{"id":1295,"date":"2022-09-27T09:13:52","date_gmt":"2022-09-27T09:13:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/billingsrealtybrokers.paradiseinnovations.com\/index.php\/2022\/09\/27\/so-wheres-the-tub-a-close-look-at-the-dumbest-bathroom-trend-to-date\/"},"modified":"2022-09-27T09:13:52","modified_gmt":"2022-09-27T09:13:52","slug":"so-wheres-the-tub-a-close-look-at-the-dumbest-bathroom-trend-to-date","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/billingsrealtybrokers.paradiseinnovations.com\/index.php\/2022\/09\/27\/so-wheres-the-tub-a-close-look-at-the-dumbest-bathroom-trend-to-date\/","title":{"rendered":"So, Where\u2019s the Tub? A Close Look at the Dumbest Bathroom Trend to Date"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Getty Images<\/p>\n

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Tune in to HGTV these days, and it\u2019s more than likely you\u2019ll spot some flipping duo ripping out a home\u2019s humble bathtub to make space for a large, luxurious shower.<\/p>\n

This got me wondering: Why?<\/p>\n

Sometimes, these flippers go so far as to remove the only<\/em> tub in the house, all for the sake of a spacious shower. I was truly baffled. For starters, what about the hordes of homebuyers with young kids? You can\u2019t very well bathe a baby in a shower.<\/p>\n

And while most adults might shower more often than they bathe, I, for one, enjoy sinking into a tub on occasion. And I\u2019m hardly alone. A recent survey by Bath Fitter<\/a> found that around half of Americans take a bath at least once a week, and that 54% would bathe more often if they had the time.<\/p>\n

Because let\u2019s admit it, a long soak is a beautiful thing. Why remove that possibility from your house?<\/p>\n

Apparently, flippers have their reasons.<\/p>\n

<\/a> Photo by Devine Bath & Kitchen<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Why banishing the tub from the bathroom is a big trend<\/h2>\n

I get it from an aesthetic point of view: There\u2019s nothing glamorous about a workaday tub with a ho-hum curtain pulled across it\u2014or worse, a shower door with dated, opaque glass that rattles on the track.<\/p>\n

\u201cA walk-in shower turns a bathroom from an eyesore room into one that\u2019s more aesthetically pleasing,\u201d says Kara Harms<\/strong>, a design blogger at Whimsy Soul<\/a>. That luxe spa feeling you get when you\u2019re at a fancy hotel is exactly the vibe that folks want every day, especially after a years-long COVID-19 pandemic and other grave uncertainties in the world.<\/p>\n

For flippers, the drive to remove tubs is all about the money, honey.<\/p>\n

\u201cFlippers know that a large, well-designed shower is more of a selling point than a master tub with a small shower or a shower-tub combo,\u201d explains Briana Ellis Hoag<\/strong>, owner of Ritual Architecture<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cBathroom remodels usually have the highest return on investment in a home, and a big shower can help your home\u2019s resale value,\u201d adds Carolyn Gagnon<\/strong>, a real estate agent with Compass<\/a> in New York City.<\/p>\n

And while families might be turned off by no tub, that\u2019s OK, since many flippers are more interested in attracting buyers who are either younger (who don\u2019t need a tub) or older (who don\u2019t really need a tub either) and wealthier to boot.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople who are remodeling homes, though specifically flippers, are keen to remove tubs because of how they perceive their target buyer,\u201d says Hoag.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s not just the moneyed set that expects to see the \u201cshower only\u201d amenity.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s also a good portion of homebuyers in the midrange market that don\u2019t utilize tubs, especially in the master bathroom,\u201d continues Hoag. \u201cThey\u2019d rather have that space for a large shower that\u2019s used on a daily basis.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/a> Photo by Harth Builders<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Another perk to showers? They\u2019re better for older folks.<\/p>\n

\u201cWalk-in showers are rising in popularity because they\u2019re more accessible\u2014a tub means you have to step in and out, which not everyone can do easily,\u201d notes Harms.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re aging as a nation, with the number of folks aged 65 and older slated to more than double in the next 40 years, reaching 80 million in 2040. What\u2019s more, many are choosing to age in place<\/a> in homes that they then must retrofit to meet their needs. Swapping a shower for a tub fits perfectly into this trend.<\/p>\n

<\/a> Photo by Bender Homes LLC<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

But here\u2019s why banishing the tub may be a bad idea<\/h2>\n

Yet many architects and real estate agents alike urge homeowners to keep at least one tub somewhere in the home for practicality\u2019s sake.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe always suggest keeping at least one tub in the house since it\u2019s great for kids, grandkids, and pets and<\/em> also for resale,\u201d says Pamela O\u2019Brien<\/strong>, principal designer at Pamela Hope Designs<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s wise to remove all the tubs from the bathrooms of the house, as there are many families entering the market with young children who will need a standard bathtub,\u201d adds Hoag.<\/p>\n

This plastic insert is what the bathtub has become.<\/p>\n

Amazon<\/p>\n

For homeowners who are determined to have their shower, there is a workaround.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can buy a shower tub for kids that goes on the bottom of the shower floor,\u201d says Harms. That way, \u201cthere\u2019s no need to build an entire room around bathing a child.\u201d<\/p>\n

Plastic tub inserts like the one pictured above ($24, Amazon<\/a>) certainly do fix the problem. Still, this problem wouldn\u2019t exist in the first place if you had just kept your tub.<\/p>\n

<\/a> Photo by PARKinteriordesign<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re willing to hold on to a shower-tub combo you own, there are other bells and whistles to consider in a bathroom remodel that could earn you back some money.<\/p>\n

\u201cNewer, high-end amenities like radiant flooring, vanity mirrors, better lighting, tiling, faucets, and countertops are just a few examples of additions that could bring more to your wallet,\u201d says Gagnon.<\/p>\n

I, for one, will never trade my tub, and chalk this up to a rage that, like so many others, will one day have multitudes shaking their heads and clucking, \u201cRemove the tub! What were they thinking?\u201d<\/p>\n

As all trends tend to do, this one will eventually disappear down the drain of home design fads where, in my mind, it belongs.<\/p>\n

The post So, Where\u2019s the Tub? A Close Look at the Dumbest Bathroom Trend to Date<\/a> appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com\u00ae<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Getty Images Tune in to HGTV these days, and it\u2019s more than likely you\u2019ll spot some flipping duo ripping out a home\u2019s humble bathtub to make space for a large, luxurious shower. This got me wondering: Why? Sometimes, these flippers go so far as to remove the only tub in the house, all for the…Read More→<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1296,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1295","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/billingsrealtybrokers.paradiseinnovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1295","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/billingsrealtybrokers.paradiseinnovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/billingsrealtybrokers.paradiseinnovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/billingsrealtybrokers.paradiseinnovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1295"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/billingsrealtybrokers.paradiseinnovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1295\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/billingsrealtybrokers.paradiseinnovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1296"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/billingsrealtybrokers.paradiseinnovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1295"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/billingsrealtybrokers.paradiseinnovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1295"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/billingsrealtybrokers.paradiseinnovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1295"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}