Macbirch, we have a house with both. Half of it is slab and then there's a partial basement. FWIW, I can't really tell the difference in hardness between the slab and the basement halves. BUT there is a marked difference in floor temperature. The slab floor does have slab heat embedded which makes it quite toasty and comfortable but it also drives our electric bill into the stratosphere. What seems to be hardest on my feet is the tile flooring throughout the house. It really doesn't matter whether I'm on slab or wood subflooring. I'm looking to replace all of it with cork. I used to walk around barefoot. But my feet have deteriorated (aging is tough) - left foot has morton's neuroma (shoes are bad) and I broke the middle toe on my right foot shortly after moving in - on the @#$@ tile floor - and didn't heal right (barefoot is bad). In both cases, hard cold flooring is awful.

Tonight DH and I discussed how we want the contractor to finish the tub and walk in closet bumpout. And to what degree we want it completed. DH is an itch about doing things so-so, therefore it will be better to add the tiles ourselves, and do the painting as well. BUT, the electrical, the plumbing, the windows, the removal of the old pair of windows in the bedroom to allow entry into the new closet, that will be framed and cut by the contractor. Also, drywall and taped, but we will finish with a skim of plaster--or so DH thinks. I am ready to leave the closet drywall plain. I am fed UP with DUST. In the tub bumpout, I've decided I want it all beadboard...roof and walls. I think there is a synthetic beadboard mfg by a company with a name beginning with "A"...am I right? That would be very very water proof or moisture resistant. Of course the contractor will do the foundation, the framing, the roof as well. Our windows will be up high near the little rafter "tails" that stick out all around the house. The clerestory "lights" will be NON opening, and made of Lexan. DH says that if you make them less than 24 inches (they will be about 16) you do not have to allow for expansion/contraction of the Lexan. So each small panel can be caulked in and screwed down. That will give us natural light all along our northern exposure, and require no window treatments. I want these Lexan panels in the walkin closet also. I already have the wire closet kit to make high and low hanging racks and such.In fact, I might even get the contractor to install them for me. The top shelf rack will come about the height of the window bottoms. The roofline will just extend at its current angle, and we will lose a little closet height near the outer new wall...but not enough to create a problem. Having the "lights" up high will really take advantage of ambient natural light coming from the north, which is true and consistent all year long, winter and summer. For closet doors, I plan to get two pairs of bifold with frosted glass in the top panels, and louvered fixed shutters in the bottom panels. They can be installed later by us, because the brand I want is special order from Lowes. I also already have the tub fixtures/plumbing stuff ready to be installed. And the two short sconces and one longer double ended sconce for the sink, and the towel bars and racks and ONE grab bar. I plan on more of these grab bars, and will ask the contractor to place a lot of blocking in the walls while they are open. I am so excited. I've tried not to get my hopes up, this might not work out, but OH BOY I"M READY TO TAKE A TUB BATH. If the man is a professional, this job should not take very long, should it?

I have a zero entry shower and used a Schluter trim (almost flat) that matched my fixtures to delineate the area (and lots of Schluter around the tile on the walls to coordinate. I also have a different tile - 2" squares of the same pattern as the 12" x 24" tile on the floor; solid 12" x 24" tile in coordinating color in the shower. It looks fine. The shower entry is not visible from the bedroom or even when you enter the bathroom; instead of a 36" opening I had a full wall about 6" wide built for a bit more privacy (it does work). My tile could be called wood look but it's not brown or gray. I was working on a strict budget and couldn't go all out with tile as I wanted to; plain was cheaper. Our construction supervisor was "fired" (it's a long story) the day the tilers supposedly sloped the floor to the drain. Total disaster; it looked like a ski jump at the entry of the shower. If our supervisor had been there, that would have never happened. Needless to say, the jackhammer was brought back and that all got ripped out and the slope meets code but is barely noticeable. But it was a m-a-j-o-r fight that lasted weeks to get the tile guy back. I also wanted to do a trench drain but, on a slab, that cost was prohibitive. I think the tile choices above are fine and I would use white cabinetry. I agree with being uber careful with the window around the window.

If you are going to have a licensed electrician do it, I don't believe that they will install it directly over the tub. We built a home a few years ago and I bought a chandelier to go above the tub, and our electrician would only install it if it was offset from the tub in the room, so that none of the light fixture was over the tub. When you go to sell, it could also be an issue that you would get nicked by the inspector to change.