Talk again about luxury bathroom design ideas. The home’s magical site is on a remote dirt road seemingly in the middle of nowhere on Long Island. Opening the bath to the land makes it special. What I like most about the master bath at my weekend house in North Sea, New York, is that it is a space that embraces its surroundings. The room faces a bird sanctuary, so I can shower and see the bay or take a bath and look at an apple tree in a courtyard.

Alcove tub
Generally speaking, the look of the alcove tub will be just like a regular bathtub. These whirlpool tubs are enclosed by the wall on three sides (and you will get in the tub via the front). Alcove tubs are also called apron tubs after the technical name for the exposed front panel. Some homeowners prefer to install alcove-style whirlpool tubs because they fit well in standard size bathrooms. Not the mention the fact that it is easy to replace your old alcove tub with an updated whirlpool model – just make sure they are the same length, width, and depth. Usually, these whirlpool tubs are cheaper than drop-in styles. The exposed front panel of the alcove whirlpool tub is also removable. This leaves easy access to the motor for maintenance or part replacement.

Drop-in tubs
Drop-in style tubs are often built into a platform or even fitted into the floor! Usually, the platform will be covered with marble, wood, ceramic, or granite tiles. There is a a lot of versatility with where you can place this style of whirlpool tub in your bathroom. You will find different models incorporated into luxury bathroom design as free-standing or even corner tubs. You are also more likely to find two-person models in the drop-in style. Also these model comes in a variety of shapes from square, oval, diamond, heart, just to name a few. Make sure to get the proper sized luxury shower curtain to fit your model of tub.  You may need to forget about self-installation because these tubs often have complex plumbing requirements, making it necessary to hire a contractor.

The bath materials, consequently, take their cue from their environment. The gleam of the quartzite floor references the sky and water. Nature’s perfect imperfection is evidenced in the veining of the marble, which resembles the shadows the oak trees project when they’ve lost their leaves and are silhouetted against the winter sky. The sinks, one of the walls, and the built-in bench, however, are made of DuPont Corian. Even that man-made material takes on a natural character here as it interplays with light. And for people with crazy-clean tendencies like me, Corian is wonderful—going over it with a little dab of Soft Scrub results in an almost preternatural white.

When the house was designed with the help of my dearest friend from Harvard’s architecture department, Reed Morrison, we decided it was paramount to create a second-floor master suite where you could watch the path of light from sunrise to sunset. The views are what’s important, as experienced through a floor plan that connects the study, dressing space, bedroom, and bath to the outdoors. When you look from one end of this open-plan space to the other—sections can be closed off for privacy if desired—you are especially aware of the landscape.

In order to pick the right style of whirlpool bathtub, consider this: If you have a tighter budget and are only interested in a single-person model, the alcove whirlpool tub may be right for you. However, if you have more bathroom space, can afford to hire a contractor, and are more interested in one-of-a-kind design, then perhaps the drop-in whirlpool bath tub is the best choice for your luxury bathroom!

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