sjhockeyfan, thank you very much for sharing your shower stall's information. So your shower base's width from wall to the step's inner edge is 28". What is your step made up of --- 2 bullnoses or tile and metal trims? Lotteryticket, thanks for your information. raehelen, appreciate your help. My contractor said with two bullnoses of 3" width, the step would be 6" wide. For 4" step, 32" wide shower stall would have a base space of 28" (32 - step width 4). But if I have 6" step, in order to have the base space of 28"(not including step width), I need to have a total width of 34" including step (28+6). So does your rectangular shower stall have a width of 28" not including the step? What are your steps made up of---2 bullnoses or tile and metal trims? Anna-in-TX, thank you very much for sharing the picture. It's a smart option. This post was edited by janesylvia on Wed, Jan 8, 14 at 2:23

There are no hard and fast rules for tile orientation. You can run them whichever way looks best to you. My daughter and my son both recently redid their bathrooms and put 12x24 tiles stacked vertically on the walls. They didn't have to decide on vertical vs horizontal for the floor because they used 24x24 squares on the floor. In my bath I have 10x13 vertical on the walls and 18x18 on the diagonal on the floor. IMO the large square tiles make their small floor spaces look bigger. Do your tiles come in squares too? Maybe you could put them on the floor. If you stay with the 12x24s on the floor placing then horizontal ( long side parallel to the tub may make your room look wider). You can still put the wall tiles whichever way you want. Here's a couple shots of my DD's tiles Good luck in your remodel.

sitting baths? like for handicapped? no. You have a very, very small bathroom. have you even measured a soaking tub and how it would fit once you got it IN the room? Look at how close the toilet is to the tub. you can't bring in a wider one. this is a soaking tub. there is no way this would fit in the room, let alone through the door. If you bring in a taller one, do you plan on redoing all of the tile? (you can't just remove the old tub and plop in a new one without redoing the tile work. (It already looks like you need to re-caulk the joints between the tub and the bottom row of tiles. (100% silicone caulking It's not just for looks, it's to make sure water doesn't get in behind the tub/tiles and soak your wood studs in the walls). How were you planning on installing this new soaking tub? If it was mine, I'd look into getting a nicer vanity and repaint the walls. Touch up the white on the window, maybe get a nice shade. take away the dated light bar and medicine cab and do something w/a bit of style. you have the gray tile. maybe do a darker gray on the walls, and a bright white trim and ceiling. you have the built in wall closet. maybe redo the door on that w/glass. these medicine cab styles would be perfect in your room. do a double light, light fixture above it or just do a regular type of mirror. Notice both of these vanity styles. find one in your size and get something like this, with the built in sink and countertop. they aren't that expensive. some other ideas. This wood cabinet would also fit your style. a single larger sconce type might and little decor elements finish the look. notice the paneled ceiling. I found a vintage chest on craiglist, painted it, modified it to fit the plumbing, and got a remnant piece of marble to go on top. it was cheap and pretty easy. As for the soaking tub, I just don't see how anything taller is going to make a difference. nothing wider is going to fit, and any change in pulling out the old tub for a new one, is going to require all new tile work.

I am not a lover of old tubs and I like saokers . But that said I need a to scale floor plan of the whole space and also what is next to it and out the hall.There is no way to know what size tub without gutting the space BTW and forget corner tubs never a good choice.I think you have space for the length since that cabinet storage can be removed. Gut the bathoom then you will see exactly how much space you have. Find a friend where you can shower and get the pumber to make sure the toilet functions every night.