We just returned from a 10-day trip and now we can't stop thinking about bathing. Why? Because the house where we stayed was outfitted with a clawfoot tub and a very short handheld shower. And if this weren't awkward enough, no curtain meant that sprayed water had the potential to leak through the floor right into the kitchen. It was, shall we say, an experience.




After living in rental apts with tub/shower combos that were NASTY, when we turned our attic into a master bathroom, we put in a jacuzzi tub and separate large tiled shower.
view teeze's profile
I would kill for a clawfoot tub.
view stellato's profile
I prefer a shower curtain to a sliding glass door. The sliding glass doors are hard to clean, so they get gross after a few years.
view Lizzy's profile
Ive considered remodeling my 2 bathrooms with a clawfoot or slipper tub in one and a shower basin (like a clawfoot tub but for a shower) in the other, but WHOA! the pricing to do it... just a day dream right now... sigh...
view VeryDelishVeg's profile
I do love claw foot tubs, and while I was apartment hunting months ago I saw one that also had a shower option that wasn't coming from the wall. The shower rod also hung from the ceiling and went around the tub in the same oval shape. That, to me, is the best of both worlds-I couldn't do without a full shower (and curtain!).
view ooohnice's profile
Since our bathroom square footage is 5' x 5' total, and our shower is about 1.5' x 1.5' and is gross. We would kill for any added size to the shower so that we could shave our legs or wash our hair without banging the walls. I'm waiting for the day when we can have a "wet room" where the whole room is dedicated to the shower and has a central floor drain.
view kiochi's profile
Am I the only person who hates standalone showers? They're not good for shaving the legs, and are usually dark and cramped. Give me a tub and shower any day.
I've been in large Scandinavian shower rooms, which are sooo much better. But still, I like the option of a good soak.
view Candice's profile
I agree with you, Candice - I hate glassed in shower stalls, the steam gets to be too much for me. I'd much rather have a combo, or a nice tub with a shower attachment so I can rinse my hair during a bath.
view SputnikSpak's profile
I have a stand-alone shower... and it is HUGE! I definitely miss having a bathtub, but I don't think I would trade my awesome shower for a standard rental tub/shower combo.
view sparkle's profile
since we have just one bathroom, i love the shower/tub combo, but whenever we upgrade/expand the family, i'd like to have a shower only in one bath and a combo in the other. tubs just don't get used much.
view ohmaggie's profile
We have a shower on one side of the bathroom, ad a tub on the other side. Charming, but the tub gets used only a few times a year.
view Amymj's profile
We have a clawfoot tub with shower. We installed a hose on the shower head for dog bathing, but for some reason the whole thing is super high, so we can barely reach the pup. It is on our fix-it list. We do love the bathing option, though.
view brittanykate's profile
A leak in the ceiling above the bathtub. No matter how many times they "fix" it, it just comes back.
Also, my bathroom sink is outside my actual bathroom, like a Motel 6. There's a big countertop though, so that's nice.
view Sally V's profile
We have the exact same combination, Friday night the shower hung outside the tub, someone tried to run a bath and didn't notice the shower head was flooding the bathroom and pouring through to the downstairs until a big mess occurred.
view Kate (NC)'s profile
I love those baths with the hand held showers! They are very common in Europe and are great for reducing my shower time and getting me out the door in time in the morning (and reducing my water usage). Very economical! I wish i had of thought of this when i was renovating my bathroom.
view appleton's profile
We had a small, cramped, dark little shower and a never-actually-used bath. So when we renovated, we ditched the bath altogether and added a nice, spacious, glassed-in shower. Works fantastically, and we don't miss the bath at ALL.
view ryttu3k's profile
Shower in the en-suite bathroom, bathtub wit shower in the other one.
view xieta's profile
My 1920's row-home has a stall shower and a separate tub. We have used the tub only a handful of times, but our baby daughter has basically outgrown her infant tub and we're about to transfer bath activities to the "big" tub. So I guess it will be getting a lot more use soon. Of course, the downside to this very inefficient space distribution is NO storage or linen closet. Very annoying.
view alisa k's profile
Somehow, they packed a claw foot tub into the teeny tiny bathroom of my teeny tiny rental studio. And I am so so happy - seeing it was my "I'll take it!" moment.
view lifesized dollhouse's profile
We were just finishing 2 bathroom remodels on our house (walk-in shower with a skylight; deep German soaking tub; Boffi taps; Starck wall-hung toilets -- the works) when we were posted to Europe.
What we have now are 2 tiny bathrooms, with 2 extremely narrow (deep) tubs set under the eaves -- the drain end has a 3 feet ceiling. The shower is set in the middle of the tub, against the wall, causing water to spray out.
Outside of the tub, the room is so narrow that you cannot turn around while walking past the sink; you have to slink past sideways. Getting undressed in the bathroom is challenging for adults.
Phobia-inducing to say the least...
view mschatelaine's profile
Shower only....I miss being able to take baths so much!
view jesscon0202's profile
I, too, hate shower closits. We had one for years in this ancient south Texas house - beautiful place - only bit about it that I just hated. It was dark and impossible to shave.
Although it would take some getting used to, I would like the setup with the clawfoot and the handheld shower. Ideally I'd like something like ooohnice's setup. We had a clawfoot in my childhood house that was like a swimming pool when I was little.
It occurs to me now that my grandparents' original house had no bathroom. They had an outhouse, but where did they bathe? Sponge baths in the sink, I suppose?...
view whytephoenix's profile
Ugh rented shower closet - really puts a damper (pun not intended) on my bath-time reading habit
view kittykatofdoom's profile
I have a tub/shower combo, but the tub is awful - too shallow and worn out. I've only taken a bath in it once and it was once too many times.
view Pixie's profile
I have a clawfoot tub with shower and a curtain contraption that circles the tub. I've only taken a bath once in the last 4 years, but its nice to have anyway.
view D_Corbu's profile
i have a clawfoot tub, and LOVE it for baths, but it takes 3 shower curtains to wrap around. with the bathroom cure around the corner, anybody have any suggestions on how to better deck out my tub?
view abigalejane's profile
I'm not sure where your 10 day trip took you, but if it was in Europe, that set up is common and you shower sitting down or squatting, not standing up. My German host family went nuts every time I showered because I would soak the bathroom floor . As a 16-year old American, I hadn't yet had any experience with this style of bathing....
view bibliogrrl's profile
My trip took me to Detroit -- the Europe of the Midwest.
There's something about showering sitting down (or squatting, which sounds worse) that leads me to believe you're just not getting all the soap off. It feels like you HAVE to stand up and really rinse at some point!
view liseah's profile
Ha! i totally agree.
view bibliogrrl's profile