<p>We have polished nickel in our master bath and find it as easy to keep clean as chrome or brass- easier than brass. It wipes clean with a soft damp towel. </p>
<p>But then I like the clear shower doors,too, and don’t find them too difficult to live with. You do have to wipe them down after use, but I would do that anyway to prevent mildew in the shower.</p>
<p>A garden tub is like a soaking tub with a ledge around it so I guess you can put candles etc on it.New bath tub in family bathroom is deep and 5 feet long have shower on the wall with rain spray and really like it.do not use masterbath because can’t shave legs in it.DD and I use bathroom and H uses master bath DD now at college so we have separate bathrooms which I like immensely!What type of shower enclosure if not clear glass?Like a clean room Clean my bathroom every day!Don"t want to have to wipe down after each use because H won’t comply</p>
<p>I think what you do is what works for your life style. DH and I don’t get up or go to bed at the same time, so one sink with more storage space makes sense for us. We also hardly ever take baths, so I think as long as there is a bath somewhere else in the house (for visiting babies, or the rare occasion when soaking seems necessary) I’d go with the shower. I wouldn’t worry overmuch about resale unless you are planning on moving in the next couple of years. </p>
<p>I had nickel in a powder room in a previous house. It never gave me problems that I can recall. I just don’t like the look of brass.</p>
<p>"How important do you think the double sink thing is? " - For your personal use, it depends on scheduling logistics in your house. For resale, I’d suggest double sinks. Honestly, whenever DH and I watch a HG TV program where a master bath has room for double sinks but opts for single… we cringe. As prospective buyer, that would be a definite disadvantage to us since we carpool and are often on the same schedule. </p>
<p>What height do your folks recommend for bathroom vanity in master bath (no kids involved)? My husband is tall (6’-2"), and it hurts his back to lean down while shaving. I’d consider a higher sink at renovation time. I am short (5’ 2")… but I think a few inches higher would be ok. Would 2 heights (and a step down on the counter) be too goofy for other medium-height couples (resale)?</p>
<p>On the tub-versus-shower decision in the master bath, it it is really nice to have both options available. Whether you need a long soak after a day of garden work or have a deep-seated disinclination to squeegee all that glass and tile after a quick shower, a bath makes a lot of sense on many occasions.</p>
<p>If you’re not on a slab foundation, you might consider a Roman tub. When we remodeled our shower-only master bath in the 90’s, we expanded the stall area, dropped the floor level about twelve inches, and built in a bench/backrest on one side. Works great, and for resale purposes, it’s a full bath, not three-quarters. </p>
<p>In hindsight the only changes we’d make would be to make the Roman tub rectangular rather than square (requires less water to fill to a nice soaking depth) and to find a line of tile that has coving pieces for where the walls join to the floor (much easier to clean than scrubbing acute grout angles). Otherwise, no regrets at all!</p>
<p>colorado_mom, Standard bathroom counter height used to be 30", but that has changed in the last few years. We recently remodeled and went with 35". Neither of us is particularly tall and it is very comfortable. I think anything up to 36" is fine these days. (I do think that if a bathroom is small (especially a powder room) a taller counter can look a little odd and give it a cramped feeling.)</p>
<p>When people remodel did you take in to consideration of your age.We are getting old and think what would we do if wheel chairbound.Partly why I like bigger shower no tub in master.After reading posts beginning to think maybe tub shower combo would work and probably cheaper but if one becomes handicapped then we are in trouble.</p>
<p>We are just finalizing our plans with the contractor for our master bath remodel. Definitely will do double vanities on opposite sides of room. Single vanity in our neighborhood would be an oddity and drastically reduce resale value as would using anything but granite/marble for vanity top. We are doing a walk in shower to avoid the glass doors and a separate soaking tub. We are removing the HUGE old jacuzzi that is currently there. Walk in shower will have multiple body sprays and overhead spray that can be turned off or on plus a wall mounted shower head and also a shower head on a sliding bar to use if you are sitiing on the bench shaving your legs. The walk in shower, sliding bar shower head and a bench are concessions for us as we age. Different contractors have suggested counter heights of 34 or 36 inches…H is 6"5". Not doing heated floors. Will do an “appliance garage” on my side to house my hair dryer, curling iron, etc. to keep them out of view on the vanity.</p>
<p>We installed our master bath counter tops at kitchen counter height, whatever that is.</p>
<p>This is fascinating! I knew CC would come to the rescue.</p>
<p>I’m now leaning towards a vanity with double sinks in the “master” bath, and forgetting about the separate “dressing table” station. </p>
<p>My other problem is that I am in love with vessel sinks, which tend to be very expensive. And a lot of them are very modern in design and would not be in keeping with the house. But there are two made by Kohler that would look great in our powder room, and be perfectly in keeping with the house and the William Morris wall paper in the adjoining hall and study. (If you have ever seen the movie Sixth Sense, we have the same wall paper in our front hall that Bruce Willis and wife had. Gave me the creeps! 
