IMO never a free standing one they are a PITA to get in and out of require a alrge space to look good and honestly I abth every night and love a nice deep saoker tub and I use Maax a lot both for myself and clients . get one that fits your space I am tall so like a 66" long one and please do not let your architect design your bathroom or kitchen

Are you going to have to close the door to get to the sink? It looks awful close to your vanity. We had a similar situation in our home and ended up having to put a barn door up because we were tired of having to close the door to get into the bathroom.

Thanks for the advice!! We are adding onto a 1930s home so the space is kind of narrow— our bathroom will be 168 sqft but rather long (around 24 ft including the area for the toilet but at least that will be broken up a bit by a wall for the toilet) and around 7 ft wide. However, the space will still allow us to have a nice walk-in shower (my husband is thrilled about) and soaking tub (I’m thrilled about). We have been in a very tiny, cramped bathroom.

At this point, I prefer a tub that is in stock. Haha. I often use the Kohler Sunstruck tub because it's a great price point and it allows for the faucet to be mounted on the deck. A deck-mounted faucet will cost a lot less than a floor-mounted option. I think it is 60x34. MTI also offers tubs that will allow for a deck-mounted faucet.

Thanks Candace! Our contractor custom builds vanities but I was thinking the depth would be around 21 inches and then our doors are 30 inches (we are reusing doors around the house-haha-but they have been here since 1931 so can’t part with them). With the depth of the vanity and the doors, that would be about 51 inches and give us about 2 feet of space in front of the vanity. The total width of that space is 7 feet. However, it wouldn’t be a big deal to do a pocket door IMO.

Kristin Petro thanks so much for the advice! Yes building right now is not for the faint of heart haha! We had a 5% increase in our project overnight because of lumber that my husband is still grumbling about. Luckily so far it seems like we are finding our tile and then our bedroom floor is custom by the contractor to match our existing wood. But our tile guy said that kitchen cabinets can be a 6 month wait! And a lot of tile was lost from a ship so some vendors are a long wait. I haven’t even looked at appliances yet.

Strongly agree with @Candace about the issue that door placement is going to cause. Unless that door opens full 180 so it’s against wall when open - and then, what a waste of wall space! Same waste of wall space for door to toilet room too. I think both of those doors should be pocket doors - yes,they cost more but so worth it.. I have 2 pocket doors in my master bath for exactly that reason - efficient use of space - no blocking of walls or access. About the tub - I have different opinion than @Patricia Colwell Consulting My tub is a 6’ cast iron slipper tub on a pedestal - free standing & a bit away from back wall with tiled walls all around. It’s long for my 64” height so have had to find ways to lean back & not slide since my feet don’t reach the other end. I agree that if I have mobility issues I will be challlenged getting in & out especially since it sits higher on pedestal but that would be the same issue with a built in soaking tub - the getting in & out with bad hips or knees. I like the extra floor space I have with this tub. I use the tub only @ twice monthly as I love a shower.

Thank you KW!! We have no problem switching to pocket door. We have a pocket door currently in our tiny bathroom upstairs that is just a shower. The only thing about our current pocket door is that it doesn’t lock well so the kids are always in there when I am, but I think that is just mom life haha. I think the architect already had planned that the toilet room would be a pocket door.

@User I missed the pocket door & toilet on right of floor plan! I was looking at door on left & took it for toilet room - what is that space? linen? So - great on toilet room already having pocket door! I still vote for pocket door going into bathroom .

If you mean the door all the way on the left end of bathroom, it is the shower door :). I started looking at pocket doors, and we could get some pretty snazzy ones that would actually maybe even look better than a regular door — like double ones with opaque glass. Thanks again to both of you and Candace for the suggestion.

@User of course - it’s the shower!! I don’t seem to have fully engaged my brain yet this morning. 🤦🏻So, while we’re discussing benefits of sliding doors as space savers - sliding doors are great for showers too. You said bath is 7’ wide so seems a sliding door on shower would work.

Thanks!! I hadn’t even considered that yet but great idea!

In this scheme I would rotate the bed to the window wall so your face on the pillow is not staring at the door and down the hallway. That would require flanking windows and possibly enlarging the seating area window for light reqm'ts.

Also I would mirror the swing on the bedroom door, then shift the closet door wall in a bit (maybe 8"-12"?), to allow a more open feeling entering the room rather than a tight hallway.

Also also I would shift the bath door to the right to fall "within the hallway" and mirror the swing, so when entering you view the larger "proper" bathroom rather than tucked up against the toilet wall. In concert with that, I would flip the toilet on the opposite wall with a pocket door (can't read but looks like 6'-8" bathroom width so enough to maybe do this).

We chose the Americh Madison (drop in tub) when remodeling our master bath in 2015. It's deep and roomy, which we needed as we're tall people but the brand has lots of different sizes and shapes. Here is a link to their freestanding tubs: Americh

Thanks 3onthetree! We just met with designers and are moving the bed against the windows so good call!! The windows are 72 inches wide, and we don’t have a traditional bed frame for our bed — it is an adjustable Caspar that we can’t do a headboard or frame with anyways, and I don’t mind a bed against a window. Plus my husband has to have a tv in the bedroom — it is not my favorite, but i have at least convinced him to mount it on the wall opposite the windows (where the closet is). We are getting one that is framed and shows art when not being used — compromise :).

Then we are putting in french sliding doors to the bathroom so they aren’t in the hallway and further to the left. With that, we are moving the windows and bath tub to the right and having the French doors so that when you open them, you see the windows, bathtub, and chandelier. it will also allow the light to come in the master bedroom—which I absolutely love!!! We are also expanding the shower a foot because the wall furthest left is an exterior wall so they will need around 6 inches for plumbing.

