You don't want to hear this. The "raised lake" in the bath needs to go. I'd change the window elevation and a lot more, before I would "update" that.

A layout and dimensioned drawing of your bath as it exists might open you to possibilities. But I'd be very wary of a redo that keeps that. Unless staying.........................forever. : )

I hear you love the view with a soak, but these are so very dated, and equally dangerous to even climb in. To say nobody wants them is an understatement.

Gotta agree with above, BUT it is interesting to hear of someone who actually uses the soaker tub they inherited. When we researched putting in a jetted soaker that fit into the footprint of an "regular/average" tub the price of filling, the sensitive nature of the jets steered us away from that choice. Also the marble sounds very slippery.

That is a very unfriendly design for accessibility and remaining in your home as you grow older. It’s a big slip and fall injury hazard! Only 25% of people over 60 who slip and fall and break things in a bath remain in in their homes past that injury.

There are ways to update your bath and still retain the things that you love about the tub, but it requires commitment to doing a full blown remodel. As it exists, there is no minor way to approach the job. It doesn’t need a bandaid. It needs a gut.

The bath as it exists would also be a detraction from selling the home if that is in the near future. So you need to plan to do SOMETHING with it. The question is what? This is the point in your life where you decide where and how you are going to approach living the next 25 years. I would suggest working with a good K&B designer who can help you explore your options. Or a CAPS designated individual. One one who is both. Good luck!

I would also consider what Jan said. Put in taller windows and get the tub down onto the floor. I would be scared to get out of that tub wet and walk down those stairs. The tub may be a good 20" high - those tiles look like 3x3 so the tub would come down 10" . I think you would still have a beautiful view out the windows even if you didn't lower them and you could stream line the look of that tub.

For your other question - yes marble would look great with the floor.

Thank you everyone! Thank you Debbi for the photo and for answering my question about the marble and flooring :) We do plan on staying for a very long time! The windows can not be changed because of the roof. This tub is so comfortable and does not have jets. So nice to open up the windows as well. Our contractor will be removing the little steps and making one large step. So the tub will be staying and we need to decide what would look good around the tub. Will be so glad to get rid of the small tile (so hard to keep clean) The vinyl plank flooring is a medium brown grey color. We were wanting to change vanity to white. Frame around mirror. we really can not decide on what type of tile would look good around the tub. I know it has to be something non slippery. We have been looking at a natural marble looking tile that is not shiny. Are the greys still a good choice? In the photos there are two different tiles with the plank flooring. Would either of these look ok? I just can not picture what it will look like with small samples. Debbi I do love the look of the photo you sent ….is this called wainscoting? If we could afford to gut and remodel we sure would. The photo below is similar to what the contractor will be doing with the step . Stepping into the tub will be the same as getting into a free standing tub so that should work out fine. I would love to hear any other ideas or suggestions on colors, fixtures (lighting, faucets, sinks etc.) Thanks you!

Have you priced a year of assisted living? You can’t afford to NOT to gut and remodel and make that safe. One fall off that new too tall step and you will not live in that home again. Your contractor is proposing something HIGHLY UNSAFE! You’re not working with the right person.

It appears no one can dissuade you from your death trap.

At least there is some grout in your current configuration to provide some grip. The marble tiles in the bathroom I used while remodeling had marble tiles that were a slick as ice if my feet were damp or the tiles were the least bit damp. How do you actually balance while stepping out of the tub and down the steps. One higher step would seem to only increase the risk of being off balance and toppling.

Most sane people of any age are designing bathrooms with an eye towards safety And including grab bars because of the danger of falls among even the young and relatively spy.

The action of stepping down from your tub is not at all the same as a freestamding because you are not stepping down to one relatively large level surface but onto a ledge and then a further small step onto a floor. And free standing tubs aren’t the easiest to eat into and out of because of the height of the sides but your egress would cause you to be unbalanced.

One large step is even more unsafe. It’s a really bad idea. Even if you built stair railing into the new plan, you’re still dealing with wet feet and slipping.

As you can see everyone is nervous for you. There are still many people who have their tub and a step installed. Just one step. As far as the windows, they would not install higher, they would go lower - unless there is a roof line that comes out below where these windows are?

Based on that one step picture, you are still lowering the tub from where it s now. Maybe 6-8" . Make sure the step is wide enough for a larger foot and select a tile that is also rated for outdoor pool use. They often have better traction if they are wet. You can look into Happy floors and Merola - they both offer tiles like that. This way you can sit on the deck edge and bring your feet over onto a "platform" instead of a little step like you have now ( that is crazy scary to me! ).

The photo you posted is a soaker tub on the floor - the deck is probably 24" high. That step is really to sit things on. The faucet gets in the way of you getting out of the tub by standing up and stepping out. Here is the full picture of that room

I would measure how high the tub deck is that you have now ( my guess is 30" ) and would you be happy with it at 24" ?

