I know this thread is a couple of years old but after a little Googling I found that this question has not been answered very well anywhere. What I have discovered is that you are not going to be presented with many soaking tub/shower combination photos in magazines or books. They all tend to focus on 'idealized' situations where there is ample room for both a soaking tub and a detached shower. But combining a soaking tub & shower is very possible. Here are a couple of ways it can be done. a. The free standing tub (e.g. clawfoot tub) with a wraparound shower curtain on a circular shower curtain rod. This is probably the simplest way to achieve a soaking tub/ standing shower combo. And if you do not car for the 'clawfoot' design there are many new free standing tubs that have bases other than clawed feet. Some are very elegant looking. b. A 'drop in' tub with square corners where tiled walls can be brought right down to the lip of the tub so that there is are no flat, horizontal surfaces where standing water from a shower can accumulate. This might require bringing the wall a bit closer to the tub. No problem. It can be done. Say your space is 80 inches and your soaking tub is only 70 inches long. Bring one wall 10 inched closer to the end of the tub (or both walls 5 inches closer) and create cubby holes (shelves) for towels in the walled area. c. Install a drop in soaking tub in the typical fashion, but include a circular shower curtain rod above it, and place the shower head above the center of the tub, or even hang it directly above the tub pointing straight down from the ceiling. This is actually the design I am considering. I may be a bit unconventional but who cares about convention if it is functional, serves your purposes and it installed in such a way that it looks visually appealing. If you place a cute ring to hold the shower curtain away from the tub when not in use and purchase a pretty looking circular shower curtain ring you could have yourself a real winning design. You could even place a horizontal beam covered with tile along the ceiling that would hide the shower curtain ring. d. A wet design. Either a claw foot style tub or drop in tub can be coupled with an overhead shower with no shower curtain whatsoever if you tile and slope the floor toward a floor drain. If using a drop in tub, slightly angle the horizontal tiled surfaces surrounding the tub so there is no free standing water, so that any water runs off onto the floor and into the floor drain. There is no reason why this cannot be done. After all, the floors of showers are slightly sloped, tiled, horizontal surfaces! Just use some creativity and do what you want. There are many ways to accomplish a soaking tub/standing shower combination! Of course you don't want to do anything too weird of it might affect your resale value. But if you use common sense you can definitely come up with a wonderful design. Don't let other people tell you what to do!! Note: If stepping in and out of a tall soaking tub seems unpractical for daily use, considering building 2 or 3 tiled steps up to your tub. problem solved. For extra safety a chrome grap bar or two and be affixed to the walls. Never a bad idea in any shower or tub anyway! -MyDogBurt

Bmh--I'm glad you brought this subject up. After R8 mentioned under mounting tubs, I did a google search for the undermount Tea for Two by Kohler (which is a tub I like) and found some cool pics. It hadn't occurred to me to undermount a tub. I have the Kohler Ironworks in this house and it is 66" which is as long as I could go with my space and still have adequate decking. Frankly, 66" is too short for a tall man and my dh does occasionally like to bathe. It is almost perfect for me...average height and very comfortable. I actually could have gotten a longer tub and undermounted it ( she says as she pops herself on the head). The Tea for Two is 72" and although this is not my style this is a pic of it undercounted. Nice. I would not be afraid to undermount because of germs or crud. Here's a pic of my Ironworks which is 66" . These are both Cast Iron tubs and can be purchased cheaper than the Price on the Kohler website. The floor has to be built differently under these tubs according to my builder. On my tub, I used a panel on the front that matches my cabinetry. Just another option besides tile to consider. I also love the freestanding tubs. Would love to see a pic of yours Nini.

Hi, we recently installed the Tea for Two whirlpool bath in our kids' bathroom, and we use it as a shower as well. We love it. It's the 5.5' model, alcove installation, left hand drain. I was originally concerned that it would be too hard for them to get into -- they are not little kids -- (three girls, ages 17, 13 and 12 when it was installed last year) but so far they have no complaints about having to climb into the tub to shower. I love it too for the occassional bath, as our master bath has only a shower. Here is a picture of it. It has subway tile on the walls and the apron of the tub, and a minimal deck. Our contracter initially put in a more gigantic deck, and I made him tear it out because it overwhelmed our somewhat small bathroom. It has a marble shelf at one end and niches at both ends to hold the girls' many bottles of products. I'm so glad we built in that much storage. Instead of a shower curtain, we went with a partial frameless glass door, because I thought it would give you more of a feeling of openness when you took a bath. We bought it through Expo, back in Nov. 2006 (it was not installed til last spring though because construction took so long). The price at the time was more reasonable, although I notice they keep going up in price. I don't find the whirlpool too noisy at all. It's probably quieter than other whirlpool tubs, and also more gentle, which suprised us at first. I love how deep and roomy it is. Hope this helps. Here is a link that might be useful: The rest of Hmsweethm's kidsbath

I know this is an old thread, but reading through it - as someone who has bad knees and pins and a plate in one ankle, how on earth is a free-standing tub easier to get in or out of? There's NO way to reach a functional grab bar, for heaven's sake!!!!