Soaker Tubs Out, Showers In?

I would not buy one because I love my baths. I love nothing more then relaxing in a hot tub on a cold day. But for someone else it may not be an issue.

It's questionable right now. People usually put them in because of resale. There needs to be one tub in the house, I think. Big showers are a trend.
I would guess less than 10 percent have only a shower.

All I can think is, I hate cleaning a regular shower, I'd hate cleaning a cavern.

If I was absolutely in love with every other aspect of a house, lack of a deep soaker tub would be a drop dead deal breaker for me - I want a tub in MY bathroom, so a tub in another bathroom isn't gonna help for me... I wouldn't buy a home like that.

I'm not large on trends. I believe granite is overrated. When I was searching for a home the sight of granite was an immediate turn off (maybe not a deal breaker).
I think ideally the master bath should have a shower and a tub. But I don't think it would effect the MANY homeshoppers who ARE searching for the trendy home.
Why can't there be a master bath/spa trend? I LOVE locking myself in the bathroom after a tough day! And I am way too old and stressed out to need ANYONE( let alone 5 ppl) in the shower with me!

Yes, I think the masters need a soaker tub. At least mine needs one.

I personally use my very nice spa tub several times a year and our master also has an oversized shower.

We custom built in 1999/2000 and I like my nice huge tub with jets.

Most of the time....I don't use the tub but on days when I am freezing or aching it is a god send.

I wouldn't not buy a house because of a tub but I would list that as a negative on my list of homes I was searching.

I know no spa tub in Master is getting popular here as well because we are remodeling our daughters condo and that's the first thing our contractor mentioned when in her bathroom. But... She's like me and loves an occasional long soak in the hot relaxing Epsom salt waters!!

I think it's just a function of cost for people who can't afford to have both.

Most homes we are looking at have both. Ours only has a shower, and we have heard that negative feedback from buyers. Too much HGTV, Pinterest and Houzz have inflated people's sense of what is normal and expected in a master.

I don't even have time to soak in a tub. But, I suppose if I had a tv and wine fridge in there too, I could find the time ;-)

We redid our master a few years ago and it's quite big so has nice sized shower and very big tub. I've used the tub once. I don't think our hot water heater can make enough really hot water for it. And I'm busy. I do plan to use it someday though and while a good sized tub wouldn't have to be in the master, there would have to be one in the house or I would consider it a big negative. Not a deal breaker if I had to move and had no other choices but it would be a negative. I have several friends who love their baths so for them it probably would be a deal breaker. But of course everything is relative. There is a price for everything and depends on the market at the time.

The problem with the soaker tubs is that they use too much water and it takes a long time to fill - if you have two water heaters and can generate the water to fill them. But, a bathtub is a must. At least one in the house. We have a large jacuzzi tub in the master bath and I'd love to replace it with a traditional single person tub. My daughter (age 12) loves baths and she uses it at least once a week - especially in the winter. But I wish I had a smaller tub so that I could fill it to the top with water to be completely covered with water. The parent's of a boyfriend of mine in the 1980's had a huge round tub so at least the tub seem to be getting smaller. I think that sometimes fads get started with little thought to the practical use of an item. I love your posts J. G. :)

I think huge soaker tubs are a waste of space. I haven't used the tub in my adult life. Come to think of it, I haven't used a tub to take a bath since I was 7. My master tub just collects dust.

I love the bathrooms with the huge two person showers (extra jets are just an added bonus) and would gladly give up the tub for that. My shower is rather large but still only has one shower head. Whenever my husband and I shower together there's a disagreement over water temperature and who gets to stand under the water spray. ;-) It would be wonderful if we could each have our own shower head with our own water temperature.

We only have a shower in our master (we bought our house, didn't build) and I wish it had a tub. It wasn't a deal breaker for buying and I don't think it'll negatively effect resale though, since the trend seems to be heading that direction.

ETA: So this question got me thinking, as we just spent a fortune redoing our giant shower in our bathroom (it looked gorgeous, but apparently had slowly been leaking into the floor since it was installed. Hello, mold). Most of the houses in our neighborhood were built in the late 50's and early 60's. The master baths of all that I've been in only have showers, and the ones with the original showers are the tiny cave like ones with tile on 3 walls and a door. My parents' house was build in the late 70's, and the master bath had a big jacuzzi tub and a stand alone shower. So I'm thinking the showers vs. bathtubs in the master is a trend that comes and goes.

Funny, we are about to go into phase 2 of our master bathroom remodel. We have re-done the floors, vanity/countertop, sinks/faucets, etc. We haven't touched the tub or shower yet. But every time I'm in the (tiny) shower, I think about how I'd love to take out the tub and make the shower bigger. The tub that's in our master bathroom is just annoying. It takes up a TON of space, but yet it's not even deep enough for the water to go up to your waist when you're in it! I used it once, realized how annoying it was, and never got in it again. I'm going to remove it and make a spectacular shower. I'm tired of having to tie myself into a pretzel trying to shave my legs in that tiny shower!

