We're almost finished remodeling our only upstairs bath, with a room size of 7.5 x 8.5' - so not too different from yours. We decided not to do a tub, because the entire family prefers a walk-in shower. Easy to get into, easy to clean, opens up the room. I don't think we'll miss the tub at all, and there's a tub in the basement bath in case anyone breaks a leg or something. Layout is basically a 3 deep by 4 wide shower, then a toilet on the right wall, and a 60" vanity + 24" linen cabinet on the left. The room feels more spacious than I could have imagined. The Kohler cast iron shower pan is lovely. But I have no idea if it would keep in all the water with just a shower curtain. Probably, as long as there are magnets at the bottom of the curtain. There's one bathroom design that I love, which I will link to below. It has a large shower at one of the skinny ends of a rectangular room, with just a panel of glass and an open doorway. Toilet on right, vanity on left as you walk in. This particular room is larger than yours, but it seems like you might be able to do something similar - if you want a really WOW kind of shower. I think it's very cool, and would have done it if I hadn't had a vintage window in the way. Here is a link that might be useful: Velvet and Linen blog

I highly recommend a tub transfer bench with a hand-held shower like the one mongoct posted. I used to work in home care as an occupational therapist and found the benches very practical.They guarantee a person won't fall in the tub because bathing is done from a seated position. (Of course a person can stand once they're in the tub, but it is also perfectly possible to complete a shower from a sitting position). The problem with remodeling for a current level of ability is that in a year or two, your wife's abilities may change. I'm interested in why you want to turn a small bedroom into a bathroom instead of using your current bathroom.

I like the plan very much, looooong clear view front to back from bath through the walk in closet, and a nice long view from the bedroom straight out through the WC area without staring at a toilet. Make sure the landscape architect/designer knows about those vista points from inside to carry through. I also love the idea of an exterior door directly to the garden/courtyard, I wouldn’t worry about that door conflicting with a vanity drawer/door next to it, the exterior door likely won’t be open much IMHO.

Maybe the towel bar in the shower has been replaced by towels hung on the long handles outside a shower door, hooks on the shower glass, hooks on the wall nearby, towel rods on the wall outside, and towel heaters that hold towels. I mostly used my ceramic towel bars in showers to hold wet washcloths and hang caddies. Those ceramic bars always broke, too,, and had to be replaced by plastic or chrome. You could possibly put in a nicer grab bar and use it to hold towels after the showers are done. This is where I hang my wet washcloth. You can find some corner shelves with grab bars or washcloth bars on them. Otherwise, people recommend hooks, especially the Command ones that can be removed. Nooks have replaced the old soap dishes, but the soap has been replaced, too. Soap leaves not only soap scum, but works with hard water for more deposits on the tub and walls and fixtures. Everything stays cleaner with liquid shower cleanser. I find that using an empty bottle to hold some shower liquid cleanser with an equal amount of water or more, gives me a cleanser I can splash on that soaps me up great. We use the Trader Joe's shower liquid. These liquid soaps are far cleaner for the shower itself. If you wipe down the walls and fixtures after last use each day, you will find that cleaning is so much easier, too. Some designers here are souring on the niche, or making those they do include less obvious.. No more fancy niche tiles (which get obscured by bottles and things, so never look as nice as they did when first done). They are also hiding niches or shelves in side pony walls. The most up-and-coming place to set your shower things appears to be a arrow 3 or 4 inch wide ledge running the length of a wall, usually having the entire wall above the ledge inset by those 3 or 4 inches (or having the whole wall below the ledge built out that far. No special tiles, just have it meld into the background tiles. Speaking of tiles, folks here are moving toward a far simpler tile layout. Chose a floor tile, use it on the walls of the shower, too. Big tiles are popular in order to cut back on grout. No edging tiles beyond maybe a matching bull nose, no stripes of colored tiles going around the shower or bathroom. If you do a stripe, it is more likely to be vertical and wider. It can run down the center of the shower head wall, or somewhere on a wall facing the rest of the bathroom. No liner tiles, half-rounds, pencil tiles or chair rail tiles unless you are doing a nod to a different era or style. Subways are still popular, though some seem to think it means any plain field tile of any shape, not the oblong tiles. (I did a double take the first time I read "5" square subways.") Some do herring bones on the walls or floor, or pickets, or braided pickets on walls, though it will mean an experienced ($$$$) tiler to do it right. People seem to like the custom look of tiling higher onto the wall, if not all the way to the ceiling. The tile is often at least higher than the shower head arm. Tubs often have a stationary glass panel or a hinged one that does not completely cover the length of the tub. French-door type shower doors can look very neat if you do not like the headrail used on the sliding shower doors. As for non-tile surrounds, you can do a glue-on application of Corian or Swanstone or other brand of solid surface panels. No grout means no mold and less mildew, and if you get the corner moldings, you can even cover some of the lines of caulking. Solid Surface means that the color on the face of the panel goes all the way through, so any scuffs or scratches can be sanded or buffed out. This is 1/4 inch thick material that will likely last a lifetime. People on here have not been doing much of the fiberglass or other surrounds, except for the Kohler Choreograph. It was popular, if you could get it delivered unbroken and could wait for the long wait times. They were always running behind on getting this material to customers. Now Kohler has a new shower wall product. I don't think it is solid surface, though. Choreograph was not solid surface.