I was in a similar boat as you on this front and we finally decided to keep a tub (though I have not decided on that yet, as I have a limited alcove space) ONLY because eliminating the tub and enlarging the shower involved a large window above the tub, that affected too many other aspects of the remodel.
My sis-in-law is a GC in an upscale high end suburb of Dallas, and many of the clients are eliminating the tub. Realtors used to really discourage eliminating it but now not so much. The thing to do, I am told, is do what YOU want right now. Have some vision of the future (Purple 4x4 tile may not appeal to others down the road) but build for what you want/need right now, while you are living there.
There may be buyers when and if you do decided to sell that pass on your house due to no tub in the master bathroom but there are just as many buyers who it will not matter to that there is no tub in the master bath and will LOVE the killer shower.
If you do go shower only, I am told, make it luxurious. Maybe not in price necessarily, but in function and aesthetics.
That said, if you do not end up moving, you will love your shower and won't have to keep cleaning the dust collecting tub that you do not use.
Good Luck

With two other tubs in the house, I wouldn't hesitate to give #3 a pass in the master bath. I know there are people for whom a bathtub is essential to life, but there are just as many who might take a bath about once every 10 years. Do what you want for you and know you're in good company.

I can't remember the last time I took a bath. I have a brand new tub in my guest bath and haven't even given it a test run. It will have to wait until the days get a lot shorter and colder.

I only need one bath (that I never use) in my house. I don't have one in my small master bath, although the alcove the shower's in is large enough.

I agree with suzannesl, with two other baths there is no need in the master bath, I wouldn't hesitant in your situation.

You should do as you please, but I, personally, REVEL in actual baths as often as possible. Give me a giant clawfoot tub I can drown in any day of the week!

The problem is that most bathtubs installed in the last 30 years are tiny, and getting tinier. Jiminey Cricket couldn't revel, OR drown, in one of those.

I would much rather a LARGE, luxurious tub and a handheld sprayer than a shower and no tub (or small tub). I would take a small shower and a large tub.

I would pass on a house with no tub in the master bathroom. That's there for me to use in privacy; even if there were a large luxurious tub elsewhere in the house, it wouldn't be a substitute. If the MB tub were large enough, I probably wouldn't even notice that the shower was missing. I definitely wouldn't care, LOL!

While I appreciate zens point of view, I do think it's an outlier - most people just won't care, and many will actually prefer a larger shower and no tub.

I'd much prefer a fancy large shower with multiple sprays, rainhead, maybe steam, etc.

You don't need 3 bathtubs.

I'm with zensojourner on this one. I definitely want a roomy tub in the main bathroom. So what if there's another tub on the floor, if it's in the bathroom that mainly someone else uses? I had only room for one bathing fixture in my most recent remodel, where I'm going to live for awhile, and chose a 72" x 36" tub and no separate shower. You can shower in a tub (and I frequently do), but you can't bathe in a shower.

The resale question comes up alot. Some people never use the bath and would prefer a big shower. Some insist on a tub and wouln't want the house if they could have one. And many are fine either way, especially if there's another nearby tub. My advice is to do what you like, and for resale just make sure it wouldn't be too difficult to change the shower to a tub or vice versa if that's what they want. I even bought extra wall tiles so a large shower pan could easily replace my tub without a major renovation, using the spare tiles to fill the space above the shower floor and where the top of the tub used to be. That should make any potential buyer satisfied - except those who insist on a separate tub and shower, and even that would be possible if they were willing to infringe on closet and/or bedroom space.

I'm a shower girl all the way. I just remodeled my guest bath and took out the tub and replaced with a shower only. I am always amazed when I watch the house hunting shows on HGTV where the couple turns down the house because there is no tub. Different stokes, I guess!

Having said that, I have a big soaking tub in the Master Bath that has NEVER been used. I keep it because I keep thinking that someday I might have grandchildren that will come and use it. ;-)

I guess there are shower people and tub people. I'm shower all the way. I once lived in a house where there was just a clawfoot tub with a hand shower. Any port in a storm. We were young, it was a rental, and we didn't care about a lot of extra niceties in those days.

I cannot imagine nixing a house because it didn't have a tub in the MBR. Even in my small builders grade MBR there is room for a tub in the alcove occupied by my tub-length shower. If you take out a tub, there should still be room to put it back.

We have a shallow tub in the guest bath. DH likes to soak in it occasionally as it relaxes him and he sleeps better. The MBR has a 60" acrylic shower with sliding doors that is driving our bath remodel. I am debating whether we really need a $5000 shower that we spend 10 minutes a day in--he's convinced we don't. So we are thinking of putting in the Kohler Expanse tub and a curved shower rod. I think it has a luxurious look, and even though I haven't taken a bath in years, I'd be the first one in that baby. I would be happy with a 48" shower in addition to the tub, but we don't have room for both.

Here is a link that might be useful: Dedtired's beautiful tub

After writing my post at 11:46, I took a shower...in my tub with a handheld. Contradictory much? Originally I was thinking of a tub tub with hand-held shower option only for sitting down.