That being said, I do love a good soak... but that's what I have a hot tub for out on the back deck. ;)

It all depends.
Like everything else, it matters what the style of the house is, what other features the house has, and what the prospective buyers are shopping for. If you live in a trendy area, and the buyers that will likely be shopping your home are looking for that, then...

Here's my take on master baths: I like having a tub. I don't use it often. But if I want to, I want to, and I don't want to traipse through the house to another bathroom, be it a guest bathroom or the kids' bathroom. There is nothing relaxing about being in one of those. And if I ache and am sore and NEED to soak, then again, I want to do so in the privacy of MY bathroom, attached to MY bedroom, so I can throw on whatever I want (or not) when I get out and be done.
I also love having a nice separate shower. It's mostly what we use (rarely use the bath, but it has been used a few times and was much appreciated when it was). It isn't a small cramped little thing, it is fairly spacious. But not one of those giant medieval stone halls with water spouting out the length of it like some of the ones you'll see on Houzz. (while I love those, and would love a weekend in one of those, I wouldn't want to clean it and I don't need to deal with the upkeep on a day-to-day basis).

Would I buy a house with no tub in the master? Probably not. Would I build such a house? No (didn't). Is it wasted space? Meh.. I have a nice big glass block window over it, and it is on the south facing side of the house. The room is flooded with natural light from dawn till dusk (reflecting off of the mirrors as well) and with all the natural stone it stays much cooler than the rest of the house does. It is a soothing place to be.

The side of that tub is also where I have a tendency to lay wet things to dry. Like my husband's swim trunks, or his sweaty running clothes, rather than tossing them into the hamper to stink everything in there up permanently.

My tub is a large jetted tub, 3 cornered, so I have room for a drying rack in the middle... and I lay my sweaters and "lay flat to dry" items in there. :)

My bigger issue, honestly, is that I don't think I could ever have a fixed shower head again. We have ours (in all of our baths) on a slide bar, so that not only can we pull it off to use as a handheld, but it is height adjustable. When my daughter was 6, I could lower the shower head so that SHE could manage it when taking a shower. And my son could raise it up for himself to where HE could manage it just fine as well. And even my 6'3" Dad could adjust it so that it worked well for him. And then when my mom gets in after him (5'4") she can lower it to suit her needs.
:)

Not really. As long as there is a tub somewhere in the house I think resale will be fine. Most people shower the majority of the time.

We passed on a house that only had showers. They were nice but with two little kids we needed a tub.

ETA: you don't miss a tub till you need O.: bathing a toddler, oatmeal soak for a rash, poison ivy, twisted knee, bad back, etc.

I think the lack of ANY tub would be a negative.
But the master? Who cares? Personal preference.
Those "elaborate" multi level jet, granite, room sized showers have been around for quite some time here. So I don't think it's a new trend.

Not sure how it effects resale. I do know that in the 13 years we have lived in this house, I have never been in our huge soaker tub in the master bath. (It would take forever to fill it). I have occasionally used the hall bath tub though. We have a hot tub in our back yard that gets lots of use.

Our master bath tub is nothing but a huge dust collector that is a complete pain to clean. On a side note we rarely even use the shower in the master bath. The bathroom has a very high vaulted ceiling, as a result I can never get a really hot steamy shower.

I would buy a house without a master bath tub.

I'm with Suz about the resale question. The only thing we thought about when we were looking for a house was whether WE would like to live and raise our kids in it, not whether we would be able to sell it to someone else.

That being said, I think that it's most important for a house to have flexibility, and having a tub as well as a shower in the bathroom gives more flexibility both to the family living in it and for possible future residents. Maybe I'm an old fuddy duddy, but I see no use in having huge bathing areas (or bathrooms). I'd much rather have the space in the living room and kitchen. Just my opinion...

I like a tub to soak in sometimes.
There are alternatives to massive huge pool sized tubs.
Consider putting in a Japanese soaking tub.
You climb in/out via a few steps (unless you have it sunk into the floor) but you sit in it like a chair and the water comes up to your shoulders.

http://www.houzz.com/japanese-soaking-tub

It's personal preference. Our last house had a HUGE tub in the master. I used it a LOT. The house we are in now does not have a tub in the master. We have been here a year and I have to say I HATE it! And yes, when we buy a house, it better have a tub in the master or I will keep looking. I think more people than not feel the same. JMO.

As long as you make sure that you have at least one tub... And it's a doozy!

Personally, I hate tubs. I have never wanted to soak in a tub. I am short and no matter what contraptions I have tried to use, they are not made for me.

Then the cleaning them. I am way to short to reach into them and across them.. I have back problems an in "Back school" Tubs is one of the things they recommend to avoid cleaning. So in my life not a good thing.

