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

Can anyone show me pics of the kind of stainless steel (don't know the exact name) that is "brushed", designed to be more smudge-proof? Also if you have any black/SS combination appliances photos, that would be great!!!! I'm not sure I want solid SS appliances- maybe a little bit of black on them would be nice.

jeanne...you sly one..sneaking off for 11 days vacation...and even got some great shopping finds too! What could be better.. Love the cup and leaf plate...I'm looking forward to seeing how you use them. Love the pumpkin and old glass bottle... and that old photo collage is great. I love stuff like that. You and DH are looking might cozy by the fire.. He seems like a 'serious chef' cooking those Marshmallows!! lol I'm off to look at your Apple post... jane

Here are some pictures that I had saved that might give you some ideas. You could also check houzz.com and type in something like "island post" and you'll get more. Some will be the little posts under the countertop, but there are others that go all the way to the ceiling like what you are looking for. Not connected, but could be: http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n617/laughablemoments/2-kitchen-otm-0608-xlg-62780451-19295169.jpg