Another question - the ceiling is currently 10 ft high. Do you think we should we reduce it down to 8-9 ft?

Hard to choose. A might allow more light in but B has a slight privacy factor. A might make bathroom feel bigger.

Both have merit. I prefer B because it would allow for a (hidden) long niche above the seat AND a big wall opposite the entry for wonderful, uninterrupted by a bench, tile work.

What is in front of the shower? I"d probably choose A.

Hi, Jean! I would definitely bring the ceiling down, at least in the shower area. In my professional opinion, Plan A works better. It allows in more light and I always feel like you can never have enough niches as everyone starts off with minimal shower product, but over time hoards numerous shampoos etc. Have you also considered doing radiant heat under the bench? In my experience, I have never sat on a shower bench in fear that it would be too cold and uncomfortable. Good luck!

Can you show the layout of the whole bathroom?

Thanks, everyone!

In front of the shower is 3' of space , which then has the toilet area door. Toilet area has a window, and will have a frosted glass door, in an attempt to get some of that light into the shower area as well. The skylight will be in the hallway area just in front of the shower. The vanity area is 8 ft deep and 12 ft from the toilet wall to the wall behind the tub. Tub is freestanding.

Here is the entire bath layout. We also have some space that we don't know what to do with, current thinking is put to a nice cabinet for towels and pretties. Another though was to put a vanity cabinet on either side, instead of one long one on one side.

For tile, the thought is something large & white; if we go with Plan A, then a rectangle deco of some kind above the bench; if Plan B, most likely a deco stripe from floor to ceiling on the back wall. Bench will be white quartz.

Plan B, with the shower head set further from the glass shower door, will minimize the amount of water splashing on the door and reduce clean-up time (less to squeegee). That is one of the things that I really appreciate about our shower.

If you do B then you can put a towel bar on the half wall. Or even a towel warmer.

Ooh, good idea, Annette! Maybe we could put the shower controls there as well, on the inside, remote from the head? Haven't thought yet about door swing...

Also - is the bench too deep? 17"? What does everyone think?

If you go with Plan B, you will want the door swing from left to right so the hinges will be supported by the wall. We have a tall, heavy door and had a 4x6 framed at the hinge location. With that size of shower, I doubt if you will need to do a remote location for the shower control. Or shower is roughly the same size and I find I can walk in to turn on the shower and not get cold water on me. Can't speak to the bench size as we opted to not put one in.

We brought our ceiling down from 10 to 8'-8'8" (sloped for steam). It will probably be warmer with a lowered ceiling.

I like plan B so that if you are sitting on the bench to shave legs, etc, you have a little privacy. Also your gaze will be on your pretty tile rather than the WC door. Towel bar or warmer on the half wall is a great idea. My controls are in my half wall which I like for easy reach when I open the shower door. Dont know if you are considering this, but I like my hand held next to my bench on its own separate control.

I do like the symmetry like Dragonfly Tile & Stone Works, Inc. mentioned but I also like what
chiflipper said about option B hiding the shampoo bottles and because of that I prefer option B unless your niches are deep enough to hide them.

Yes, lower the ceiling. As for that space across from the vanity "what to put here"? You cannot imagine the storage space that you would gain from a narrow depth full height cabinet (this one is only 9" deep), hand towels, face towels, ALL products, etc. and it adds interest and warmth to the finished space. You have plenty of space for that. Still vote for "A". Your niches are recessed so not a big deal with visibility. We often recommend niches in pony walls

for the same reason, but here, no problem. "A" all the way (it's not a public bath).

In my remodel, I’m still working on the layout and where I will hinge the door. In the event we decide to hinge in the center I will have the wall constructed like this.

I would switch the bench and showerhead locations.

I think that A would be prettier but I would go with B for functionality. As others have said, I like that B has the main shower head further from the opening, gives you a place to hang towels on the pony wall, and opportunity to put controls on the pony wall as well. Another functionality thought -- in both layouts the niches do not seem to be easily reachable from the main shower head. In option B I would put the controls on the interior pony wall instead of the niche and place two niches on either side of the main shower head.

Looking at the rest of your bathroom layout, have you considered two vanities on opposite walls? That would (1) take care of your "what to put here question", (2) make that space beautifully symmetrical, (3) allow you to end your vanity further from your free-standing tub than it is now (to open up the space and give you room to clean around the tub better and add a little stool or whatnot, and (4) still end up giving you more overall counter/cabinet space than you have now.

I choose functionality over aesthetics. For this reason, like kariyava suggested, I would put a niche close to the head shower though I would put only one. Personally, I don't like drawing attention to where I put my shampoo and conditioner bottles. Like other said, controls, hand shower and towel bar can go on the pony wall and I would put a niche on the east wall close to the pony wall so it is hidden.

I like B for function and love the idea of adding the towel warmer to the pony wall. Also have you considered adding a grab bar? With the 1/2 wall you can hide it. I mention this as recently I had issue with my knees and having the grab bars came in handy for stability.

I’d do B. My prefernce is for more elbow room (side to side) when showering, and I just like the direction of how the water hits better in that plan. I didn’t vote bc, I’d put an oversized linear niche behind a large portion of the bench, instead of a tiny one on the side. Maybe put the valves where you have the niche drawn. You might enjoy reading this blog post and seeing some other pictures. Rethinking the shower niche, EHD

Thanks to everyone for your comments so far. You guys are such great help! Here are revisions to both plans based on feedback. Also we tentatively put a vanity for DH on the opposite wall from the long vanity. Thoughts?

Like Plan B and the double vanity looks good. Just realize when you put the shower controls so far from the head that there will be a notable delay between the time you adjust the temp/volume to the time it reaches the shower head. It may not be a big deal if you are the type that does not make adjustments once you are in and learn exactly how you like the settings. I tend to adjust the temp hotter once I'm in and my body gets adjusted to the heat (especially in the Winter). Good luck on your project.

Or BB - different head locations...hmmm..

We do not like to see the shampoo & soap bottles, so we've tried to put the niches where they aren't so visible to the casual glance.

I like the new version of A. Some hospitals have a temperature settings on the controls of the shower. I suppose this luxury item is available in retail stores.

I have found that small (but necessary) things are overlooked in planning bathrooms. Do you know where your towel racks will go? Will you have enough wall space for the length you desire?