On the other hand, our daughter loves a tub, loves to soak, that is her thing. She is also 5 inches taller than me. But she is now an adult and does not live with us.

If I had 2 bathrooms, I would make sure the house had at least 1 tub, but if we only had 1 bathroom, the tub is not my priority.

FYI, I do not purchase a home for its resale value. I purchase the home that works best for us, because we plan on living in it for a long time.

We and our families are not people that move around a lot.

I have lots of friends that say they must have a tub in the master. Not me, I have used my soaker tub twice in 10 yrs.

We bought our current house 2 years ago and the master has a huge shower with no tub. We love it as we don't ever use the bathtub anyway. Our house is only 6 years old.

It was a deal breaker for me.
I found the perfect house, then learned the owner right after putting it up on the market tore out all the tubs and put in fancy showers because it was trendy, and the real estate did not redo the pictures. So needless to say, I am staying put for now.
My son has to have his hot bath every morning, so having a nice tub is a must. When I want a hot soak, I have to have a hot soak. Even when traveling, I request a bath, and if the room does not have a bath, well, they had to find one in a hurry.

Just my 2cp.

Our master bath only has a shower, and a small one at that. We do have a very nice deep tub with jets in the second bathroom, though.

We don't have the room to remodel without putting on an addition, so that isn't in the works at this point. (We did have to do work on the bathrooms about 9 years ago due to a shower pan failure.... that is when we put the really nice tub in the hall bathroom..... not an option for our very tiny master bathroom.)

Yes, I do. I think the need for tubs - regular old bathtubs - will be consistent enough for them to be standard fixtures. At our house we have the tub-shower combination. I generally take showers, but when I broke an ankle years ago I was so glad I had a tub to sit in (on a bath chair). In addition, we have grandchildren, company, dirty dogs, and other in-and-out residents of this house, and I'm extremely glad there is a tub so I don't have to get one of those big wash containers people pulled out and bathed in one hundred fifty years ago....

I'm not great on what's trendy. Big houses were in, and now they're out. Bathrooms and kitchens used to be workplaces, and now they're showplaces. I'm glad standing-shower stalls are a little bigger now (I'm contemplating whether the standing shower in our basement bathroom can be enlarged) - but not having a tub in a house I wanted to buy would be a deal-breaker for me.

Great question! My husband and I have had this debate recently. We are remodeling our kitchen right now but the next room will be the master.

I would like to rip out the tub and enlarge the shower or relocate the shower all together. However, I know that doing so could hurt the resale value of the house.

I have lived in our home for 9 years. I used the tub 1 time. Waste of space. If I thought I would live in this house forever, I would pull the sucker out. We have 2 tubs upstairs.

I wouldn't buy a house that didn't have a soaker tub in the Master bath. I love taking a hot bath when my muscles are sore or I'm exceptionally tired. I love the heat soaking into my body when I'm cold. I take showers overall the most but when I want to be in warm/hot water I want a luxurious big tub. Mine has jets and can hold 2 kids. They love getting in and playing.

In my opinion tubs are not for getting clean, that's what the shower is for. I don't put soap in mine at all. A tub is for those who would enjoy a hot tub on the back deck or a soak at the gym/spa to relax.

A tub is a must for me. I clean mine, and the 7 others I clean, with a toilet bowl brush. You simply buy a regular brush at Walmart then use the handle to hang in by the tub in some out of the way place. Splash some water to get it wet then sprinkle in some Comet or Ajax. Use the brush to scrub it gently and rinse. I have a sprayer option on the faucet that I use to rinse the tub out. No residue or scratchy bits for my hiney to find when I sit down.

You can also clean your tub as you're getting out. Keep a bottle of dish soap beside the tub and when you're done let the water out. Dribble soap in the bottom then use a wash rag and your feet to swish it around. Cleans all the stuff out and then when you rinse off you get all the grime out.

As long as the house as a tub in another bathroom, I think it's fine to do a large shower in the master. I think of a tub as a wellness tool, so for us we only use it for the kids and for sore muscle days. I love my soaker tub, but have to say I hardly ever use it. The kids have used it more than the adults by far.

I do showers - tub once in a blue moon.
However, I have to have a tub for bathing the dog.

Personally, I'm not concerned with "resale value" at this time--that could change in the distant future. So, a master without a tub is not a big deal for me. In fact, I don't particularly like the big "soaker" tubs. I'd rather have a jetted tub! We had a bathroom remodeled last year for my wheelchair-bound brother and the tub was removed for a roll-in shower. The shower is great, but that was the ONLY tub we had in the house (3 bathrooms)! I do miss it! Not really for me (we also have an outdoor hot tub that satisfies my "relaxation" needs), but for my daughter and the pets! I think eventually we will put another tub back in (brother recently moved out). If our master bathroom was bigger, I wouldn't mind remodeling in there and putting in a tub. In other words, I don't care where the tub is, I would just like to have one in my house. :)