I'm presently adding a tub alcove to an old bath which will turn it into our master bath and part of a new "suite" . I love Sarah Richardson's designs, like her program because she always explains the decision making process. In the link you gave to her bathrooms, the first photo shows the hand held "British telephone set" option for a shower. That is the one I've chosen for my clawfoot slipper tub. I did not want a curtain or any of the attendant hardware. There is a standup shower elsewhere in the house, and this bath of ours is strictly for the TUB experience. I did not want any mildew and mold issues with it. And the alcove is still under construction, so I cannot give pictures of it. They are framing the walls on three sides now, and will soon knock down the existing exterior wall in the old bath, which will give us a space approximately 6 foot long by 5 foot deep as an alcove. The tub is about 28 inches wide, and 60 inches long. The tub rim is drilled for the faucet set, which will go down through the floor. The tub will be pointed WEST, and that 5 foot wide end wall will have a nice sized antique stained glass window in it (which was salvaged from an old house in downtown Mobile). I picked it because of the warm golds and reds and greens and creams in it, because a tub bath at sunset is a great experience. The walls in the alcove will have beadboard up to the high clerestory windows (Lexan) on the wall behind the tub, and then the sloping ceiling will also be beadboard. The old or existing part of the bathroom will have the thick and molded plaster walls removed to install wallboard with beadboard wainscoting below. The toilet and sink are already installed in their new spots, with the rebuilt American Standard 1.6 gallon flush toilet having a Toto washlet on it. I'm having blocking put inside the walls now so I can add grab bars in the future. Also blocking in the ceiling so I can place hooks for my humidity-loving hanging baskets...about four of them where I won't bang my head. And in the middle, a Kichler Palla 3 light mini chandelier which will be high enough not to present a problem...or so I'm told. That open ceiling over the tub will be 9 foot or more at its highest, so I will find out this Tuesday how to hang the chandelier when the electrician arrives. Just so I cannot reach it while standing in a tub of water, I think that is the criteria, right?

The WetStyle f/s tub has a removable tray that sits across the tub. I like numberjunkie's idea of a shelf or ledge behind the tub for placing items and also like the idea of having the shower wall next to the tub tiled half-way up to have a space for installing a grab bar. WetStyle has an optional shelf that surrounds the tub, but I think it would make it more challenging to get in and out of the tub - would need to hop over the shelf. The drop-in tub I was initially considering was 72"x42" but that would likely not fit, so would need to be 72"x36". This weekend I looked at an open house (new construction) in my area that had a drop-in tub with a narrow space for the deck surround (see attached photo). The deck was tiled on the top and on the apron with white subway tile. I noticed that with the narrow deck space (about 2") and the tub overhang, it would be awkward to sit on the edge of the tub and swing my legs in or out of the tub. Wiithout space for a deck that is wide enough to comfortably sit on, ease of entry or exit may come down to depth of the tub and options for placement of grab bars. The Wetstyle tub is 22" deep; the drop-in tubs are generally deeper, more like 26"

Alfredo., We downsized from a 36 inch to a 34. Our original was way more spacious but it's just a different newer cut now. More straight up and down. It's plenty big, even though much narrower and it's really long, which is nice for my 6 ft tall husband. If we had the space I would always go wider but the old one was so wide for the doorframe that whoever built the house cut out 3/4 of the lower doorframe to make it fit. Very odd.. I will post a pic of the inside so you can see it.

I just had a Mirabelle Bradenton 60x32 alcove tub installed on very short notice; had to choose from what I could get shipped that week. Fortunately, these were displayed at several local Ferguson showroom/stores so I could try them out first (Mirabelle is an exclusive Ferguson house brand in the US; this one is made by Clarke though I don't know if they all are). I like it alot; it's a very comfortable, *deep* tub and thanks to the thin sidewalls, it's wider than most inside as well, despite the thin armrests. The backrest is sloped enough to be comfortable but not so much as to steal showering space. We just used a simple Watts overflow from Lowes held in place with a single screw; it can be detached, reinstalled upside down with the drain slot facing upward rather than at the bottom, and you get two inches of added depth that way. American Standard sells priceier replacement "deep soak" overflows that are designed to look good with the drain slot near the top. Anyway, my only complaints with the tub are that they could have made it an inch or two longer at the drain end (not a problem for you it sounds like) and the armrest is a bit higher than I'd prefer - it is at a good height to use whilst sitting up rather than lying down in the water. This is designed for a single bather, but two could squeeze in if in the same direction both on your side, if you're reasonbly small. It would be a tight fit but may suffice for occasional use. There's definitely more room inside than most tubs with the same exterior length and width. As for whether 2 can fit in a 34"w tub; usually not unless it's a single-walled freestanding tub which is almost as wide on the inside as out, or is very long so you can stretch out or sit across from each other. Kohler makes a "Tea for Two" 60"x32" alcove tub designed billed as the only 5-foot replacement alcove tub that can accommodate two people, but that's a stretch; those who've installed them say to better plan on one at a time, name unwithstanding. I've found some 36" wide tubs that will fit two comfortably, both side by side or at opposite ends; 66" or especially 72" lengths help alot here, as do double-ended designs that place the faucetry in the center, but for both facing the same way an end-drain tub can work too, and they have the benefit of more foot room at the bottom of the tub. An apron is a panel found on some alcove tubs that negates the need for a wall of tile or other material on the outside of the exposed tub wall. It's often built in, but sometimes an extra-cost option (espcially with whirlpools and air tubs). Some drop-in tubs have optional aprons as well as optional tile-in moldings. Here's an example of a tub with a front apron: