He replaced the raised Jacuzzi tub with a walk-in shower, now it feels like a boutique hotel
Beige-on-beige tile, black countertops, and a corner jacuzzi tub perched about 2 feet off the floor. To shower, you climb up steps, then climb back down wet. Every morning starts with a small balancing act, in a room that already feels cramped.
The room wasn’t the problem, the layout was. Matty, who posts as @mattyjallday, lived with exactly that tub. “I had to climb up steps to get into it just to take a shower,” he says. “It made getting ready feel awkward and a bit unsafe.” Working with interior designer Sébastien Markoc, he reworked the whole room.
Why the raised tub made everything harder ?
“It hadn’t been touched since at least the ’90s,” Matty says. The tub doubled as the shower, it wasn’t enclosed, and it sat about 2 feet above the floor. He calls it a “strange jacuzzi tub-shower situation.” A tub that high forces an extra step every single day, and it eats a corner of the room that could do something more useful.
Raised platforms are a common culprit in dated bathrooms: removing a tiled tub platform and switching to a freestanding tub can make a bathroom feel lighter and less divided.
The makeover, step by step
- Rethink the layout. Where the corner tub once stood, there’s now a floating vanity with double sinks. That was the change that mattered most to him: “Adding double sinks to make it feel like a primary bathroom.”
- Swap the tub for a walk-in shower. No more steps to climb just to rinse off.
- Lighten every surface. The black tile and black countertops went out. Sand-colored porcelain tile went on the floor and honed marble tile on the walls.
- Finish with light and storage. Arched mirrors hang over the sinks with a new sconce between them, and floating shelves add storage.
“It’s serene, luxurious, and truly me,” Matty says. “It now feels like a boutique hotel bathroom.”
Plan B, if a full renovation isn’t in the budget yet: fix the safety problem first. MedlinePlus bathroom safety guidance suggests non-slip mats or decals in the tub, a non-skid mat outside it, a grab bar to help you get in and out, and a bath chair or bench for showering.
Where this makeover has its limits
This was a complete renovation with a designer, not a weekend project. Moving a tub, a shower and two sinks means moving drains and supply lines, and that’s work for a licensed plumber, along with any permits your town requires.
A walk-in shower also depends on careful waterproofing and drainage. If either is done badly, water ends up where you can’t see it, so leave that part to a pro.
If you add grab bars along the way, mount them properly. MedlinePlus says they should go on the wall vertically or horizontally, not diagonally, and that towel racks should never stand in for grab bars because they can’t hold your weight.
Get rid of the steps, put two sinks where the tub stood, and let pale stone do the rest. That’s the trick.