I very much like your idea of a bath.

I think part of the cold issue is due to the shower not being enclosed. The steam and heat just escapes.

The former resident did not knock anything out. The house is just 2 years old. This is how it was designed by the builder.

Here is our bathroom layout from the original builder plan.

Here is my rough drawing of the bathroom with dimensions. I was measuring alone so measurements aren't exact but very close.

Oops! The 117" should be from the door all the way to the shower.

our shower is 52 x 96, completely open (just a 36" wide floor to ceiling sheet of glass, to keep the adjacent vanity dry), and toasty; we have a combination vent and heater in the ceiling over the 'dry' end of the shower, it blows hot air into the shower and is as pleasant as can be all winter long. once you are in your robe you switch it from 'heat' to 'vent'.

the problem will be sliding this behind the vanity

I wouldnt like the shower to be so open. I like a bit more privacy than that in my shower. Can you mount shower curtains on there for interest during the day, and to pull across when you are using the shower, and that should keep some of the heat and steam in there too.

IMO you need a bathroom designer this is one of those spaces that is huge with no real good design. A separate toilet room inside a bathroom is useless if you wan the European idea of an actual room outside the main bathroom that works .What jerk would use the toilet while another person showers or bathes.As for having a tub in that space it won’t work the shower would then be too small. How about giving up some vanity space then the room could be reconfigured to allow both tub and decent sized shower.

The easiest fix is to extend knee wall with glass at right side of vanity. Door the shower! ! Glass need not go to ceiling nor should it. You want it to dry in there!

There isn't much wrong with the bath unless you want more vanity ....

or a change to the tiles and surfaces

I'm with ninigret. One of our favorite features of our remodeled bath is the Panasonic whisperwarm fan/light/heater. It makes it so cozy.

It's unusual to remodel a 2 year old bath, so there must be some things you don't like. Is it only the cold shower that you don't like, or does anything else need fixing? If it's just the coldness of the shower, could you just add some kind of infrared heating as suggested?

The bathroom is very builder basic so I’d like to change out the tile and counter top and add a second light so there is one over each sink. I want it to feel more luxurious. The cold shower is also annoying.

I was thinking of adding this deep soaking tub like this and making the shower a little smaller.

I like Jan Moyer's solution of extending the width of the knee wall to the right, thus moving the shower entry door over and enclosing the shower in with glass to contain the steam and heat. Makes a good space for a niche that isn't visible from outside the shower. That area of the shower with the bench and the niche will be a drying off and grooming spot for applying lotions etc. I would add a towel rack or hooks near the bench. I also think you could add the fan/heat combo suggested by ninigret or just a heat lamp inside the shower.

You have a two year old house. Unless you'd truly USE a tub? I would say NO. Least expensive is an improvement to the chill issue, and a nice upgrade to materials with the fewest moves to plumbing. Basically? Add glass and then what you want to style.

OR.......... rip the whole right knee wall of shower entirely, and make the entire shower glass.

OR........... lose the bath entry to the linen closet, open it to the hallway instead. Extend the vanity.......ignore the numbers there. 39 x 72 shower, 47 inches path in front of vanity, and 22 for vanity . With little major plumbing changes. Just the loss of the linen. Much depends on WHERE you want the space, and how you store bath items. And the budget.

But............you don't have great space for decent shower by today's standards AND a tub that many do not use. At all.

or...................

I dont see anything wrong with the tile either, and a tub would make your shower way to small. I agree you could use some more lighting. You could also use a bit of decoration and personality in that room. Its a bit plain, because of lack of personal decorating. A color on the painted walls would help things. I would want a door or a shower curtain, (to me preferably the shower curtain). You might also need some extra heating. Bathroom is a really nice size, and looks to be well done.

Used a large shower like that for a time and always had to run the shower for about 10 minutes before I entered the shower to warm up the tiles which naturally held the ambient temp of the home, 72 degrees. Not a comfortable temp for showering.

Would you use a bathtub? A lot of people don't. If you have another tub in the house, you are good for any eventual resale. If you change the tile in the shower you have to re-build it because of the waterproofing. If you are trying to reduce the $$$, you could resurface everything else and leave the shower tile alone. I'd put a door and glass panel on the shower so that it is more closed up than it is currently. That will help with the cold. Lighting, new countertop, sinks, faucets, maybe a heater/vent, maybe floor tile (although it looks in good shape) - those things will make a big difference and reduce $$$ if you don't change/rebuild shower.

Well. I have a house temp of 67 most of the time. But I do have an ancient and wonderful shower head, instantly hot water, and a ton of water pressure. That sucker is toasty in a split second, and the water is fire hose pressure.

These gigantic showers being built ? In combination with sprinkle /sassy/stylish rainhead fixtures? You'd be better off out in the rain.

Thank you everyone! You have given me some great ideas and lots to think about.

Due to space and budget, I think a tub is definitely out!

I'm wondering if I could make the shower small and add a makeup vanity under the transom window.

A vanity like this

And this is how I picture the shower

Here is my poor attempt at a mock-up of the new vanity