)</p>
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<p>I got relatively cheap brushed (not polished) nickel faucets from Lowe’s for our bathroom when we replaced the leaking original ones a few years ago. I was hanging a stamped tin mirror from Mexico over the sink and wanted fixtures that more or less matched it. These faucets have a matte finish and don’t show spots or dust at all.</p>
<p>if you really like vessel sinks I ordered a vintage looking sink for our 1900 bungalow- I will try and track down the catalog. I also like pedestal sinks for looks but not in practice.</p>
<p>This is where I found faucets I liked
<a href=“http://www.plumbersurplus.com/[/url]”>http://www.plumbersurplus.com/</a></p>
<p>As an architect, I’ve designed bathrooms with two counter heights. It can look good. If you have lots of space you can put the sinks on opposite walls as an option. Personally I think the standard height for bathrooms is too low, and I’m just an averaged height woman. In the US bathroom counters are often around 2’-10", however in Andrew Kira’s classic text The Bathroom, his studies show that optimum height for a 5’-4" woman is 37" (about the height of your kitchen sink) and for a 6’-2" man it’s a whopping 43".</p>
<p>I think either of those sinks would look great with your wallpaper. I’d love to hear from someone who has vessel sinks what happens under the bowl where they meet the counter. I’ve never been worried about putting them in powder rooms, but am leery about using them in a bathroom where there’s a lot more potential for moisture and mildew.</p>
<p>We’re in the midst of designing a new master bath and kitchen with our designer, and have chosen many of the same options as you have, NorthMinnesota. </p>
<p>One thing to keep in mind with either a bathroom or kitchen reno, is that you will not likely have the same opportunity with any other type of home project to get the biggest bang for your buck when it comes to resale. So, although of course you want to make the room functional for your family, it’s wise to also consider what is currently happening in your real estate market or you could put yourself at a distinct disadvantage when the time comes to sell, and it will! At our age, we won’t be doing these rooms again so this is the time for serious thought as to what is best on all fronts. </p>
<p>Consolation, I’d go with the double sinks, even though I can’t remember the last time my H and I were at our double sinks at the same time! We just don’t work that way and never have. Vessel sinks look nice but everyone I know who has them regrets the decision. We stayed at a hotel in Cape Cod a few years ago where the bath had vessel sinks and high counters and I didn’t like the design at all, and I’m tall!</p>
<p>I like pedestal sinks but only in a half bath situation where storage isn’t necessarily a concern. A good amount of counter space and storage is advisable. We’re also doing a linen closet in the bathroom. All of these things will be dependent on the size of your bathroom in addition to personal taste. If you have room for cabinetry beside each sink, have outlets installed inside on the bottom shelf so you can keep your hairdryer, electric razor, etc. hidden.</p>
<p>Counter height is 36". NorthMinnesota, if your H is 6’5" go with 36". I am 5’5" and find our 35" countertops just right.</p>
<p>This is the sink I like-- [Stone</a> Forest | Kitchen & Bath | Copper Bronze Stainless | Bronze Zen Sink](<a href=“http://www.stoneforest.com/kitchen-bath/products/view/47]Stone”>http://www.stoneforest.com/kitchen-bath/products/view/47)
I have wall mounted faucets in my kids’ bathroom and they are great, especially for cleaning. Plan to put them in our new house.</p>
<p>How does a walk in shower work with no glass ? Do you use shower curtain?Will it be drafty with no enclosure? What about privacy?</p>
