Do you need a bath tub? If not, I’d choose the option with a big shower and cabinets.

You will need to make those cabinets pull outs or make them shallower to be useful. They still may be worth It. Do you have a lot of stuff to store that wont fit in the vanity? Any linen closet elsewhere?

I like the shower bath combo. If you have kids you will want a simple shower curtain. A short tub will be fine for a kid but a kid plus 2 parents helping will be annoying.

Do you have another bathroom in the townhouse? If so, definitely option 3. If not, you'll need to decide if you need a tub, such as for bathing children now or in the future.

I think I'd replace the tub with a 5 foot tub and a pony wall between the shower and tub. Then your shower would be 36 inches by 42 inches,. Maybe you might get a little more than 42 inches if you put the glass in the middle of the pony wall. Did all your measurements include the wall between the tub and shower.

32 inches for the shower, 70 inches for the tub

Is the shower on an outside wall?

Thank you for the feedback!

@jj jac: yes we do need a bathtub because the other bathrooms are shower only and we'd like to keep one bathtub for small children in the future.

@roccouple: yes we are planning to make the cabinets pull outs. We have a linen closet right outside the bathroom but I was thinking if we add these built-ins, then I can use the linen closet for clothes (the walk-in closet isn't very large and is on the other side of the linen closet). Thank you for the tip about the shower curtain!

@AJCN: ah sorry I forgot to mention that. We have another bathroom on the same floor which has a shower but no bathtub. Do you have any concerns with the length of either the shower or bathtub? I am worried that we will end up not liking the size of either one.

@Karenseb: thanks for the feedback! The measurements don't include the wall between the tub and shower. The shower is on an inside wall.

Do you have any intentions to remodel one or both of the other bathrooms in the future? If you do, you could do shower-only in the Master, and then add a tub to one of the other bathrooms before any wee-ones arrive.

Is you current vanity 70?"

Can you give over all dimensions please from wall to wall. Is there a window anywhere?

@AJCN: yes current vanity is 70". There is no window. Dimensions is 8'2" (wall that has door) by 8'8" (wall along shower and tub)

I would choose Option 1 with bath/shower combo and cabinets but with only 1 sink on the vanity to provide more counter space.

If you install a 60” or less alcove tub without decking around it, you have 44” or more left for the shower. Minus pony wall width of course. Your tub plumbing should go in the opposite wall or the side wall because it’s creepy to sit in a tub with your back to the door.

We have a shower upstairs that is exactly 44” wide and it’s quite comfortable.

Look up the guidelines on how much clear space must be in front of a toilet. That’ll tell you how deep your shower can be (shower door to wall).

Tub shower combos are fine too, and since your budget is limited,

it might be more doable. Don’t hire cheap. The tile pro is the most important person on the project IMO because they do the waterproofing.

Freiberg Drive Master Bathroom · More Info

If you do a tub shower combo you can make it really pretty by using a Turkish towel style shower curtain with tassels at the bottom, or other pretty shower curtain you like. A lot of people say a master bathroom should always have a separate tub and shower, but that’s just an opinion. If you choose pretty fixtures and finishes it’ll be lovely.

Since you don’t have any windows, consider plain white subway tile and other very light finishes, and good LED lighting.

Another note about hiring a certified and experienced tile pro:

A real pro can waterproof perfectly and then make Home Depot subway tile look like a million bucks. A bad tile guy can make very expensive tile look like crap, and it’s installed on top of a not-waterproofed base.

It‘s better IMO to choose simple, not expensive finishes, but hire the best tile pro you can find.

All of my upstairs bathrooms have finishes from Home Depot and fixtures from Fergusons (they pretty much match HD prices on Moen and Delta).

@AJCN: thank you for your thoughtful responses and tips about the tile pro and light finishes! We will be keeping those in mind. I think most likely we'll go with the separate tub and shower option like you said.

its good to recognize the future need of the tub vs the immediate want of just a shower i think you should opt for a larger tub with a bench seat at the end and perhaps you can encorporate the extra area into a closet in the adjacent space? you will benefit from gaining the wall space in the room to hang towels. I can draw a sketch if needed.