At what phase of life are you, Tartuso? If you are switching to a walk-in shower for aging in place, my advice will differ from if you are starting a family. If you want a full height linen closet in the bathroom, you can have one. You can order an 18” wide cabinet that is as deep as your counter and put it on the toilet end. It will partially block the view of the toilet, which many people on this forum find objectionable. Or, you can put it next to the wall by the door, before your vanity. Many cabinetry companies make such linen towers to match their vanities. Figure out what style of cabinetry you want. Even wall-hung floating vanities can be found with matching linen towers that also hang.

This is your opportunity to think of what other things you might want in the bathroom. A heated towel rack on the wall across from the shower? A towel heater appliance that sits on the floor and plugs into the wall? A plant? A towel ladder? You will need to redo electrical probably to bring it up to code, with outlets every 4 ft along the vanity. So how about putting one next to the toilet for a bidet seat with warm water wash and air dry functions? You can move the outlet near the entrance at the same time.

Do you want more towel racks to give places for towels to dry? Hooks for towels, instead (and robes)? USB slots in some of the outlets? Dimmers on some lights? Lights in the new shower (I love mine!)? Plan all of this in advance so that you can know just what needs to be done.

As for your shower, who will build it? What waterproofing system will go under the tile - or will you use an acrylic or solid surface instead of tile? Those need to be decided before hiring the contractor. If using tile, ask the contractors you contact what waterproofing system they use before you meet with them for an interview, and read up on how that system works so that you can intelligently discuss it with them. Be sure to write into the contract that the shower will be built using XYZ waterproofing system, installed according to the manufacturer’s instructions. If not using tile, be sure you know what the manufacturer of your shower gives as instructions for installation and discuss that in the contractor interviews, then have in the contract that the shower will be installed according to the shower manufacturer’s instructions. If you are doing a wheelchair-accessible shower, we need to talk about drains. I did a floor drain outside of mine, and am very glad I did! If you want to see my bathroom, do a search in this forum for “ADA Reveal.”

If you are preparing for aging in place, be sure to specify shower grab bars and have the contractor install 2 x 6 boards between the studs so that they can be installed now, or later. One vertical bar coming into the shower and at least one horizontal grab bar. If you will have a hand-held shower head, too, consider giving it a bar that is also a grab bar. If a walker may be in your future, it might be good to put the vanity closer to the toilet, leaving 30” open near the door. That gives you space to set your walker to the side as you swing the door open.