I can understand how you want a luxury shower, and your area sounds like ours - condos are not purchased by people with families, but by singles and DINKs. You may or may not be able to put in a Japanese soaking tub. I actually would doubt it. They actually take a fair amount of room and substantial joist strength underneath, although if you are in the usual condo construction there may be concrete underlayment. Also, any shower smaller than 38" is just really too small. Not luxury by any standards, even if you made it out of platinum. You'll also have considerable expense running more plumbing lines for two separate soaking tub/shower installs. If I were you, I'd put in an air-jet whirlpool tub that could still be used as a shower. That would really give your condo a leg up on resale, even if you never use it as a tub. If you decide to do this, it is important that YOU PUT IN GRAB BARS. There are reasonably good looking ones these days, and a deep tub is a bit harder to get in/out of safely. Install a luxury granite slab or slate tile enclosure around the tub and you'll have something really striking that the next condo owner will fall in love with. Plan properly for adequate storage inserts usable both by tub bathers and shower users. Take the final step of installing either a heated towel warmer unit - either something substantial like the Runtal wall unit, or one of the new heating drawers that is installed in a cabinet and can heat up towels or even bathrobes.

There are lots of choices if you have a 32" deep space for the bathtub/shower. BTW, for a 32" fixture you may need an inch or two more for installation because most models have a nailing flange - pay attention to the rough-in size... I'm about to replace a cast iron tub with a shower/tub combo and have just done some shopping around and online research, there's one list of tub/shower manufacturer online at: http://www.askthebuilder.com/B65_Acrylic_And_Fiberglass_Shower_Manufacturers.shtml The one piece tubs look great but you do need to measure your doors carefully as well as make sure there's room to maneuver with such a large object. The units that have 2 or more pieces are much easier to move. Check the installation instuctions as some need to be bolted together and this can be tricky in tight quarters. If you are going to be using the tub, smart to be thinking about its size. One dimention that matters is the distance between the drain and the *bottom* of the overflow which will be the maximum depth of water that the tub will take. Easy to get that measurement in a store or showroom otherwise you have to hunt for that spec in the manufacterer's literature. In looking over the brands available locally (Aqua-Glass, Lasco, Sterling) one Sterling model, the Ensemble, has a noticably deeper tub but I don't have space for it. Floor to the tub ledge is 18" and the drain to overflow distance is 13 3/4" which sounds like it makes for a good bath...

I like the look of tile, but we went with fiberglass showers and fiberglass bathtub/shower units instead for ease of cleaning purposes and I don't regret it at all. I recommend that you go to a plumbing supplier's showroom(around here it's the plumbing wholesaler's showroom) as that is where you will see the broadest range of units. The plumbing wholesaler showrooms around here actually show them in bathroom settings so you can see what they look like installed. The big box stores tend to show only have the lower end units.

So much great advice. I think I'm going to have to just look at some tubs in person (again) and see how they look to my eye. I want the house to look nice. The older children HAVE chosen their granite while we were at a granite yard, so they will definitely be getting nice baths, whether their tubs are tiled or not tiled. A good point was brought up that even if I tile around the bathtubs, future buyers may not like our choice anyway. That is a good point.... that holds true for every other choice in the house. Drat!! :o) LOL! Anyhoo, it would be more work to replace tile than to rip out an acrylic tub/surround and put in stuff they like, right?! :op Allison, thanks for sharing your photo. I think that shower looks really nice. I know that what is "in" right now is going to be dated eventually anyway. I'm hoping to avoid "trendy" in any way, shape, or form, but of course that is going to be difficult to do. I look at my design magazines from even a year ago, and see "trends" that seem to be fading. I'm not wanting to be trendy, that's for sure. Just wanting good quality, whatever we choose. Marble is a good point. I think the 3rd floor (guest suite) bath will be marble. If not the bathroom, then their kitchenette will get carrera (sp?) marble on the countertop with distressed black cabinetry. Some way or other, I'm getting that marble up on that 3rd floor space. LOL! I'd actually love it in my main kitchen island top, but it's just not going with the color scheme/feel on the main floor. Thanks for your thoughts, everyone. I really do appreciate your responses. Oh... I'm definitely checking out that Kohler tub.... now that 2 people have recommended it. Thanks. :O)