I would keep a shower/tub combo in the guest room bath if you plan to sell in the next five years.

Yeah, imagine a couple with young kids. They don't want the only bathtime option to be their fancy master tub...

Hi, I would ask you first how long you plan to stay in your home. In most of the renovations we design, the tub goes and is replaced with a shower and bench. Unless you are updating the home for a sale, I would mot hesitate to remove the tub. Several of my clients prepare their guest room and bath for elderly relatives who visit, and for them especially, I recommend installing a shower only. A roll-in shower (with no dam to step over) is also very practical for older users. Following are examples of renovations we made in a home for retirees and a condo bath for guests. www.marleneoliphant.com

Porter Ranch Kitchen Remodel · 詳細

Pasadena CA Condo Remodel · 詳細

Ditto keeping the tub, but I would seriously consider moving this room forward in the same direction as you have done with the master bath. If I was a potential buyer I would see this room as a negative. If the house is only upgraded in a piece-meal manner with some rooms left behind it does not reflect well on the overall picture. Replacing the light fixture, upgrading the vanity from cheap builder basic, and modernizing the tile would be a very effective and cost efficient reno.

Even though I am not planning on selling within the next 10 years, I completely agree with you on the piecemeal effect, which is the reason for the redo. It is one of the last things to get done but it bugs me right now. :)

I understand the piece meal approach. I also vote on keeping the tub for resale value and saving money. But if money is not the issue and you are staying in the house. Go ahead and remove the tub. What ever you decide, keep the cat art! I am sure it will look just as whimsical in the new bathroom.

We've got a sort of similar dilemma in that our only tub is in the guest bath on the 2nd floor. Comparable units in our building have a ground floor powder room that is a full bath, and we only have a 1/2 bath. I don't want a full bath on our ground floor (which is K, DR, GR and no beds) and I'd love to remove the bathtub from the 2nd floor guest bath to, but for resale value I think the place needs a tub somewhere, and that tub needs to be kid-friendly.

We are in a condo development where I think the market appeals more to aging-in-place than young families. If I was to imagine future buyers, they'd be a lot like me, in that shower stalls you can someday wheel into and that have a bench inside are way more valuable than tubs, yet you'd still want a tub somewhere for when the grandkids come to visit.

That said I am contemplating the sense of just making the shower big enough to inflate a pool inside for occasional grandkid bath time....

Showers v. tubs for small children is always an interesting question; some parents prefer showers for safety reasons. However, I chose even deeper tubs for my hall bath renos because I anticipate that the primary users for the next 10-15 years will be younger than we are -- and/or their children. We have a four piece in the renovated master that is much larger than the basic 5x10 and 5x8 hall baths, and installed a no-threshold shower, but created instead a 1.5 inch difference between the master bedroom and master bathroom floors -- this has been temporarily alleviated with a wood splint -- but we will hope to widen the marble threshold, extending further into the master bedroom, for aesthetic and functional reasons.

As for your project, it's hard to judge the appearance of 30 year old tile from a picture on the internet, and I am quite confident that this bathroom is difficult to clean, even though it is not used daily. Yes the vanity, etc. dates the house more than the tub, but I would gut and replace, budget permitting, and install a heated floor, too. Your guests will love it! For resale, I would use the same scale and style of tile as in the master, but lighter tones in grays and whites.

Yes, I am from the NW, and understand the aesthetic -- However, an "update" rather than a full renovation may reduce the value of the home, not increase it. Other times, the original is better than new, and only needs fresh grout, fresh paint, fresh fixtures - and, sometimes, fresh wiring and plumbing, too.