I think that getting into the tub on the short end would be difficult, particularly as you get older. And climbing over the tub filler harder still.
I suspect that you would see a wet room feature in luxury homes primarily because the occupant of a luxury home would not likely be the one who actually cleans the tub and shower. That particular setup would require that one get into the tub to clean it.

Yes, this is the first one I saw with the tub/shower coming together at the short end, the others I have seen have them side-by-side, a much better configuration for both usage and cleaning. Yes, the faucet would defintely need to be on the back end.

And that term "wet room". I did see that term used when I looked for examples, some of them literally have no barriers between anything in the bathroom, just a big open room with a curbless shower with no walls, a showerhead mounted on a wall with a drain in the floor, along with the sink, toilet, etc. Maybe a bidet.

Maybe it's just me, but as I get older and my body continues to go haywire (lol), I find the idea of a bidet to be really practical. The days are growing more frequent where I am sitting in the loo wishing I had a bidet. :):( Think about it! This is why it grows increasingly expensive to live in the modern world, we get to thinking of luxury items as practical, everyday items and dollar signs begin to mount. *sigh*

A consideration in smaller baths with an open shower design is shower overspray getting onto the tub. Or elsewhere. When done showering can you rinse it away with a handheld? Or will it self-scour? Overspray of just water isn't much of a problem, but if it's blobs of soap suds, body lather, hair product, etc, when the water dries those things can leave a scum residue.

If everything is well-designed and properly pitched to drain, it's quite easy to give everything a quick rinse with a handheld and you're done. If not, then things can get dirty after just a few showers.

A couple of comments...the bidet...if space it at a premium, consider a washlet. Often times Toto's washlets are discussed here, they have both "all-in-one" products as well as "add-on" washlets, where the washlet simply replaces the seat on your existing standard toilet. Excellent products, and I think better than a bidet, as once you sit down you're there until your done. No shifting from one fixture to another. Only one fixture to clean.

The Toto Neorest is an all-in-one, but it's pretty expensive. The S300 if probably the most common add-on seat, it's more affordable.

Back to the tub faucet being in the way...code requires the tub water to be able to be controlled from outside the tub. You can't be forced to step into the tub to turn the water on. It's a form of scald protection. That's why they have the faucet offset to the entry side and not located on the back wall. The design you show, the tub faucet location could be tweaked further to provide easier access to the tub. But that's the basic requirement for locating the tub's faucet and controls.

Thanks, mongoct, for the info about the code for the water controls on a tub. I had not thought of that, but it makes sense.

Here are a couple of bathrooms with a separate tub and shower in the same space/right next to each other.

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thanks, sundownr!

Sanctuarygirl,

I agree that it looks like it would be difficult to get in and out of the tub and to clean it. And I think it's easier to give a swipe to the glass shower walls with a squeegee than crawling into the tub to clean it (we really only use the shower; I've banned soap from the tub and have only "approved" its use for water-soaking of tired muscles, etc.)

With regard to seating in the shower, let me tell you what we did. We have the shower next to the tub but it has a glass divider, just as a single shower would. The tile "deck" around the tub extends into the shower for a seat (it's wonderful!), and best of all, DH conceived the idea of "hollowing out" the "seat" and we can stow our shampoos, razors, etc., where they won't show 'cause you can't see beneath the seat until you're in the shower. We love this arrangement.

One more note: Even though this design presents you with a super-big shower, I think it might get chilly. I think even on this forum people have written saying they regret not having walls enclosing the shower for that reason.

There are so many wonderful things you can do when you're building a house! Good luck.