And yes that was a wainscot panel detail in the picture...

And I do like the tile / flooring combo you posted!

My two cents worth here --

I found that in my area at least bathroom remodelers are all geared up for total redo bathroom projects. That is what they do economically. It's their business model. So much so that in fact you can end up paying MORE for a piecemeal bathroom remodel than a total gut and redo because they have to take time to work around pre-existing stuff, and time is money.

Why not just to a total redo? You say you are going to replace the vanity & mirror & the floor & the tub surround, probably the wall covering, etc., so I am not sure what you are keeping other than your toilet and the tub itself.

So it sounds like you are 95% of the way to a total redo ayway.

I would forget the marble (or any woodgrain) if you are using a fake woodgrain product on the floor. Too much pattern. (Not to mention the deathtrap issues of slippery marble!)

For the tub surround, I say just go with the type of panel like in the photo that Debbi sent, maybe the same kind of panels as for the doors on the new vanity. There are companies that make doors of all sizes and styles, which your contractor should know about. You could even use the same vanity housing, assuming you like the geometry (I would), with new doors and drawer fronts if your contractor is clever about that kind of thing.

Finally, about access to the tub -- could you put the step at the end of the tub near the toilet, so you could attach a handrail to that exterior wall just to the left of the window? Perhaps the interior shape of the tub doesn't allow that.

In that case, or if you are committed to the type of step shown in the photo with the towels on it, I would think about adding a grab bar type rail at the toilet end of the tub, anchored to the exterior wall, so a person could grab that on the way into or out of the tub, using the end of the step near the toilet. Wish I had a better photo to share of this idea! https://www.signaturehardware.com/marion-wall-to-floor-bathtub-grab-bar-off-white.html?&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIk4CMws_I4QIVzFcNCh1h8AlFEAQYASABEgJ-gvD_BwE

A story to back up the above posts... Our house had a sunken shower when we bought it, with one big step on the way down, covered in 12x12 marble tiles. Even though there was a handrail, previous owners also installed exterior-style non-slip stair tread stickers on the steps down. Lovely, right? And despite all that, the thing was still terrifyingly slippery (and I'm saying that as someone in her 30s with no real balance issues to speak of). We are in the process of paying $$$ to rip it all out and fill it in to floor level.

That could be a good idea - stepping out by the toilet since there is a lot of room there....

Here are some pictures of decorative grab bars...

Stepping into the tub will be the same as getting into a free standing tub...

Not really. You step from a level floor into a normal tub, not from a perch on a step. And there should be no plumbing in the way with a normal tub, unlike your tub. One slip getting into or out of that tub could mean that you will need a whole new mouth of teeth. If you're lucky and don't have a worse injury.

Bravo for being fit, trim and limber enough to climb over?, squeeze and scoot past?, step down next to? that faucet and into the tub.

The entry from the bedroom is a straight on view of the toilet? Please we beg you, post a floor plan of this bath with dimensions of everything. The walls, the window, all the entry points, everything. Clearly and with inches.

You have room for a tub. Please, just not THAT tub. You're "staying forever". Well. Let it suffice to say Millions!!! of folks have uttered those words and moved a year later.. Whether you do or don't, forever is different for everyone. Ninety percent of buyers looking at that house, do not want that tub. Fewer want it in five, ten or twenty years. Even a very young couple planning to bathe children in their master does NOT want that tub. This makes you one of the very few, choosing a horrid configuration with a horrendous resale potential and a huge safety issue........for a one hour soak with a view......even if that is 7 days a week, twice a day.

Please post a plan. Have a better tub, a beautiful view, an updated bath. One that is worth the money you are spending and the disruption that comes with a remodel. One YOU can safely enjoy for the forever you are in your home. Please.

That picture just above is very convincing!

The tub is beautiful in its simplicity and the room looks soooo much larger than if it had all that deck and walls built around it.

And think of the savings in installation without having to custom build all that surround stuff, or in the case of the OP, the cost to rebuild it As she has been contemplating.

I still say -- don't assume that the option to tear out and redo something (like the tub in this OP's situation) is too much more money until you actually work out the numbers. In my experience, because materials are so often a smaller part of project cost than labor, a new thing is often cheaper than screwing around trying to keep or retrofit an old thing.

I hope the OP's contractor isn't subtly bullying her into keeping the existing tub for some reason....

OMG those tubs are the worst we stay at a friends and I love to have a bath at night but the hassle of getting in and out of the tub is not worth the chance of a fall so I shower when I am there.Yours is even worse with the taps right there. Get rid of that and put in a nice soaker tub you will not regret it.

MY clients tub above ? It replaced one not much different from yours..............: )

Thank you everyone!! I have a kitchen and Bath designer coming next week!! :)