To bathe or to shower? That is the question, but for many of us there is only one answer. Our smaller bathrooms simply don't allow for both choices. We recently found a house in Austin that has a creative solution for containing a shower and a bath in one modest space.
Built by Accord Construction, an ordinary garden tub enclosed by a tiled deck, is basically inside an open shower. The whole mosaic tiled area is roughly 5 by 5 feet and is separated from the rest of the bathroom by a 5 inch curb. The beauty of this design is that there is no need for the usual glass shower partition, which is a substantial expense and sometimes difficult to keep free of water stains. Bonus: If you splish-splash too much while taking a bath, the suds drain right into the shower.
We searched for another clever solution to the bath/shower dilemma and discovered the Seadream by Duravit. This is a shower and tub "in a nutshell", or in wood veneer paneling. The decorative wood panels are optional and are available in a variety of finishes from walnut to wenge. The Seadream's boxy, contemporary shape reminds us of a Japanese soaking tub and seems more chic than the typical bath with shower.
We have been noticing more and more homeowners dumping the tub in favor of the shower if space is an issue. The traditional tub with the shower spout just doesn't stand up to the competition of seductive garden tubs or voguish walk-in showers. Be it personal preference, design trends, or resale value, the choice is yours; shower or bath?
Maybe you can have your bath and your shower too with one of these more compact solutions. What do you think?
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I'm in Austin too.
I have a tub in my loft and wish I only had a shower.
When I consulted carpenters about removing it they told me the tub would need to be cut in half to fit through the doorway. *sigh*
I would enjoy using that tub-shower combo in the first photos every day - I love how the windows were designed into the space to take advantage of the daylight so it wouldn't feel like you're in a closet while showering.
I really like these. I'm a big fan of bathing Japanese-style - wash up in the shower and take a nice, long, hot soak in a deep tub. For those with kiddies the first one solves the problem of needing to bathe your little ones while having a walk in shower for the adults.
I once saw a picture of a shower/tub where the entire bathroom was made of concrete. The "tub" was sunk in the floor, with a shower head above. What I really loved about the "all in one" idea was the way the rest of the bathroom was set up...easy clean! All of the storage and other items in the bath were water safe...you could literally power wash your bathroom! :) Not sure how well it would work in real life, but the thought of it made me smile.
Yeah, the top one is Japanese style...except with tile. (Most bathrooms in Japan are this weird plastic.)
Personally, I prefer a shower. I always get bored in the bath.
Reminds me of the showers in my various apartments in Beijing, where the shower was just a showerhead sticking out of the wall with a drain in the floor. There wasn't any attempt at all to separate the shower from the toilet or sink. One actually had the showerhead positioned so awkwardly that the water would shoot directly against the bathroom door, which was unsealed wood, and drip onto the wood laminate floors outside of the bathroom. Horrors. However, I've always thought that with some tweaking the all-in-one sort of bathroom could work, though--looks like they managed it here.
one day. it shall be mine. yes.....one day....:)
Every time you shower you get soap scum and water all over the bathtub, so then you have to clean that too? No thanks.
Even as compact as these are, I think they'd tend to be cold since there's no curtain or glass to help keep in the nice warm air created from the water.
"I think they'd tend to be cold since there's no curtain or glass to help keep in the nice warm air created from the water."
When I was in the Military, we had great big shower rooms - You know the type: a huge tiled room with multiple spigots where all the guys would shower together?
Getting chilly was never an issue unless a window was open during the wintertime - Oh yeah, it was definitely hot in there...
"I always get bored in the bath."
Then you must not be doing it right - I always seem to find something to play with...
I like the first example a lot. Problem is, you've got to have the square footage for it to work. I agree with a couple of the downsides that were mentioned above--you'd have to wipe the tub down every time you take a shower. However, since the shower is not glassed in, you wouldn't have shower glass to wipe down! So maybe not so much of a downside after all. The second issue would be cold/draftiness from being in such a large open area. Of course, if you lived in a moderate climate this wouldn't be such a big deal as it would be in a place like Chicago where the wind chill is -20 today.
That first one is quite nice although I'd up the visual quotient a bit. I've showered in a doorless shower stall before, true, it WAS summer but never felt a draft, you'd notice it even w/ the shower curtain closed if you leave the bathroom door wide open, just sayin'...
I love to both shower and bath, although bathing is more like a good soak in the dark w/ candles. :-)
i'm glad to finally see this!! my husband and i lived in a modern urban space in downtown houston that had a bathtub IN the shower stall. (next to each other, like in the first picture, except we had a glass door and the shower stall was the same length as the tub w/2 shower heads). we thought it was the weirdest thing at first- but now i swear on having another if we ever remodel/build a house.
i loved the feeling of being in the bath in total seclusion. like a little sanctuary :)
now living in chilly dever- we wish we could have one again! it was great to turn the bathtub into a steam room if i had a cold, and was tooootally worth the clean up!
dude, it's totally possible to be ALWAYS bored 5 minutes into a bath. some people, myself included, hates bathes. it's a curse. we're victims.
I don't really understand the novelty of this. We have a shower over our tub and it's completely normal for older houses in Australia to have this setup? We just renovated our bathroom and kept exactly the same setup. I didn't realise it was something unique?
I really want to get rid of my tub my very small bathroom. But everyone tells me that it's gonna hurt resale.
I'm inclined to lose the tub, and get a small, but thoroughly tricked out, walk in shower.
"I really want to get rid of my tub my very small bathroom. But everyone tells me that it's gonna hurt resale."
If you live in a studio, a loft or a 1Br apartment/condo it may be no big deal - especially if you install a really great tiled shower...
...but if you live in a house or 2 bedroom apartment/condo that has just a single bathroom and you get rid of that tub, you can forget about ever selling the place to a young couple who want to have kids or a family with children.
Hmmm... I do love the second example with the deep soaker tub. But I think I get the best of both worlds anyway with my regular tub and shower spout combo... no need for a fancy custom installation to enjoy both baths and showers.
I like to wash my hair and scrub all over under the shower, then when I'm squeaky clean I plug the tub and sit under the spray. When the tub is filled up I turn off the water and doze off. Wish I was there right now...
sorry, but I don't think the first example is really a small space. The entire footprint of my upstairs bath is 5' x 7'. Now that's small.
LOL @ bepsf!
That's not small at all. I'm looking at buying a house where the WHOLE BATHROOM is that size. With a seperate toilet, of course. But still! It's either lose the sink or lose the bath or have the shower in the bath, I'm afraid!
Maybe a whole room full of showering men would always be hot and steamy (tee hee), but I once stayed with a friend in London who had a bathroom with an open shower. It was just a raised tiled platform with no curtain or doors to separate it from the rest of the room. The parts of me under the water were warm enough, but the rest of the room was freezing. No one-person shower of reasonable length is going to be enough to warm up the entire bathroom.
like a few of the other posters, i'm missing something here. my shower is above my tub, which strikes me as the most efficient use of space. you people are just silly.
Huh? My shower is in the wall above the bathtub (in my tiny NYC studio apartment bathroom), and everyone else i know has this set up as well.
@bepsf
no time for introductions when I read that one:
"Helloooo desk and computer screen--- meet coffee!!"