If your going to stay in the house for 15 plus years then go ahead, but if you plan on selling before that time I would say get a nice tub/shower combo. What comes to mind is when you go to sell, it will probably be a family with kids and they use the tub. If you had ask could you skip the tub in the master bath I would have said yes to that.

Because that bath serves the non master bedrooms, I would definitely keep a bathtub in there. When you go to sell, no bathtub in the hall bathroom could be a deal breaker for anyone with small kids or those who are planning a family.

I'll disagree. As long as there's a tub somewhere in the house I think you can ditch that one without hurting your resale chances, and I'm a big tub fan, myself.

Thanks for the responses. That's what my brain was telling me but it was having trouble being heard over my heart, which wants a beautiful luxuriously large (for this house) shower with a seat! So now the question is finding a replacement tub/shower combo for this odd-shaped (angled ceiling) space... the original blueprints for the house, which we are fortunate enough to have, actual show a larger tub, set at an angle and filling the whole end of the bathroom. We may have to go back to something like that...back to the drawing board!

Many thanks ... I'm sure I'll be posting here a lot as this project gets going. I appreciate all the expertise these forums represent!

ct
I live in a dutch colonial in Ct as well - but the interior has no sloped ceilings to deal with. I understand your longing but have to agree w/what others have said - esp garden. The bath in ? is serving what would be children's bathrooms - Little ones need a tub and an "accessible" tub - one that has a huge deck is self defeating with the adult reaching in trying to get a squirmy wet/soapy child - additionally some of the tubs with high decks make it impossible to clean. One literally has to get in the tub to clean it.
Also, not sure what yr your house was built, but i personally like in older modest homes to keep the original renderings as close to orig design as reasonable.
You mention " a stunning glass shower unit with a seat, etc" do a search, many who have installed 'stunning glass..' are having a nightmare trying to keep them stunning. Esp in a child's bath I would opt for a shower curtain vs glass - not only due to the constant upkeep of glass but also, in our home one child may be showering/bathing & another may request to come in to use the toilet or brush their teeth - a glass application would prohibit other visitors

I love Kohler products if you have a standard length tub 5' I would maintain that if you can. Is the existing tub cast iron? if it is in relatively good condition you can have it reglazed
Link below to Kohler very user friendly site - you can search by length, etc... I would opt for standard length that is deeper which would provide for a better bathing experience & not take up any more space

Here is a link that might be useful: kohler

jejvtr... I probably confused things a bit. Our sloping ceilings (rooms on the front of the house) come from the fact that there are dormers set into the flared roof (so it's the dormers, not the "Dutch Colonial" part, that creates the sloping interior ceilings I guess? I actually love them and in the bedrooms, there are 1959-era built-in dressers and storage cabinets set into the walls surrounding the dormer alcoves. But in the bathroom, the tub was tucked beneath a sloping ceiling -- which rules out replacing it with any pre-fab units that are one piece (which I don't want anyway, so that's okay).

We considered reglazing -- did that in our old house (c. 1889) and it was fairly, though not completely, successful. But a royal pain and they had to do it several times to get it right. My bigger concern is how shallow this tub is -- no one WANTS to take a bath in it because you can't get the water more than about 8 inches deep max. So I definitely want a deeper tub, but it sounds as if the consensus is to keep a tub of SOME kind in there, along with the shower.

(I had thought about the cleaning issues with glass ... my DH said just the opposite -- he didn't want the "maintenance issues" of a shower curtain (mildew, etc.) so I'm not sure which is the greater hassle...?

Here is a photo of the top (slope) of the current tub area (sorry, the bathroom is too small to get the whole thing into a picture!), and another photo of the opposite wall which shows the slope better. My goals (in addition to getting rid of those lights by the medicine cabinet -- the cabinet needs to go, too!!) are to replace the tub -- I guess with another, deeper unit of some kind -- replace the aqua tiles (floor is same color and in poor condition so it has to go, too), replace the sink with a cabinet unit (LOVE some of the Porcher units!!), replace the old one-piece (and LOW, plus cracked) toilet with a Toto, and take the window alcove (currently filled with a cheap formica storage unit, c. 1960) and make it into a cozy windowseat with a cushion.

But I agree to keeping the feel of the 1960 house, which is certainly no McMansion. And a simple white porcelain tub, maybe spiffed up with beautiful new tile and modern plumbing fixtures sounds like the way to go. But I'm open to suggestions/ideas/creative solutions!

Current bath ceiling lines:

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Here is a link that might be useful: Porcher sink unit (or something similar)

I have been struggling with the same thing in the 1956 ranch we just bought in Maine. it originally had just one tiny bathroom, 5 x 7.5. Now it also has a master bath off the MBR and we're hoping to add another bath with another bedroom..... which makes the existing, tiny bath the "powder room", I guess, or the bath used by visitors. To that end, I wish I could get rid of the tub in there to make it more spacious. However---- I know we need a normal tub, and right now there isn't one in the house. So we will probably replace it with same when we redo that bath,

For what it's worth, a realtor I spoke with, who specializes in fairly high-end homes here, said she considers a "full bath" to include one that has a good sized shower but no tub. BUT she said if your target resale market is likely to include families with kids, you really do need a kid-friendly "normal" tub someplace in the house.

In our last house, here's what we did to make the small main bathroom seem bigger and still feel authentic to the (1926) house, below. We bought a decent tub (Americast, I think. It felt very solid) and did a custom tiled surround and storage. Real beadboard paneling and a pedestal sink. We tiled the floor and we kept the orignal medicine cabinet. The difference was incredible! I think we spent about $1200 on this bathroom, which included moving two fixtures (DIY).

original bathroom:

New:

ct
Love the bathroom - embrace your slope!

