Should You Remove Your Garden Tub? More homeowners are asking the same question.

Why Are So Many Homeowners Removing Garden Tubs?

The way homeowners use primary bathrooms has changed.

For many people, the shower has become the most frequently used feature in the room. They want enough space to move comfortably, practical storage for everyday products, and a shower that’s easy to enter and maintain. Meanwhile, the large garden tub that once seemed essential may go months—or even years—without being used.

The issue isn’t simply that the tub occupies space. It’s what keeping it may prevent you from doing with the rest of the bathroom. Depending on the existing layout, removing a garden tub may create opportunities for a larger walk-in shower, additional cabinetry, better storage, or simply a more comfortable layout.

In some bathrooms, removing the tub changes very little. In others, it completely changes what’s possible.

That’s why I don’t recommend removing a garden tub simply because it’s old or because larger showers are popular right now. There should be a reason for doing it.

So, Should You Remove Your Garden Tub?

Here’s my advice.

If you haven’t used your garden tub in years, another bathtub exists elsewhere in the home, and keeping the garden tub is compromising something you would use every day, I generally recommend removing it.

That’s my position. Not because I think garden tubs are outdated. Because the features you use every day should take priority over the ones you don’t.

If you’re stepping into a cramped shower every morning while a large bathtub next to it sits empty, it makes sense to question whether the bathroom is using its available space in the best way.

The same applies if the tub is limiting your storage options, affecting the vanity layout, or making the bathroom harder to navigate. A remodel gives you an opportunity to reconsider those compromises. You don’t have to keep making them simply because that’s how the bathroom was originally designed.

Are Garden Tubs Outdated?

I get this question a lot, and my answer is no. Garden tubs are not automatically outdated.

Some of the older built-in designs may make a bathroom look dated, especially when they’re surrounded by large tile decks or occupy an oversized corner of the room. But that doesn’t mean having a bathtub in a primary bathroom is outdated.

There’s an important difference between an outdated design and an outdated idea.

A beautiful soaking tub can still be a great feature in the right bathroom. What has changed, in my opinion, is the assumption that every primary bathroom needs one.

If you use your tub regularly and enjoy having it, I wouldn’t remove it because someone told you tubs are going out of style. On the other hand, I wouldn’t keep an unused garden tub just because someone told you a primary bathroom is supposed to have one.

Trends change. Your decision should be based on how you actually use the room.

One Question Worth Asking Before You Decide

If you’re unsure whether your garden tub should stay, there’s one question I find particularly useful:

If this bathroom were completely empty today, would you choose to install another garden tub?

If the answer is yes, that’s important. Maybe you genuinely enjoy taking baths. Maybe having a soaking tub is something you value. Or maybe your bathroom is large enough to comfortably accommodate both a tub and a spacious shower without compromising the rest of the room. In those situations, I wouldn’t recommend removing the tub simply because larger showers are popular right now.

But if the answer is no, it’s worth thinking about why you’re designing your newly remodeled bathroom around something you wouldn’t choose to put there today.

There’s a difference between keeping a feature because you value it and keeping one simply because it’s already there.

The one exception I approach more carefully is when we’re talking about the only bathtub in the house.

Should You Remove the Only Bathtub in Your House?

This is where my advice becomes more cautious. Removing a garden tub from a primary bathroom when there’s another bathtub elsewhere in the home is one decision. Removing the last bathtub in the entire house is another.

For families with babies or young children, a bathtub can be much more practical than a shower. And depending on your home and the buyers it may appeal to in the future, having at least one bathtub may be worth considering from a resale perspective.

That doesn’t automatically mean you must keep an oversized garden tub you don’t use. There may be other possibilities depending on the home. But before removing the only bathtub, I recommend looking beyond the primary bathroom and considering the house as a whole. How long do you plan to stay? Who needs to use the bathroom? Could another bathroom provide a tub? Are you comfortable potentially narrowing the pool of future buyers who consider a bathtub important?

There isn’t one answer that applies to every home. But removing the last bathtub deserves more consideration than simply removing an unused tub from a home that already has another one.

