The photos are great. Thanks much. I've been surfing and have found quite a few sites with grab bars that also look good. Here are a few sites: http://www.greatgrabz.com/grab-bars http://www.pontegiuliousa.com/bagnosicuro/grab-bar-collections.html https://www.plumbingsupply.com/luxury-grab-bars.html And here is the cornershelf/grab bar I am contemplating. Moen makes a much cheaper version, but it has a plastic insert, and I want something that will be more permanent. http://www.wrightstuff.biz/cornershelf.html Here is one take on which type to install: "Never anchor a grab bar into drywall , it will not hold and you could be seriously injured. How to properly install a grab bar is to screw it into the wall studs or to blocking in your walls. If your walls don't have blocking, add it by nailing a piece of plywood into the studs. The plywood should be þ inches thick and 6 to 12 inches wide. A grab bar should have 1-ý" of clearance from the wall. Wall mounted grab bars come in several lengths. Deciding which length to install depends on how the grab bar will be used. For example, if you're putting a main grab bar on the side wall of a bathroom tub enclosure a grab bar at least 24 inches long is best. If you're adding a second grab bar for support on the shower head wall, it should be at least 12 inches long. Horizontal grab bars offer better leverage when you are trying to get out of a bathtub or up and down from a toilet, but a grab bar placed at a 45 degree angle to the toilet or bathtub's rim is better when trying to accommodate people of different heights. Angling your grab bar has an additional advantage. A 24 inch bar installed at a 45 degree angle will exactly span wall studs spaced 16 inches apart, and you can screw into the studs on each end for maximum support. Horizontal grab bars should be located 33 to 36 inches above the finished floor around toilets, and 33 to 36 inches above the floor of the bathtub (7 to 11 inches above the rim) and close enough to the shower head wall to support you when adjusting water temperature."

I didn't want to put in second Ibox for a diverter (since my goal was to keep it looking pretty timeless/traditional 1930s/40s - it actually turned out fairly modern, so this wasn't exactly what I was after, but I like it.) So what I have is the thermostatic valve, plus a diverter that switches between the shower & tub spout. Then I have the Hydrorail which has a diverter on the bottom - so I can switch between the fixed and hand showers. In fact, I sort of wish I had bought the longer hydrorail - so we could lower the hand shower more if we had little people who were big enough to shower on their own. I think you would need two diverters or one that will do A/B/C/AB - I'm not sure if there is one like that - but I'd research that. (A=fixed, B=hand, C=tub, AB=both showers at once) Thanks!! It was three years of on and off DIY and side projects, but it did turn out exactly as I hoped! And yes, people do shower together in a tub shower, but it is a tad cozy. ;-)

Yes, I agree that having the rain head over your face would not be enjoyable. But wouldn't it be nice over your body? If it feels good on the top of your head I would think it would feel good if it was all over. I haven't tried so I don't know for sure, I'm just theorizing. Another attraction to doing this is that I've never seen it done before so it would truly be a unique bathroom feature. And it would offer me another way to use the bathtub besides having to totally fill it with water. Is this a crazy idea?

I would have loved to do that. Except, it will mean moving all the plumbing, including the toilet. And there is a vent next to the toilet as well that will need to be moved. It sounded like all that would cost a fortune. No?