I am 43, but I prefer solid surface walls like corian. I am not wild about the preformed fiberglass or acrylic showers.

Most people would consider vinyl a step down from tile, because the latter lasts forever. On the other hand, solid surface shower walls would be a luxury.

Bigger shower, definitely yes. As for no shower door, depends on where you live. I'd hate it, because I get cold just stepping out of the shower spray, let alone with a draft coming in, but other people love the simplicity. Not sure what you mean about a 4-foot-high wall, though -- that's not enough to contain the shower spray and splatter, I don't think.

Hard to say where you should economize or splurge -- a little luxury is nice, but paying a ton for a look with no change of function is rarely worthwhile. If you're going with a rain shower head, consider (a) including a handshower, as lots of people say they prefer that option when not washing hair, and (b) having the controls somewhere that doesn't require getting wet to turn them on...

Not possible on 15 / 18 K. ........ a6t least not a bath anyone else is going to WANT.

Both my master and hall bath together were about $12k with even subflooring replaced and walls moved--but these were quite small rooms (can't be helped), and I did sweat equity, split a dumpster with the neighbors, etc.

To control costs, get a preformed shower pan. Custom cultured marble is around $1000 for your size. It's a lot less risky if you're not highly informed about construction. You can get it in solid white if you want.

I wouldn't do a walkin shower because they're COLD. At least do a dreamline door across most of it.

. Redgaurd and tile walls aren't pricey, and you can pick large scale porcelain to minimize grout.

Cultured marble walls are fairly inexpensive, too. Don't get the beige swirly stuff--that's really dated looking. Pick one that looks modern. They can look a lot more like stone than you think.

People can't tell luxury vs standard vinyl. I would do large scale porcelain again.

GOOD porcelain tile can be had for under$2 sqft, but you have to be careful to check for bowing, color variation, etc. It seems a crapshoot with porcelain, unconnected with actual price. I've seen stuff upwards of $6/sqft that bows and cups like you wouldn't believe.

Save by getting plumbing fixtures from a reputable maker through overstock.com. Also, underfloor heat is a cheap luxury if you want it when you have large scale tile. Lighting fixtures are a good place to save, but splurge on a quiet fan.

Having a standard sized shower saves big on glass doors.

Just the materials estimate for my master bath is 20K. The only real luxury is the heated tile floors and frameless glass. There is no cultured marble anywhere. That nasty cracked unclean-able junk is what I'm trying to get rid of!

I've never seen in cracked. Not in any house Ive ever looked at. That's an installation error.

And heated tile floors are dirt cheap!

I have a tiny bath, I'll admit. But we had to remove the subfloor and ceiling and move walls.

My materials were:

$1k Maax jetted tub with heater and sound package.

$1.25k vanity, granite top (my mistake--chose black--don't do this), medicine cabinet, IKEA cabinet in toilet niche, standing cabinet

$800 plumbing fixtures: shower panel, diverter, tub filler, sink faucet

$200 solid core two panel raised door

$550 tile

Toilet was already new.

$350 frameless doors

$200 hydronic towel heater

$350 light fixtures

$200 floor heat

Drywall, subfloor, joint compound, green glue, cement board, red guard, primer, paint, mortar, leveling compound, grout, caulk: $1250

Plumbers: $1500 across two bathrooms

My hourly friend: About the same

Electrician: $350 across two bathrooms

Finish work guy: going to hit $2k before he's done.

I did about $1500 worth of work, too.

So I definitely lowballed above with two for $12k, even not counting my work. $10k master--second bathroom I did way more work on, and the materials were quite a bit cheaper, so it works out to $6k--hired out, it would have been more like $8k.

My first master bath ever I did for resale. It was WAY bigger, 18' by just over 8', but I chose the cheapest, nicest looking, well-built neutral materials I could get. So it was right at $10k in today's dollars, too.

An addition: The foam insulation for the attic that was exposed was $1300. (Only way to reach recommended R value with our construction.) I also used it in the master bath walls and all around the cantilevered rim joist when we tore out the lower floor, so accounting for that is tricky.

I also got to use the next door neighbors' extra dumpster space in return for helping her go through her basement. That saved a lot.

I redid my 10x12 bath- completely down to the studs - DIY $18,000. That's not counting any labor.