old sinks and that can be combined with a thermostat.

A second option is to replace the two separate taps on the sink by a wall mounted mixer. The holes that remain on the sink can be covered in a very authentic way by using a ring or soap holder, which is placed in the hole.

The third possibility is to use one of the holes for a mixer and to cover the remaining hole with something else. Affaire d’Eau offers mixers that fit the narrow holes of old sinks, since these holes can’t be made wider very easily or without risk to the sink.

Faucets for bathtubs didn’t offer a mixing facility either. A shower was only added later, when taking a shower became fashionable. The shower were raised above the mixer since one used to shower in the tub. These old models are difficult to apply since they lack a hand shower which is regarded nowadays very practical in combination with a bathtub. The reproductions of bath mixer offered by Affaire d’Eau come very close to the antique models. Despite the fact that around 1900 tubs were very rarely placed in the middle of the bathroom but almost always along one the bathroom walls, our reproduction mixer can be combined with special risers that make it possible to use an old tub as a freestanding model.

The first bathrooms were a continuation of the bedroom where wallpaper and carpets were used to cover walls and floors. While the bathroom developed in to a separate room, wallpaper and carpets were soon replaced with tiles on the walls and the floor.

Catalogues of tile manufacturing firms show an incredible variety of tiles for floors and walls. To achieve an authentic effect in your bathroom it is not really necessary to use really old or antique tiles. Often they are very expensive and more importantly they often do not come in the required quantities for a whole bathroom. To achieve an authentic effect it is very well possible to work with reproduction tiles. With these tiles you can create the same effect by following the examples for tiling from old catalogues. Affaire d’Eau has a wide range of reproduction tiles for floors and walls and we can advise you about the way you could use them to create an authentic effect.

Installing an antique toilet can be a difficult undertaking. Affaire d’Eau offers antique toilets and cisterns. The original plumbing is almost always missing and must be replaced by reproductions. We carry (reproduction) flush pipes in our collection but they have to be adapted to the size of the toilet and the cistern. The main part of antique toilets has mostly ‘vertical’ outlets, very scarcely we find ‘horizontal’ outlets in antique toilets. Reproductions mostly come with ‘horizontal’ outlets and can be adapted to a ‘vertical’ outlet by applying a connector. The advantage of a ‘vertical’ outlet is that a toilet can be placed closer to the wall, which can be practical in terms of saving space. Antique toilets from the Victorian era very often lack the possibility for mounting it with a toilet seat that is placed directly on the toilet pan. Very often the toilet seat has to be mounted on two brackets on the wall. Old ‘throne seats’ are difficult to find but Affaire d’Eau offers reproductions that have the authentic look.

In our collection you will find antique toilets and reproductions, with ‘horizontal’ or ‘vertical’ outlets, with high- or low –level cisterns made from cast iron or china. We also offer back to the wall toilets or ‘hanging’ models with a nostalgic feeling in art nouvea or art deco style.

In this category you will find antique and reproductions in various finishes and in different styles. With these accessories you can complete your bathroom. If – in some cases – the finish is very worn Affaire d’Eau can have an item chrome or nickel plated again. Our accessories consist of many items, varying from little hooks, soap, glass, toothbrush and towel holders to shelves and little pieces of furniture for your bathroom.

Antique bathroom lighting can be complicated. Complete sets of original bathroom lighting are very difficult to find because of the fact they consisted of many little parts which have gone lost. As an alternative we offer we offer reproductions of old models that come very close to the examples as we see in old catalogues. Lamps with original porcelain fittings are less rare than lighting with metal fittings, and we can offer a large variety of models dating from the twenties.

An antique bathroom mirror is often very simple in his shape. In old catalogues we don’t see models with a carved wooden frame – those were mostly used above the fire mantle in the living room. Old bathroom mirrors usually are beveled, sometimes mounted in a metal frame with a swiveling mechanism. A separate category are our trifold mirrors, originating from old ‘necessaires’. Sometimes they have little feet to give them the ability to stand, more often provided with a little chain to hang the on the wall.