Given the modest size of the bath - I would rec having the alcove be some nice built in storage - not sure window seat will withstand the moisture

I actually like your existing sink - and the Porcher one

What look are you going for in there? Who uses the bathroom , have you cut out any inspiration photos that may help steer you in the right direction.

Having a small bath for my children's use - I understand your issues - every inch counts - measuring and putting existing floorplan (include window, doors, existing fixtures) on graph paper (1"= 1ft) will also help plan the remodel - & make sure your wish list items (check all specs on bathtub, toilet, sink etc) fit the space and how.

I had to chuckle at "my DH said just the opposite -- he didn't want the "maintenance issues" of a shower curtain (mildew, etc.) so I'm not sure which is the greater hassle...?" Dh's typically do not clean bathrooms, glass or shower curtains - I find it much easier to throw a shower curtain in the wash than to train children to squeegy the glass (which they can't reach) it also offers privacy & more decorating options Not to mention the $$$$$$ expense of nice frameless shower doors - which will also need clearance for swing - in a small space that will matter -

I think there may be a better way to tile the bath alcove as well -perhaps not all the way to the ceiling - just above showerhead and not all of the slanted wall

thoughtful planning will render a lovely new bath
Good luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: google images

staceyneil -- what a beautiful transformation! Reminds me (radiator and all!) of my old house, where we did the work ourselves (we were younger then) including taking down cracked, mismatched old tile -- to find horsehair lathe beneath it.

And jejvtr, thanks for the thoughts (encouragement!) and the links. I found the Jake Fitzjones one especially intriguing ... wondering how tall a person could shower there??

I will say that the existing sink is in very good condition (I wonder if I could sell it?) but I can't stand the metal screw-on support legs on the front, which are rusted, dated, yuck. (I know I can buy replacements of those, but I don't want that look, with exposed drain, etc.) And I tried to replace the faucet when we bought this house a few years ago (drain is missing, handles very hard to turn when wet, etc.) and found it remarkably hard to get something that was vertically mounted (is that the term?) with a 6 inch spread.

Is the moisture question (re a window seat) related to having a cushion on there? There is no exhaust fan in this bath (not required because of the window but it certainly would be helpful to have one ... though the windows are old and poorly fitted and on windy days, we DO have ventilation!) AND... this house has radiant heat. In the CEILINGS. Miles of copper tubing, which actually heats remarkably well despite being nearly 50 years old, but which means any remodeling has to be done with great care. You can't just punch a new hole in the ceiling to add a fan.

Now to complicate matters more... I DO have the option, at considerably greater expense (which may make it NOT an option!), to expand this bath another five feet behind the sink wall. There is a fully plumbed closet immediately behind it, which was plumbed when the house was built in case someone wanted to make it into a half bath later on. I didn't see much point in an extra half bath since it would be so small (5' x 5' and the same sloped ceiling) but I could see some advantage to expanding the hall bath to incorporate that space (assuming the wall between them is not load-bearing, which I don't know). So that's a "whole other ball of wax" to consider.

(Oh, and the dark block in the lower left of the photo is the edge of a fancy (for 1959) built in heater. We never use it, so plan to try to use the electrical connection already there for the heater to mount a heated towel bar. Definitely not an essential item but it seems like it's just begging to be done... don't you think? :)

Here's a fuller view of the sink/window:

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One bathtub anywhere in the house is sufficient. I see the bathtub disappearing from the american home. Only added when needed rather than a standard feature.

ct

Wow you do have loads of options!
I guess I would rec 2 things first
1. Make a list of what you want the bath to have/look like in priority order - ending with it would be nice to but not necessary
2. Sketch your existing space including the plumbed closet area on graph paper & then do a separate post like "please review my layout" that will get lots of hits You could post the pics above & closet with the layout plans you draft - Lots of measuring - there is software that some use & I believe is free online

Additionally -
What do you use the 5'x5' closet for now, what would you do with what is currently in there
5x5 is a doable powder room - and extra baths always score more $ at resale time - a thought...
Or you could have a luxurious bathroom and have a separate shower & tub area - ALl depends on your wants, desire & budget - But if you really can do w/o the 5x5 closet I would rec taking that space for a/the bath

RE: window seat - to me it's not practical in a bathroom and wouldn't get used & be exposed to moisture - Like the idea of heated towel rack they are $$$ - so for me that would be a "nice" to have - I'd rather see a double sink if you could do that there - I would also install a fan - looks like you get plenty of natural light - I'm sure something lovely/creative can be done in that window area

good luck

Wow, I'm getting deja vu from a lot of your pictures. I had the sloping shower ceiling in my last apartment and loved it, once I got used to it. So cozy somehow, and the ceiling over it was tiled as well, which I liked.

In my current 1945 house, the sink in my half bath is similar to yours. I found SOS and/or barkeepers friend went a long way towards getting rid of the rust on the legs and p-trap.

But more importantly -to me, anyway! - did you ever find a replacement for your sink faucet/handles? My sink probably dates back a lot further than your's and I have the same problem; I cannot find those vertically mounted (?) fixtures!

But it's even a bigger problem for me, because my half bath is SO small that it's almost impossible to replace the sink at all. The door just BARELY clears the sink and they don't make sinks with such a narrow depth anymore. My sink has diagonal corners and only projects something like 8 or 9 inches from the wall! After two years of looking, I have come up with a sink that I think will work only because it's narrower in width, but if I could find replacement parts, I'd probably just live with the sink that fits the space and the existing plumbing.

Anyone have any leads on that? The handles look like hell with years of deep wrench marks and calcification, the faucet sprays everywhere and it's just time to do something about it all. I'm not sure if mine is a 6 inch spread though it's certainly no more, and looks to be the same as your's.