Will Removing a Garden Tub Hurt Resale Value?

This is probably the biggest concern homeowners have when they’re considering removing one. And I understand why.

A bathroom remodel is a significant investment, and nobody wants to make a decision today that creates a problem when it’s time to sell. But resale is more nuanced than saying every primary bathroom needs a garden tub.

If another bathtub exists elsewhere in the house, I generally wouldn’t keep an unused garden tub in the primary bathroom solely because you’re worried about resale.

Many homeowners and buyers today value spacious walk-in showers, accessible layouts, practical storage, and bathrooms that are comfortable to use every day. That doesn’t mean every future buyer will prefer a shower over a tub. It means there isn’t one bathroom feature that guarantees resale value.

The home as a whole matters. The number of bathrooms matters. The neighborhood and the likely buyer matter. The quality and functionality of the remodel matter.

I believe it’s smart to consider resale when making a significant investment in your home. I just don’t believe you should design your entire primary bathroom around a hypothetical future buyer while ignoring how you’re going to use that bathroom for the next ten years. There needs to be a balance.

What Can You Do With the Space After Removing a Garden Tub?

This is where removing a garden tub can become interesting. The answer depends entirely on the existing bathroom.

In many homes, the tub is located next to a relatively small shower. Removing it may create an opportunity to expand the shower and make better use of that side of the room.

In other bathrooms, the former tub area can create room for additional cabinetry, a linen cabinet, or a different vanity configuration.

Sometimes the best decision is simply to leave more open space. Not every square foot needs to be filled with another fixture.

And for homeowners who still want the option of taking a bath but don’t want the size and bulk of an older built-in garden tub, replacing it with a smaller freestanding soaking tub may be worth considering.

The important thing is not to assume that removing one large fixture means replacing it with another large fixture. Look at the entire room first. The space should go wherever it will make the greatest difference in how the bathroom functions.

Can Removing a Garden Tub Make Room for a Larger Shower?

Often, yes. This is one of the most common reasons homeowners consider removing their garden tubs in the first place.

Many older primary bathrooms were designed with a large tub and a relatively small separate shower. Once the tub is removed, there may be an opportunity to rethink that entire area and create a more comfortable shower.

How much larger the shower can become depends on the existing layout, plumbing locations, windows, walls, and available floor space.

Sometimes the new layout can work with much of the existing plumbing infrastructure. Other times, creating the shower the homeowner wants requires relocating plumbing or making more substantial changes.

That’s something that needs to be evaluated in the actual space. But if your main frustration is a shower that’s too small and the garden tub next to it hasn’t been used in years, it’s absolutely worth exploring what removing the tub could make possible.

Should You Replace a Garden Tub With a Freestanding Tub?

Sometimes. If you still enjoy taking baths but dislike the size or appearance of your existing garden tub, replacing it with a freestanding soaking tub can be an option. It can allow you to keep a bathtub in the primary bathroom while changing the way the room looks and feels.

But I wouldn’t automatically replace one tub with another. First, I’d ask whether you actually want a tub. If the answer is yes, then we can look at which type and size make sense for the room. If the answer is no, replacing an unused garden tub with a beautiful new freestanding tub doesn’t solve the underlying problem.

You’ve simply replaced one feature you didn’t use with a newer version of it. That’s why function comes first.

The larger question of whether a walk-in shower or freestanding tub is right for your bathroom deserves its own conversation. But when you’re specifically deciding what to do with an existing garden tub, I wouldn’t assume you need to replace it with another bathtub.

My Advice Before You Remove Your Garden Tub

If you’re considering removing yours, I would look at four things.

First, how often do you actually use it?

Second, is there another bathtub elsewhere in the home?

Third, what would removing it allow you to improve?

And finally, would you choose to install the same tub again if you were designing the bathroom from scratch today?

If you don’t use the tub, another bathtub exists in the home, and removing it would significantly improve a feature you use every day, I generally think removing it makes sense.

If you love taking baths, it’s your only bathtub, or the room comfortably accommodates both a tub and a good-sized shower, keeping it may be the better choice.

That’s the distinction.