My folks have a setup similar to the one in your first photo, except no glass partition and the showerhead on the wall where the bird is. They like it fine, since it was important to them to have a tub and shower and this was the only way to fit both. From a logistical standpoint because of the curbless shower and size of the room the builder had to construct the entire room as a wet room.

Yeah no. I think they look pretty but can you imagine the cleanup? Especially a freestanding tub close to a shower. At minimum very very wet air will condensate on the cold tub surface, running water down the back side between the tub and wall. Probably actual shower water will deflect off of bodies or other surfaces... then collect dust and airborne hair or whatever.

Gross. Seriously difficult to get back behind to clean.

And, a non-enclosed space to me = cold.

No thank you!

A design world idea that should have never made it into the real world. Lots of designers only focus on how things look, not how they function. Or, they are clueless as to function. Or the costs to make them functional.

Absolutely what Mama Rachel said. And I don't even think they look good.

We did something very much like the third photo 7 years ago for a remodel of our "guest" or second bathroom. The shower is over the tub, but there is the space or "landing area", with drain, between the tub and the glass shower doors. I LOVE IT! It is not hard to keep clean (not a freestanding tub, however -- that could be a pain, I think), it is not cold (area warms up quickly), the shower is far enough away from the glass doors that they don't get crudded up by the local hard water, and that landing area is a great utility space for watering house plants, washing dogs, etc. (using a hand-held shower head that we installed in addition to the regular shower head). It turned a long, narrow, awkward, and dismal 1970's bathroom with painted walls and way too much counter space (who needs 8'??? plus an 8' x 4' mirror to go with....yikes) into a visually pleasant, more functional space.

My husband designed it. Yes, the entire space behind the glass doors is a wet room, but not the rest of the room. It was not exorbitantly expensive (costs came in at about or below average for typical bathroom remodel for our area at the time), but then the general contractor was also one of my husband's climbing partners, so he did not charge us to the max.

This 'Wet Room' concept is all wet! I don't want to clean a tub AND a shower every time I shower. I could go for the deep Japanese style soaker plus a separate shower though.

I like idea and plan to do something similar so it is nice to have feedback from others who have experience with it. I don't have experience with it but I am sure with careful planning you can avoid cleaning issues. I prefer the version from the first photo, with a Japanese style soaker. I think this actually the usual format for Japanese baths, a wet room with a handheld shower to clean off and a ofuro (soaking tub). The tubs usually have a heater that recirculates the water to keep it warm, which sounds lovely. Traditionally the toilet is also in an entirely separate room.

My parents say when they shower the tub does not get wet. Their tub is built in. When they do use the soaking tub, they shower right after. We are in a warm climate, but they do have a radiant mat in the bathroom (not the shower part) for winter.

The other nice thing about a space with a drain between tub and glass is that there is where you drip and dry off. It's not only warm in there (no shock of cooler air on wet skin), it eliminates the need for perennially damp and moldering bath rugs. It is also very nice to have more space, essentially a room within a room, whether taking shower or bath -- not so claustrophobic and more serene, but without having to build a mega-mansion-size bathroom (so, yes, space-saving). The concept of an ofuro sounds wonderful, chelwa.

Ours is similar to #2, but with the vanity farther left so in an alcove. Tub is a drop-in, tiled and waterproofed along with everything else. Linear drain is at base of tub. Shower is 3x5, so not huge, but it feels larger because the elbow room extends all the way over the tub.

There is a glass panel on the right, but no curb and no door. The tile floor is the same large format (low COF) and same waterproofing across the room. The walls are waterproofed in the rest of the room up a certain height, but I don't recall how high.

There is a big window over the tub, but it is fiberglass so I don't worry about splashing that

Our "one year later" experience in response to concerns here and elsewhere:

The room has never felt cold or drafty, even last winter. But it is a 2015 house extremely well insulated and caulked in contrast to the drafty 100 year old house we are in now (prior to retiring to the new one.) And the hydronic heat below the tile is under the shower as well.

We were concerned about splashing b/c of not having a door (we have the blocking needed to add one if it didn't work out), so we put the bathmat at the shower entry when it's in use. We can tell it get splashed on for about 4 inches. We hang it up to dry and it dries.

As for cleaning, it is no more onerous than in any other bathroom I've had. The deck around the tub gets dusted once in a while. The tub gets cleaned as needed, as do the tile walls. I don't dry the tub after every shower, but I dont dry it after baths, either. Didn't even know people did that!

We do squeegee the small amount of glass panel, but that is a minimal effort in my book, and well worth it!

We are happy with both the way it looks and the way it performs, but as it's somewhat non-standard, there are a lot of details to get right to make it really work!

I just used one. The ones I've used are much simpler, and have two sets of shower curtains...one behind the the tub, to keep water off the window.

Just wanted to add that there was a Houzz discussion about this type of design a few months ago that you might be able to find. People were quite polarized in their reactions, but no one was indifferent. As I recall, though, the people who hated it had not lived with it, and had cleaning concerns that I could not quite figure out.

We are starting to tile the one we have in the house we are building. We have the tub in the back with the shower in front behind dual swing french glass doors. We havent used it yet, but I though having the shower and tub together would be easier to clean. My old house had the tub separate, and out in the open, so it collected dust like a magnet. The shower was easy to clean with a quick hose down from the sprayer and a spritz of "clean shower". if they are together i can do a quick hosedown and spritz of both at the end of my shower. The other reason I liked this layout was that I will not have to worry about the kids splashing water out of the tub.