I really like my new shower over tub combo with hand-held only. It's a tub! It's a shower!

Do not underestimate the power of the curved shower rod to transform the space. I almost didn't get one. Now I'm a believer.

I would turn down a house that did not have a separate, decent sized shower on the main floor. Reason - if you ever break a leg/wind up on crutches, that tub/shower combination will be darned near inaccessible until you are weight bearing again. It isn't just the elderly that need a bathroom that is somewhat accessible.

In our current house, we have a large walk in shower in the MB (no tub) and a tub/shower combination in the other bathroom. We don't use the tub; I would rather have not included it at all. But since we plan on selling this house in about 20 years, it made sense to include a tub.

Count me in the shower camp. We have 3 bathrooms - two with shower only (one of them also has a sauna), and one with a tub/shower combo. I think for most people that is enough. My bathroom remodeling (~ 5 years ago) involved removing the narrow tile doorway and walls, pulling the shower out into the room another ~ 3 inches, and installing a light (along with lovely tile) and a big glass door. It feels luxurious to me, its bright so it helps me to wake up, and if I ever want a bath, I'll use the tub in the guest bathroom.

We just took out the oversized tub in our MB and replaced it with a walk-in shower. We still have a tub in the guest bath. I plan on staying for a while, so went with what we will use and we had used the tub MAYBE 5-6 times in 14 years in the house. It is also easier for bathing the dog, easier access if anyone has an injury with limited mobility and easier to clean!
I know some people who love a bath, but here in SoCal with the drought and water restrictions it just seems wasteful.

I would also require a tub in the MBA. While I like the convenience of a quick shower in the mornings before work, I absolutely revel in a long soak in the tub! All three baths in my house are basic tub/shower combos, and I've thought long and hard about eliminating the tub in our MBA to build a more luxurious shower, but there's just no way I would want to soak in another room.

I can tell you we have looked at several houses with only a shower in the master bath, wife made me exit them immediately....

(no tub is a big resale issue for many couples)

Incidentally, since we opted to not install a tub in our MB, we were left with a five foot empty space where the tub *could* have gone. We are going to put a bench in that space - a place to sit while we dry our toes and to put our clothes while we're in the shower. Future owners of this house can put a tub there if they want, although they will have to install the plumbing for it.

SO glad I found this post! We are doing the same thing in the 40 year old (turned out to be a total gut job) decided to go with a large shower. But will putting in a ceiling rain shower head, handheld and jets. If you do this, be sure to spend the money on the kind that at least 2 functions can work at once...some of the cheaper models will only run one function at a time.
We had a gigantic bathroom in our other house with separate shower and a jetted tub....I NEVER used the tub!
In the remodel, we will have 2 master closets one just to the right of the bath
I figure if we ever do sell and someone "needs a tub" they can covert the closet into a tub space.
But personally, I would rather have a large shower.
As we get further into our remodel, the more I am convinced that the remodel really needs to be for our family, certainly with resale in the back of our minds, but I never purchased a perfect house that had everything I wanted in the past, I am sure others are the same.

I want a big, safe, comfortable shower in the master.
I also want a tub.
I'm not willing to choose between them, but I'd be okay with a standard (even small) tub.

don't laugh but I had this same problem with a garage. I converted my one car garage to a game room/4th bedroom. It was to be my game/exercise room but my son moved back in... anyway.....................

Then I thought to move. I asked the realator if I made an error and she told me what I'll tell you. It's a toss up. Half the people will like it and half won't. When you list the house for sale, those insisting on a tub will see in the listing that it doesn't have one. Same with my garage. Those people won't even come to see your house, so in that sense, only interested parties will.

And like I am doing now, I had the same question to my contractor when adding my addition. He said "tubs, especially jetted ones and ones with big decks are phasing out". He said the trend is now big walk in showers. With that said, he said that if it was the only bathroom to have a tub, I might want to have a tub. Families with kids who might buy the house would want one. So if you have ONE tub at least somewhere in the house, I'd not worry too much. If not, then I'd suggest a smaller tub and nicer shower to make your life more comfortable and make you worry less

PS I looked at a lot of houses before deciding to stay and do an addition. My one deal breaker in the house was a claustrophobic shower stall!

I'd rather have a garage than a tub.

I just moved into my new construction home where I chose to put in a large shower in the master bath with no tub. The alternatives were a small tub/shower combo or a larger soaking tub with a small stall shower. It's not a very large bathroom so I am not sure that the shower counts as a luxury spa shower but I put in some really nice tile and a frameless glass shower door along with a shower panel rather than a showerhead and I love it. It's true that anyone who wants a tub in the master won't buy my house but I am not planning on moving any time soon and this is exactly what I wanted. I had a large tub in my last house and only used it for my son when he was little, never once took a bath in it myself.

A shower gets me up and ready to go for work in the morning, but when I want to relax, or when Im feeling sick, the tub is waaay nicer.
Personally, I'd look at a master bedroom without a tub as a negative thing.