Freestanding Tub vs. XL Shower: What’s Right for Your Modern Primary Bathroom?

When remodeling a primary bathroom, one question comes up again and again:

Do you keep the bathtub, or use that space for an extra-large shower?

For homeowners updating older primary bathrooms, this decision can completely change the way the room looks, feels, and functions. The oversized built-in tubs and smaller enclosed showers that were popular 20 years ago are giving way to two very different approaches: a beautiful freestanding soaking tub or a spacious, highly functional walk-in shower.

Both can add value. But the better investment depends on your space, your routine, and how you actually want to use your bathroom.

The Freestanding Tub: A Statement Piece

A freestanding tub can become the focal point of a modern primary bathroom.

Without the bulky tiled deck surrounding traditional garden tubs, a freestanding tub creates a cleaner, more open appearance. It can work especially well beneath a window, against a feature wall, or in a larger wet area where the tub and shower feel like part of one cohesive design.

For homeowners who actually enjoy taking baths, there's also an obvious functional benefit. A deep soaking tub creates a space to slow down and makes the primary bathroom feel more like a retreat than simply a place to get ready.

But there is one important question to ask before designing the room around one:

Are you actually going to use it?

A beautiful tub that never gets used may not be worth sacrificing space you could enjoy every single day.

The XL Shower: Investing in What You Use Most

For many homeowners, the shower is the clear priority.

An XL walk-in shower gives you room to incorporate features that can dramatically improve everyday use, including a built-in bench, handheld shower wand, rain head, multiple shower heads, recessed niches, better lighting, and additional elbow room.

It can also make the bathroom feel significantly larger.

In older primary bathrooms, a surprising amount of square footage is often dedicated to a bathtub while the shower is squeezed into a small enclosure nearby. Removing that tub and opening the shower footprint can completely rebalance the room.

Instead of preserving a feature you rarely use, you're investing that space into something you use every morning.

Which One Feels More Modern?

Either one—when it's designed correctly.

Modern bathroom design isn't necessarily about removing tubs. It's about cleaner lines, better proportions, fewer unnecessary barriers, and intentional use of space.

A sculptural freestanding tub paired with natural stone and warm finishes can feel incredibly current.

So can an oversized frameless-glass shower with large-format tile and minimal transitions.

What tends to make a bathroom feel dated isn't the presence of a bathtub. It's an inefficient layout, bulky surrounds, small shower enclosures, heavy framing, and too many competing materials.

What About Resale?

This is usually the biggest concern we hear when homeowners consider removing a primary bathtub.

You don't necessarily need a bathtub in the primary bathroom for a home to be desirable, particularly if there is another tub elsewhere in the house.

If you're remodeling a family home, however, we generally recommend thinking carefully before eliminating everybathtub in the house. Families with young children often still value having one.

Beyond that, resale shouldn't be the only factor driving the design.

You're the one living in the house now.

If preserving a primary bathtub means living with a shower that's too small for the next ten years, keeping it solely for a future buyer may not provide much value to you.

When You Should Choose the Freestanding Tub

A freestanding tub may make the most sense when you genuinely enjoy baths, have enough room to keep a comfortable shower, want a strong visual focal point, or have a primary bathroom large enough that the tub doesn't interfere with circulation.

In the right space, the tub doesn't feel like wasted square footage. It feels intentional.

When You Should Choose the XL Shower

Go bigger on the shower when you rarely take baths, your current shower feels cramped, or keeping both features would force you to compromise the layout.

An XL shower can also be a smart consideration for homeowners thinking long-term. A spacious walk-in design can provide easier access and enough room for features like benches, handheld fixtures, and strategically placed grab-bar blocking that can make the bathroom more adaptable over time.

And Sometimes, You Don't Have to Choose

This is where thoughtful space planning matters.

Many older primary bathrooms already have enough square footage for both—they're simply using it inefficiently.

Removing a massive built-in tub deck and replacing it with a smaller freestanding tub can sometimes free enough space to significantly enlarge the shower.

You may end up with a better tub and a better shower without increasing the overall footprint of the bathroom.

That's why we look at the room as a whole before deciding what stays and what goes.

The Best Choice Is the One You'll Actually Use

A modern primary bathroom shouldn't be designed around a checklist of features you're "supposed" to have.

It should be designed around your life.

If you picture yourself ending the day in a deep soaking tub, make the tub part of the design.

If you haven't taken a bath in years but dream about an oversized shower with a bench, dual shower heads, and room to move, put the square footage there.

And if you have the room for both, thoughtful design can make them work together without either one feeling squeezed in.

At Modern Blu Remodeling, we help homeowners throughout North DFW rethink outdated primary bathrooms and determine where their square footage will provide the most value.

Because the best modern bathroom isn't necessarily the one with the most features.

It's the one where every feature earns its space.