Bathroom of the Week: Fresh Shower-Tub Combo in 49 Square Feet

After: Broadstone addressed the boxed-in feeling by removing the closet. That allowed her to put a washlet toilet where the closet once stood, facing the vanity wall — a much more discreet location. (The seat is visible at bottom right.)

She removed the existing shower-tub combo and, at the end of the room, installed a deeper, double-insulated acrylic tub with handheld and fixed shower heads and a single fixed-glass panel. She also replaced the window and moved it higher on the wall in order to enhance privacy and draw the eye up — a trick to make the room look taller and airier.

A heated fan in the ceiling keeps the homeowners and guests warm both inside the partially open shower and when stepping out of it.

Tub: Double-insulated acrylic, 32 by 60 by 19 inches, MTI; walls, trim and ceiling paint: Cheviot, Sherwin-Williams; toilet: Vespin II Washlet+, Toto