My husband and are in the same boat. I think that taking the bath out will decrease the value of the home. Our tub now is big and may downsize on the tub and create a little more room for a dual shower.

Most homeowners I encounter use a shower 90 % of the time & tub just sits there. If you have another somewhere else in home, by all means go for the bigger shower & make it a showpiece. If it is a family home, keep in mind younger children (or future grandchildren) seem to prefer a tub. Bathing of young children is unlikely going to be done in the master suite so fine for a family bath. Also, sometimes older folks prefer a soak in a tub. Helps for the aches & pains. another solution is the smaller freestanding tub. I saw one on F/B that was inside a very large shower. Think a little outside the box. A "wet room" concept can have both without all the typical shielding used for shower enclosures. This gives you more freedom of expression & space. There are also some tub/shower combos. One piece pan that then extends into the bath tub. pretty compact & cost effective. Hytec has several sizes. Senior Designer~Urbana Kitchens.

Unless you are planning on selling shortly then live in the house you want instead of designing for the next owner.

true... too many people worry about the next persons opinion more than their own. No home is 100% perfect, so most expect to adjust, to refresh. Keep in mind with an aging population, walk in showers are safer for egress & more practical than climbing in a tub

We were facing the same question when we renovated our house a year ago. In the end we decided against one, since we never use the tub and our children are all grown up. There was really no need for it and it would only rob the bathroom of available space. So, we only have walk in showers in our bathrooms and we are very happy with our decision.

We are setting fewer and fewer tubs in master bathrooms. Luxe showers, especially curbless, are more popular. If there is a standard tub in mother bath, no shower is really necessary in the master...and that expensive tub WILL sit there unused for 95% of the time.

If you aren't concerned with resale value then do what you want! I do think most women enjoy a tub more than men....

Unless you plan to sell your home in the next 24 months build the house you want. A master with an awesome shower will appeal to 90% of the future buyers anyway. My wife being a Realtor and I a contractor, I have never ran into my wife struggling to sell a home with one of those "what about resale value" items not being there. Unless you are really getting outside the box, you will be fine, will get the best use out of it, and will never look back

I would choose to have a shower / tub combination rather than having to pick one over the other.

I would prefer a larger shower with a dual shower head.

I've taken out one tub already but think ill keep a tub (maybe air jet?) for the master. I don't use a tub often and my husband never uses one but sometimes they're really nice. I'll put in a tub filler with a separate shower head which makes it easier to clean and also more useful. The tub with enclosed shower that we removed has been replaced with a shower with niches which were actually used to deal with awkward pipe placement (love my contractor).

Hi Carrie,

Lots of great comments above. I'd like to add that the vast majority of my clients have eliminated the tub in the bathroom IF the room is not large enough to reconfigure it to include both a tub and a large shower. My wife is also a Realtor, and we have both found that as long as there is a tub somewhere else in the home, you're not necessarily hurting the resale value of your home. (Most families want a tub for bathing their small kids) I also completely agree with the comments above regarding remodel the home for you, and don't try to second guess what the next buyer will want. They may well have exactly the same taste you do! :o)

Steve

On a serious note: You can take a shower in a bathtub but you can't take a bath in a shower. Something to consider. So, I would never buy a house without a tub of some kind in the master suite.

Agree with Steve: as long as there is a tub somewhere…one more consideration for you; something I will definitely do when I remodel. Build the shower with no lip. I have a new home, which we built, great bathrooms. Last year i broke my ankle and was in a chair for several weeks. I was forbidden to put weight on that ankle. Getting over that lip to get in the shower was like Hannibal coming over the mountains. :>)

One more vote for a tub somewhere in the house, not necessarily the master. I would always prefer a master with a nice size shower, with a bench and hand shower vs. a undersized shower and a tub I seldom use.

I recently bought a home and would not consider one without a tub in the master br. I use mine every night. Husband could care less.

We take more tubs out of master baths than we put in. Just to reiterate what other posters have said: 1) if you plan on living in the home for more than two years - make the improvements for you not a "potential buyer" , 2) by enlarging the shower you have a better opportunity to "age in place" if you choose to stay in the home and 3) if there is a tub in another bathroom in the house then this is effectively a non-issue.

Thanks to everyone for all the great comments! My husband and I will not be living in this home so re-sale value is important to us!

If you know you're not going to be living in the house, look at local new construction (assuming there is any) and see what they have in the master bath. I think you'll see stand alone tubs but what is the price range and square footage of the house? That should help you decide. I'd try not to over improve but you also need to be competitive with what's around if you want to sell quickly and for a reasonable price.

We went to look at model homes and while I found the oversized large tub beautiful to look at, the small dark boxy shower was a deal breaker for me. Maybe it is because my master tub is a small shallow pit that I have become less enthusiastic regarding baths and instead I am dreaming of tearing it all out and installing a luxury steam shower instead. If I were looking at houses I would take a luxury shower over a standard shower and bath combination.

Yeah the super large tub and tiny shower is bad. What should be done probably depends on how large the bathroom is. The bathroom I took the tub out of was small but we have a large master bath so even though I was originally toying with removing the tub altogether, I changed my mind. If you have plenty of room, I'd keep a tub. I've been looking at bath fixtures recently and some of the ones I like best really don't require a big enclosure but put out a lot of water. I've been in hotels with the "wet room" and rejected that idea cause everything gets wet, either from the shower itself or from the humidity.

Agree with Ironwood Builders...go with a curbless, luxe shower. Forgo the tub in the Master but it is cricital that there is a tub somewhere else within the house for resale. A tub/shower combo is a great option for a guest bathroom.

A big part of this has to do with your home (ie price range, size, competition). The suggestion to look at other homes for sale is a good one. I was the one who said I wanted a bath in the mbr but it should be noted that I also only looked at homes averaging 3000sqft under 10 yr old right outside a metro area. A soaking tub is fairly standard in that type of home. If you are selling say a 40 yr old home that is 12000 sf then a master bath will not be an expectation of your market. Just something to consider.

Whether you opt for a tub or not, having the space for one is a plus.

You may not have the time or inclination for soaking but why reduce appeal to those potential buyers of all ages who need a tub for therapeutic reasons due to sports injuries, chronic conditions and stress.
They can certainly use another bath tub in the house but does it provide serious "soaking" opportunity in a non-clostrophobic, convenient and peaceful surrounding?

At least if there is a need for a tub, reconfiguring your existing "tubless" space makes it possible for to have one without major remodelling which could be the deal breaker.

In my city, a home must have one bathtub somewhere in order to sell it.