We just finished our master bath and did almost exactly what you are thinking about. We had a space that was 48" long and 68" wide. We used a Kohler greek tub that is 32" wide and 48" long. You walk into the shower area which is 48" long and 36" wide. The long side of the tub is totally open to the shower and if you were just bathing you'd enter the tub through the shower. The shower feels enormous. Because the space above the tub is wide open you can move your arms around with no hitting into a wall. We left an open window in the short wall at the end of the tub (next to the glass door) which further adds to the feeling of being open- and provides a nice shelf for candles while bathing. I wish I could post pictures- maybe I'll beg my kid to help me!!! I know it is difficult to envision.

We will have a small master bath with a shower only. I was planning glass blocks up about 5 feet and then stepping down to the open threshold. A closed off doorway would become a seating alcove. The measurements will be something like 36 x 60. We're planning a rainhead which will mostly be a softer fuller shower, and then a handheld with a longer hose, but mounted on a shower bar. If this handheld, which is more forceful, is closer to the glass block wall, it should direct water more into the corner away from the threshold. Or so I'm thinking. Is my reasoning backwards on that assumption? Asking advice here: would a frameless glass wall be better to use than the glass block? It would take up less space but it would not give any privacy. And as far as an open shower experience making you feel too cool, there is the option of a heat lamp on a timer which would counteract that. I prefer the heat lamps to bathroom heaters built into the wall. But then I've not lived in really cold climates. We will be selling this house next spring, or I'd consider adding infloor heating under the new tilework.

Caligal, yes that cottage looks great. It is actually smaller than my house, listed at 900 sq ft. Here's another shot of it: Another thought is my neighbors turned the entire front of their house into an open porch, but they kept the enclosed area. However that's another project for another day (year?)... Loretta, I think your porch looks great especially since you use it regularly. In fact, I actually considered doing something similar- transforming my porch into part of my living room. But then I decided it was just too small to be worth the effort/expense. Marti8a & ellendi, yes that is the main entry way. I have a back door but I don't use it unless I'm going to the back yard :lol: I think I am going to open it up. Put some columns at the corners. Another note too- my front door I don't think I'll be able to replace it without tearing open the porch anyway. With the side lights it's too wide to fit through! Add this project to my to do list- tearing it open should be fun! Hopefully it won't cost too much or take too long to do (famous last words...)

I'm interested in the same question, and we're going for something of a half-way approach. Our current shower has "real walls" on three sides and a door on the fourth side. It's a bit cave-like, and -- yes -- we also have problems with mold. In our retirement house we're planning a LARGE shower with "real walls" halfway up . . . and some glass at the top . . . plus a glass door. A person in the shower will be able to see out /light will come in . . . but his or her body will mostly be hidden by the wall -- it'll be about shoulder height. We're also planning to hide shower-stuff niches in that "real wall" so our junky looking shampoo bottles will not be visible from the bathroom itself. The guy who just did our girls' hall shower /is going to re-do our master bath shower soon suggested that we install a solartube in the shower. He promised us it'd bring in some light /reduce the cave-look. Because we plan to sell this house soon and want to keep costs to a minimum, I'm not doing it, but the thought might interest you. I love the idea of a vent INSIDE the shower. I think if we had that now, most of our issues would be solved. I suggest you give yourself a break by AVOIDING white grout. And go with large-scale tile. In my girls' shower, I was hesitant to use the 12x12 tile that the tile guy recommended . . . but I'm so glad we did. We have large tiles on the wall and small tiles on the floor -- perfect. For warmth, can you have heated flooring under the flooring of a shower? I'm definitely having it in my bathroom, and IF it can go into the shower, I'm running it there too. Another thing that interests me is a Tornado Body Dryer. It's designed for handicapped people, but I think it'd be useful for us as we age too. It's like a large hairdryer . . . but it's for your whole body. I suspect that it would ALSO dry the shower a bit, which would cut down on the mold issue. It's expensive -- something like 2K -- but I think it's a splurge we're going to make.