Also shortening the vanity — we really do not need an 8 foot vanity— we have been living with just a pedestal sink for years—which I don’t love—but 8 feet I think will make the bathroom look soooo loooong haha. The designers suggested separate vanities — one each beside the bath tub, but i am not sure about that yet. I think I prefer it to still be beside the bathtub but maybe 72 inches.

Unfortunately, we can’t move the closet in without losing closet space. It is a 1930s house — hence the tight hallways in the original footprint of the house, which we are expanding off of. We are also on a tight lot (.16 acres) in a city so no room to bump out either. Considering a pocket door for the closet too — it is just so much easier in these tight spaces :)

Thank you Debbi! I have never even seen one of these! Great idea!

With the glass french doors centered on the far dormer, and opening straight into the bathtub, don't forget to close the blinds on the dormer window.

@Debbi Washburn Thats a nice looking tub!

I don't like freestanding tubs.

They are difficult to get in and out of.

There is no ledge on which to put your soaps, shampoos, washcloth, etc.

Be sure to get a big tub.

Even if your husband prefers showers, at some time he might want want/need to soak a knee.

@Debbi Washburn What is the brand and name of the tub you shared?

I believe I saw that on Build.com - I think it was from Signature hardware...

IMO never a free standing one they are a PITA to get in and out of require a alrge space to look good and honestly I abth every night and love a nice deep saoker tub and I use Maax a lot both for myself and clients . get one that fits your space I am tall so like a 66" long one and please do not let your architect design your bathroom or kitchen

Another issue with most clawfoot or freestanding tubs: they stand 4-6" above floor level, so when you exit the tub you're stepping across - out - and down.

I agree that a deep soaker tub is ideal. I don't care a whit for jets, etc. but I do like deep. I'm very short, so I don't need a longer tub -- I'd slide. And I don't care for a large tub either; more surface area is just more to cool off faster. You can go "too wide" -- once we stayed in a hotel with a wide-wide tub, and although it had arm rests, I could only use one at a time -- uncomfortable.

Details I like on a tub:

- Arm rests (I like to read in the tub)

- Integrated grab bars

- An edge or ledge or whatever that can hold a drink, a candle, or whatever. If not, I'd want enough space for a small table next to the tub.

- Good lighting so I can read in the tub

- Towel bars within easy reach

Are you going to have to close the door to get to the sink? It looks awful close to your vanity. We had a similar situation in our home and ended up having to put a barn door up because we were tired of having to close the door to get into the bathroom.

Good question. I stayed in a hotel once with a barn door to the bathroom, and I didn't like it ... but, in this case, the door is somewhat distant from the bed, so it might be okay.

Small, two-door French doors would be nice too. Consider swing hinges, which allow the door to "fold flat against" the wall.

A deck-mounted faucet will cost a lot less than a floor-mounted option.

While you're talking about a faucet, I'd get a model with a hand-held sprayer. Useful if you ever wash your hair in the tub and definitely useful for keeping the tub clean.

Thank you Debbi! I have never even seen one of these! Great idea!

I've never seen this tub either, but I like it.

Ericka - I just helped my sister pick out this freestanding tub:

It’s by Delta (Everly) - 67” x 36” - it also comes in 60” x 32”. I have a friend who had one in the house she recently sold. It has a factory installed integrated waste and overflow drain. She was told her plumber that this made leaks less risky. It comes in two pieces which makes it easy to carry + you are able to add insulation if desired. My sister hasn’t decided if she’s adding insulation. My friend didn’t - said that it didn’t need it.

Both my sister my friend needed a tub that can be placed against the back wall - this tub is a back-to-wall tub so it can be installed flush against the wall. The way the sides are curved/slanted allows access for cleaning with a swifter (important for both of them because they were installing it in place of existing built-in tub - my sister has 78” of space to install). Also, you can use a deck mounted faucet (saves $), wall mounted or freestanding faucet. Apparently, you can access the deck mounted faucet if something goes wrong with it by disassembling the two pieces.

I liked that the sides are thicker than other freestanding tubs. The back rim is over 5” and the other three sides are just over 3”. We both sat in it - seems like it will be comfortable to lean against while using it. I know that many people are concerend about being able to get in and out of freestanding tubs, especially when getting older. My friend has some balance issues at times due to low blood sugar - and with the thicker rims, she was able to use them for balance. Plus, she said that it was nice to be able to set things along all four edges.

It looked nice in person. I think it was regularly a little under $1,500 for the 67” - but my sister found it for around $1,000 at either HD or Build.com. The 32” is, obviously, less expensive. It has a 10 year warrantly.

Delta has other shaped freestanding tubs

They also have a rectangular tub that doesn’t curve/slant on the sides as much as the one they both bought.

Not sure if this will be helpful - just thought I’d let you know!

Thank you!

Honestly, be sure you try them out, especially if you're tall or like a long soak. There's not much correlation between cuteness and comfort...

Yes will definitely try out! With all the available choices, it seemed overwhelming so wanted to know other people’s favs or how they made decision! I am not tall- do like to read in bath and long soak. No jets — just too hard to clean IMO and will have jets in shower.

Always look up the specs of the tub. They will give you the size of the sitting area then you can compare that to the tub you have now. The more sloped the 2 ends of the tub are, the smaller the seating area becomes and you have to go with a wider tub to get a seat big enough to stretch your legs out.

Good luck

Hey! Maybe we can help! We have a variety of luxury freestanding bathtubs that might fit your design! Below I have attached a link to view them and some pictures for reference. Hope this helps and good luck on your build!

Click HERE to see more!