If you ditch the built-in tub that frees up a couple of options. I think the shower still works best on the east wall. It affords you the best way to get the width and depth that can make it spacious. Although there is the small window in the southeast corner of the shower, it can be accommodated. Plus with the shower door in that location the door swing really doesn't limit traffic or placement of the other fixtures. If you ditch the tub, you could hide the toilet compartment in the old tub alcove. I'd recommend a pocket door, there are times when you'll keep the door open, times when you want it closed, and a pocket door tends to work well on a toilet compartment in that when the door is open for extended times, the swing is not a factor. I did put a freestanding slipper-type tub in blue in the southwest corner of the room. It sort of fits. One thing you can do...the toilet compartment needs to be at least 30" wide. I'm not sure how a scale drawing will turn out, in my drawing above I have the toilet compartment wall projecting about 6" more southward into the room than the wall behind the sink vanity. If you can make the toilet compartment wall flush with the wall behind the double sink vanity, maybe by even pulling the vanity south 6" and using that 6" of back wall space for shallow storage, that would give you about 9 or 10' of continuous straight wall. If you wanted, you could then extend the length of and/or slide the double vanity to the left and center it off the large window on the south wall. You could do that by leaving the shower as is and simply making the vanity counter longer, or you could do a combination, make the shower wider, say 4' wide, and extend and move the vanity to the left. The more you bring the vanity to the left though, the more the vanity countertop will eventually impinge with the blue freestanding tub location. And with traffic entering the bathroom through the door. So if you ditch the tub altogether, it's something to consider.

Wow. I thought the poster wrote a pretty darn good post. (S)he likes the contractor. The contractor has done good work in the past. The contractor in the past seemed to be priced fairly for the market the poster is in. Had the poster been remodeling another basement; ie doing comparable work, that's one thing. But kitchen and bathroom work? They are completely different animals when it comes to bidding and building. The poster isn't screaming in internet outrage at the bid. He's simply looking for a warm fuzzy that the bid is good. I think he already knows the bid is good. But again...what's wrong with coming to the GWeb community to look for that warm and fuzzy. If he was a Yankee fan, hey, I'd be piling on too. But for totally different reasons. But a Red Sox fan in Westchester County? C'mon folks. We need to help the decent people in this world. So my reply? Yes, the bid (42K) taken at face value is high. It's high because $42K is a lot of money. Factor in your location. That brings it more into scale. Your materials. High end materials generally require more care when installing, that can elevate the price a bit. The scope of work: Demo. Framing. Messing with the building's thermal envelope. Electrica, plumbing, insulation, waterproofing, painting, yadda yadda. It's a full-scope job. I never mind being asked about money. If you're happy with the contractor, then just have a conversation with him. If the following fits how you feel, then feel free to frame it into your conversation. Tell him the bid is higher than you thought it would be, but you understand it due to the scope of work. Tell him that you can bump your budget to meet his bid. However, ask him to identify any areas where savings might be achieved. Also ask him to identify areas where there may be cost overruns. It's not that you're looking to knock the price down. You're not. But not exceeding the bid is important. Let him know you're simply looking for possibly contingency built in to the bid. ie if you go over in demo and repairs, can we absorb that overrun elsewhere without compromising the overall project. Good luck!

The whole point of stone countertops was that one would never have to replace them. "They will last forever" everyone claimed, to justify their use. Those stone slabs were quarried from the earth and transported via ship from a quarry that is not likely to have been in North America. Do you really want to refresh by putting them in a landfill? I would, instead, stick with more easily changed colors and trim. I like the color of your maple cabinets, too. I fear that darkening them to the color of the beams would make the kitchen feel much heavier and maybe oppressively so. I would keep the cabinets, paint the peninsula some (taupe?) color that goes better with the travertine, but pairs well with the counters. If the backsplash really does not look right (can't really tell without a view of the tops of the counters), then replace that. Just be careful to choose something that is not trendy - or choose something that is a cutting edge thing that might yet become trendy - or you will be wanting to tear it out in five years. With cutting edge, you may get ten. If you really want to replace stone counters, try using Formica or Wilsonart, so that it is far easier to change them out when you become tired of them.

This is a lot of information without seeing a floorplan or photos. The Kohler Underscore tub is a good one; I just put in a tub/shower in a client's guest bath using that model with a glass slider door. If there's room for a separate shower, you could do a configuration in which the undermount tub deck extends into the adjacent shower to form a bench. Like this: Or this: As for the heating, check with your contractor to find out how difficult it would be to move the ducting to the floor or the adjacent wall near the floor. I'm betting it's not that difficult or expensive. As for 72" vanities, those are going to be pretty expensive no matter how you slice it. Take a look at Pottery Barn and/or Waterworks.