Designing Kitchens and Bathrooms - Is a tub in a master bath necessary?

We're planning a master bedroom bedroom/bath/closet addition. We personally rarely take a bath and prefer using the space to create a very nice shower.

But we're wondering if a big tub is a requirement when it comes time to sell.


There is a regular bathtub/shower in the family bathroom.

From the standpoint of resale, buyers want a tub. Watch some bathroom makeovers on HGTV to see what buyers are looking for in bathrooms today. Beautiful tubs take center stage.

<rant>Yeah, it's an expectation and real crowd pleaser. Even people won't use it, they tend to fantasy when buying a house. If you're designing this room for others, then a big inefficient tub is best.</rant>

On the other hand, peoples' bathroom habits are yet more unique and uncompromising than their kitchen quirks. I feel you should build exactly the room that'll give you the most pleasure, no more and no less. It's your life.

Are you remodeling for you or are you remodeling for selling the house?

In our bath remodel I get one thing I want, hubby gets one thing he wants. I get my antqiue clawfoot tub (yes I take baths). He gets his two person slate tile shower. The only reason we are putting in a tub in the other bath is because we happen to have a perfectly good steel one we are recycling for that very use. Also our plumber said tubs increase the value of bathrooms so long as they are dual-use. We have no intenion of selling, but since the tub is already there, and it won't be in our primary bathroom.

I think twelvepole and Kobuchi both have good points. I've seen kitchens I would DIE for and then found out the homeowner eats out all the time. I've seen bathrooms that I would love to laze around in and then found out the homeowner uses the house two weekends a year. I say evaluate your lifestyle, and if you aren't planning on selling, do what YOU want.

I think people spend to much time worrying about resale value and granted it is something to consider since a person's home is likely his/hers biggest investment. Unless you are expecting to sell your home in the near future, make things the way you want them. ENJOY YOUR HOME.

With a little thought you should be able to install a large shower that could [if need ever arose] accomdate a tub in the spot [replacing shower with tub/shower combo]

Unless you are planning to sell the house in the next couple of years design the bath to meet your needs. If you don't use a tub don't install one. Put the money saved into a really awesome shower.

Fancy tubs may still be a selling point but I suspect they are the most underused fixture in the home. I suspect that if you did a survey, 90% would say they never take a bath.

My wife and I bought a house last year the diod not have a bathtub in the master bath. We bought knowing that we would install one, bottom line if you have the house someone wants they will buy.

Al

Just my opinion, but how clean can you feel in a tub you have been sitting in? Low berm shower, big enough for an elephant, that's the way to go! I have a customer who has a "U" shaped shower stall with no berm at all, just a big room, which could be accessed by a wheelchair if need be, but no doors! Like Marksr, enjoy what you have and don't worry too much about resale value. Most of what I do is bathroom remodels, anyway, and the bathrooms look fine to me BEFORE I get in there and demo it all.

Walk-in shower in our master and tub in 2nd bath. When were house-hunting I rather liked the setup, but it wouldn't have killed a deal either way.

We always take showers and we have a hot tub on the deck so we don't need a whirlpool tub. So, if it was just us, we'd use the sq footage for a closet instead of a tub

However, we're expecting our first child in the summer so we almost assuredly will be moving within 5 years because of our school district and it might be as little as two years if we decide to move closer to family.

Almost no one I talk to ever uses their garden tub because it takes so long to fill up. But we're wondering if it would be a deal breaker for a significant percentage of buyers.


The idea of having a space someone could convert to a bath if they wanted to might be a good compromise.