<p>*In the US bathroom counters are often around 2’-10", however in Andrew Kira’s classic text The Bathroom, *</p>
<p>Ive never heard of that book- it looks very good- I am really interested in ergonomic design. BTW, D2s BF is very interested in architecture- any suggestions for Christmas books? ( He was weeded out from architecture school-now he is in environmental engineering grad school)</p>
<p>in the house we lived when we married , we had not double sinks, but a loong vanity with sink @ one end. It worked great as a place to wash D, in the small inflatable tub we had for her.<br>
I never have needed double sinks- but it would be nice to have more than one bathroom. sigh.</p>
<p>( Re: remodeling- while I initially aimed at going with " restoration" or historically accurate arts & crafts type decor- I really prefer eclectic- with a little more color & zing- I do wish we hadn’t gotten rid of our clawfoot tub- now I am on the look out for another - what others have done in our neighborhood with theirs, is use a brass shower conversion kit- H didn’t like them though -)</p>
<p>There was a shower over our claw foot tub when we bought the house. Shower curtains all round. It was ugly and unsafe, and made taking a bath almost as unpleasant as attempting to take a shower. We got rid of it and installed a “telephone” shower/faucet combo instead.</p>
<p>Mablab, a walk-in shower is designed so that the shower heads do not spray towards the opening. Think of it as a rectangular box with the opening at one end of the long side, with the showerhead at the other end of the box, far away from the opening. At least that is one configuration I’ve seen. All of those I’ve seen are tiled on all sides inside a constructed enclosure, like a closet. So there is no privacy issue.</p>
<p>For those who can’t (for water rationing issues) have more than one shower head, I highly recommend a hand held shower with a bracket mounted HIGH on the wall. </p>
<p>We did this in our remodel and it has been great. Shower head is high enough on the wall that I don’t get the blast in the middle of the back that I used to with the lower head. Probably right around 7 feet off the floor of the shower.</p>
<p>Hand held comes in handy when you want to spray something at a different angle. Actually it gets used most when cleaning the shower, second most when giving the dog a bath.</p>
<p>I design a walk in shower for my parents house. They loved it. Basically the shower was in a little room about 3’ wide and 5’ long. The opening was on the 3’ end and the shower was in the middle of the 5’ wall. I used glass block in the wall to provide light and there was sort of a 3’x3’ anteroom to the shower itself so that there was privacy in the shower if you really wanted it. The toilet room was compartmentalized and there was an outside door as well, so really no issue. </p>
<p>EmeraldKity, for design ideas I like Susan Susanka’s Not so Big House books [The</a> Not So Big House](<a href=“Home - Sarah Susanka”>http://www.notsobighouse.com/) and the various Design Idea books from Taunton Press. Taunton press also has nice books in their “Build Like a Pro” series. [The</a> Taunton Press](<a href=“http://www.taunton.com/]The”>http://www.taunton.com/) He might also enjoy a subscription to *Fine Homebuilding <a href=“at%20the%20Taunton%20site”>/I</a> or for less traditional architecture and more commercial stuff Architectural Record. [Architecture</a> Design for Architects | Architectural Record](<a href=“http://archrecord.construction.com/]Architecture”>http://archrecord.construction.com/)</p>
<p>I had a friend who wanted a body spray, but decided she couldn’t afford it. She put in a second adjustable hand shower. I agree they are great for cleaning the shower.</p>