Oh wow I had almost the SAME exact thing in our master bath. I can tell you I was never so glad to get rid of anything in my life. I took out the jetted tub which we had never used...it held dirty clothes and our swim suits...and removed the plastic shower with the 80's era glass door. Before and after pics below. The pony wall replaced the full wall/door that was there for the pot room...hope this gives you ideas :) There is a huge skylight that was there before so it is now like an outdoor shower room.

jetted tub before :

sink area before :

glass door/shower before :

dark awful pot room :

AFTER : replaced sink area w/ pedestal sinks and a claw foot tub and the open walk in shower:

AFTER :

commode is behind pony wall and windows replaced glass block:

You're certain there's no room for both a tub and a walk-in shower (or at least a slightly larger one than what you have)?

Could you scan and post a layout, perhaps, drawn to scale? Those always seem to bring out the best ideas from your fellow posters!

How many bedrooms in the house?

I think that for the master bathroom, I would want the option of taking either a relaxing bath or a quick shower.

Trailrunner: Very nice!

We had a large soaking tub in master and I never used it either. Had them leave it out of the master in this house and just have walk in shower. Wishing the walk in shower was larger but it isn't. I enjoyed adding a small chest of drawers in our master and a cabinet for our linens. Never miss the tub. One tub in a house is enough unless you have kids that will not let you share.

Friend bought our house and she had them take the soaker tub out and put larger than usual shower over tub.. Removed the small shower and just put chest of drawers there. I would have used it as large linen or even another closet. Her reno turned out great.
Chris

Trailrunner, that's really interesting! Our tubs were quite similar. You sure made the most of your space, good for you! You felt the same way about your over-sized tub as I do about mine..eeek! Thanks for sharing your transformation.

Pammyfay, thanks for your reply. No, I'm not certain that both couldn't be incorporated, but I keep seeing pics of these walk in showers & wonder if they are the way to go if the space is available.

Can't produce a drawing, but will take some pics tomorrow. I have successfully avoided photographing this room, so nothing is in my files.

We have 3 bedrooms; one very large, one medium, & one very small. There is one other full bath & a powder room.

Shades of Idaho, you share an interesting perspective. Thank you. Will keep those points in mind.

Stinky...are you very very sure? Because in our townhouse we put in a divinely deep Japanese soaking tub that is 40x40 and were able to fit in a large walk in shower as well...all in a room that used to have just a tiny shower (my double jetted monster with furry step was in the bedroom).

The new tub is like a hot tub....it's heaven to sit in :). Our little guy loves it as well lol

I'd take a walk in shower over a tub any day. We've got a tub/shower in our main bath and a small (tiny) stall shower in our master. We're hoping to one day redo our master bath and enlarge it to accomodate a bigger WIS.

We've got our hot tub for soaking.

Is this your "forever" house? (Not that anyone knows for certain...) Is there another bathtub in the house? If the answer to both of those questions is yes, and you really DON'T have room for both...

Do a universal design zero-grade entry shower with a bench. We aren't ANY of us getting younger...and one never knows. And if one is taking things down to the studs...it's good to have at least ONE UD shower in a home. Even if one doesn't end up in a wheelchair...one might have limited mobility. It's relatively easy to swap out a cabinet and sink for a UD sink...showers not so much.

Igloo, thanks. Your tub sounds very nice. Can imagine that your son would really love using it!

Pesky, that's what I mean. Don't most people in America shower? I don't. Ever. But we are planning to get the soaking tub for the guestbath, so I'd have the tub I need. Just wondering about the oooh & ahhh factor at resale, since most people shower. Would most appreciate that ample space? As I said, I keep seeing pics of these big showers...are they the wave of the future or just a flash in the pan? Who can predict that, I guess!

Mjsee, it probably is the forever house, but I need to still give some thought to resale. That's why I'm considering this walk-in shower in the first place. I thought it may be appealing to more people than a tub since personally, I know maybe two other people who don't shower! I've taken maybe two showers in my whole life (& I didn't want to take those. Circumstances dictated!)

Either option will cost money. Would like to do what is best for the space, & would like to do something that brings my house into the 21st century (& make it stand apart from the other houses when it goes up for sale!)

Here are pics of my current scenario...eek!
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Stinky gardener, would you mind telling me what paint is in your bath? It's hard to find a blue paint that looks nice with blueware.

Thanks!

I agree, Birdlover. That's BM Sweet Bluette.

Might help to show the slope of the ceiling in tub area :
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stinky-gardener~Love your name! (I'm one too, he.)
I think msjee made an excellent point. My sister just bought a home in a newer (10 years or less on average) subdivision in NW Indiana. The homes there average $250K. They have a zero-grade entry walk-in shower in the guest bath and a tub in the master. It is the only tub in the house. I'm sure she wouldn't mind at all if they were switched. We have a tub in our PR that I would make into a walk-in shower without hesitation if we had $$, since the only tub we ever use is in the upstairs bath (no master bath). It's like trailrunner's, so I can't use it easily, I have bad knees.

BTW trailrunner, if you come back here, can you tell me where you got your tub fixture/post a close-up of it please. I love how the wand has its own little rest.

Prairiegirl, yes, I am very cognizant of getting older & mobility issues!! Thing is, I will have to climb a stairway to get up to my wheelchair-friendy shower! Dh & I have actually decided that we may eventually need to climb the stairs on our be-hinds to make it to the shower or tub. There is no space on our first floor to build a full bath.

I'd like to throw another question out there. What if I did the reverse. Put the walk-in shower in the guest bath instead of the soaking tub, & put some sort of tub in the master & eventually upgrade that existing shower stall too?

Congrats to your sis, on her new house. That pricing sounds fabulous. Where I am, you can basically get a condo for that price if you want to live in a decent area, & that's in the current economy. When I bought in '06...it was much worse.

BTW we do have a separate shower in our upstairs bath. I still think that's the way to go today. I myself would prefer a soaking tub in the master and a walk-in shower in the guest bath.

Yes, there are some (a few?) affordable, decent areas left. The current economy has forced a lot of us to make some changes, that is why I felt compelled to share my sis' story.

Thanks Prairiegirl. So... do you think from a resale standpoint that the walk-in shower would be perceived as an asset in the guest bath? Or do you think shower over a tub would still be preferable in that case too, even with a tub in the master? Guess I am just trying to figure out, is skipping the tub in any room a good idea?

Thanks.

Btw, I know it looks quite dismal in my bathroom, but that's why I posted this thread. I need feedback. Help!

tiled, walk-in shower.

Stinky, your bathroom is very nice (ok, the carpeted step needs to go...my mom had one just like that - actually the whole bathroom had carpet - even around the toliet - so yours is not so bad!!) Since you said you like to soak in the tub I would get a freestanding tub....without the jets. I do enjoy a bath and like having all my bathie stuff in the linen closet & my robe hanging right there. Then redo your shower with a frameless glass door (what budget, right....spending your money!!) and tile.

Smiles:)

Thanks so much Scooby. I like your ideas. Hey, the money is going to spent, so I'd like to spend it wisely! Thanks for the feedback!

Well, I would put a claw foot tub in the guest bath (so everyone can use it...'cause they'll want to when they visit LOL) and a big shower in the master bath. Just my two cents :)

I really think that since you don't shower, you should put the tub in the bathroom that you are most likely to use.

Personally, I would never use a tub if I were a guest at someone's house, nor do I use a tub when I am traveling (hotels, etc).

I think in this day and age, most people over the age of 5 shower daily but dream of letting Calgon take us away... So IMHO, a nice tub is a plus for resale as long as there's also a nice shower.