There’s few rooms in a home that give a person as much pleasure as a well designed and comfortable bathroom. The utilitarian nature of the bathroom can sometimes help it get ignored. In the end, adding a wonderful new bathtub or shower can turn an unsightly bathroom into something both relaxing and inviting.

Obviously not every home is the same. Bath rooms vary in size. Also, you want to make sure you choose something for all intended occupants. Choosing a pure shower for a bathroom where young children may need to use it doesn’t seem feasible. When you’re looking into upgrading your bathing needs, there’s three main choices that people tend to turn to. These are: walk in bathtubs, jacuzzi tubs and dedicated showers.

Walk In Bathtubs

The walk in bathtub is a renovation option that offers both comfort and safety. The main reason that a walk in bathtub is chosen is to ensure that people aren’t forced to raise their legs to uncomfortable levels to get into the tub. Many of them also feature a seat within the tub to allow for a comfortable sitting position. This can have the walk in bathtub sometimes have a much more vertical shape, somewhere between a traditional bathtub or a standalone shower.

Unsurprisingly, walk in bathtubs are one of the choices most often made by seniors suffering from movement concerns. Regardless of the conditions affecting them, many struggle or suffer from pain when making certain movements. A walk in bathtub simply allows for the door to open and the user to step in comfortably. There are also locks that ensure the water won’t run while the door is open.

New Showers

Showers seem to be the choice for many modern and contemporary bathroom designs. Some are paired with tubs as well (especially large jacuzzi models) but the shower is used far more often.

Dedicated showers allow the ability to walk in directly. Size matters in a shower. There needs to be enough room to move comfortably, but there doesn’t really need to be that much square footage. The second important consideration is water delivery. There are many different styles for dedicated showers. One of the most popular options is the “rain” shower head which comes from directly overhead and mimics the feeling of being in a rainstorm. These will link with traditional shower heads as they are not for everyone.

While these dedicated showers can be designed into the bathroom, there are also standalone units which can be purchased and simply moved into a space a slong as there is plumbing. Locations like the Home Depot and Lowes can sell dedicated showers that are much easier to install and range from around $500 to $2000.

Jacuzzi Tubs

For many people, a whirlpool or jacuzzi bathtub is the crowning achievement of a bathroom redesign. These larger and comfortable baths can eschew any pretense of allowing people to also shower, and instead just focus on providing the most relaxing and comfortable bath possible.

Jacuzzi bathtubs feature water jets which work to massage a person’s stress points just like a hot tub in the backyard will. However, it does so in a comfortable and compact size. Jacuzzi tubs tend to be on the large side to allow for ample space to spread out. There are designs specifically created to fit two people comfortably. Headrests are often available so no one is ruining their comforting bath by pressing their head up against a hard surface. Jacuzzi tubs have a huge difference in price depending on the quality and size. An entry level model can cost around $700. The most luxurious can cost over $10,000. It’s important to have a budget when installing a jacuzzi tub, but you do often get what you pay for.