I believe you are misusing the term 'wet room'. In a wet room, everything is capable of getting wet and handling the water appropriately (think of turning on a hose and spraying down the room) and it has the drainage for that water. I do not believe you want to gut this room to accomplish that. Your inspiration image is a shower without a door, ie. a walk-in shower, a specialty shower pan with two drains and a teak bathmat, and the glass shower wall. You can accomplish this look in a number of ways and at various price points. A basic walk-in shower with an off-the-rack teak floormat and glass panel wall can be done for a modest price, but I'd bet that shower pan in your inspiration is a pricey little piece. Your image does not currently show a floor drain centered in the old shower space and there appears to be some plumbing against the wall. Was this previously a raised shower and you'll have to duplicate that setup? Are you trying to DIY this? or hire a contractor? Your image and advice solicitation prompt MANY questions. The basic principle of waterproofing is that everything that could possible get wet must be sealed and that your wall waterproofing must overlap (think 6" +, depending on the system) and tie into the floor/pan waterproofing. To truly create a sealed shower, you will have to remove the existing wall covering in shower area. The basic concept of expanding your shower out to the column seems reasonable, but without dimensions it is impossible to give you an answer. You may not have sufficient space between the pillar and the lav. Also, you will likely need to relocate the shower head to overhead and utilize a rain type head in order to keep the water corralled in your door-less shower area. Research the applicable building code being used in your area to determine if you actually have the space for what you'd like to do. Also, if this is an older bldg and that column is not relocatable, there are often waivers available for unique situations. Waterproofing and plumbing a shower is not a good DIY project unless you really know what you are doing - smells, mildew, mold, and rot are the eventual outcome of a shower with incorrect waterproofing.

I hope you find some solutions in these images. I was just looking at the San Francisco one again and it looks like they bumped-out the surround over and around the garage doors in order to create an overhang, and a shadow line - with downlights illuminating the beautiful wood garage doors. I like that detail. The vivid red door sure lets you know where to focus your attention. Let me know what you end up doing. Cheers! Denice

I am not an acoustic expert but have dealt with some and learned a few things: There are certain sounds you can block but others you cannot because they create an actual physical reaction (think the deep base notes that can actually cause physical ripples on water). You will probably not be able to cancel out, only divert or diminish sound. (Short of padded walls and creating a box within a box = $$$) The basic principle of absorbing sound is to create two walls of different thicknesses, and then fill them up with a soft material. As sound waves travel through these layers, the sound is absorbed and attenuated. In Europe we use many products for sound asorbtion (even the principles of sound barriers by the highways are a great example). I search a link for you that might help you with your dilemma - best of luck. I know how annoying noisy neighbours can be. http://www.soundproofcow.com/I-Hate-Hearing-Through-the-Wall-Sound-Blocking

Look up Taunton kitchen ideabook on amazon. It goes over everything.