Swoon-Worthy Showers You'll Never Want to Get Out Of
The shower steals the show in these dream bathrooms with the help of clever design and dramatic materials
The term ‘shower stall’ often conjures a utilitarian, single-person spot meant for one thing: getting clean. These fantastic showers are a different animal – in many of them, solid walls and opaque barriers have been largely banished to let in light and views, making an everyday wash an exhilarating experience. Take a look at 14 examples that challenge the bathtub’s title as the ultimate place for a relaxing soak.
At 2m by 1.4m, this shower has ample room for two people to enjoy the water view. With architectural details such as the arch, this shower is far from a box relegated to the corner of the bathroom – it’s the star of the design stage.
This wet room (a bath area with drainage and waterproof surfaces that means no glass enclosure is needed) has a double connection to the outside: the large window behind the tub and the skylight overhead.
Without the windows, this shower and wet room would be less remarkable. But with them the room gives bathers the experience of showering outdoors, minus the drafts.
Read more: Easy and Inexpensive Ways to Make Your Bathroom Feel Better
Read more: Easy and Inexpensive Ways to Make Your Bathroom Feel Better
Not everyone has a master bath that faces an empty beach or a dense forest. LeichtUSA in Irvine, California, gave the owners of this dreamy bath privacy by creating a walled courtyard outside the window. The wall is high enough to provide screening but not so high that it blocks out mountaintop views.
Insider interest
Having a dream shower doesn’t mean the room has to possess a stunning outdoor view. Many architects and designers are creating drama through materials, making a shower in a totally enclosed space a transportive experience.
The shower in this houseboat project has a mere porthole window to the outside, but it doesn’t feel constricted.
The patterns in the Black Cloud onyx make an engaging, topographic map-like landscape. Four body jets in addition to an overhead and hand shower make this imagined landscape a rainy one.
See more of this house
Having a dream shower doesn’t mean the room has to possess a stunning outdoor view. Many architects and designers are creating drama through materials, making a shower in a totally enclosed space a transportive experience.
The shower in this houseboat project has a mere porthole window to the outside, but it doesn’t feel constricted.
The patterns in the Black Cloud onyx make an engaging, topographic map-like landscape. Four body jets in addition to an overhead and hand shower make this imagined landscape a rainy one.
See more of this house
The striated patterns in the marble in this wet room make it seem to exist in the clouds.
Sometimes it’s the material mix that makes a fantasy shower. Take this three-sided shower. “The grey-blue matt glass tile mosaic and soft brown linear-striped porcelain tile are illuminated by a skylight. The curbless shower includes a linear floor drain. The simple, clean geometric forms of the shower fittings include body spray jets and a handheld shower wand,” say the designers.
There is just one dominant tile pattern on the wall and floor of this shower but it shows the power of repetition.
This London bathroom shows that a small amount of tile also makes a big impact in a shower. The explosion of colour and pattern in this relatively small bathroom scores high on the dreamy scale.
Read more: How to Plan the Perfect Shower Room
Read more: How to Plan the Perfect Shower Room
Another houseboat project – this one in Berkeley, California – relies on the pattern of a glass and metal shower door for drama.
A clerestory window does provide light, but the wow factor is the multi-paned shower enclosure.
Of course, beauty need not be dependent on square footage. This bathroom is not large, but the view of the stained-glass window from the shower makes it feel expansive.
Another not-too-big bath relies on form, trim and a bold splash of green tile in a mostly white environment to make this shower irresistible.
Big or small, dreams are enjoyable – and they can come true in any room of the house.
YOUR SAY
Do you love your shower or bath more? Tell us all about it in the comments section.
MORE
Steam Showers: The Perfect Antidote to a Busy Life
Shower Power: How to Get the Design Right First Time
Outdoor Showers: 14 Refreshing Design Ideas
Bathroom Update: Shower Enclosures That Are Cool and Classy
Big or small, dreams are enjoyable – and they can come true in any room of the house.
YOUR SAY
Do you love your shower or bath more? Tell us all about it in the comments section.
MORE
Steam Showers: The Perfect Antidote to a Busy Life
Shower Power: How to Get the Design Right First Time
Outdoor Showers: 14 Refreshing Design Ideas
Bathroom Update: Shower Enclosures That Are Cool and Classy
Before we lather up, let’s make two assumptions:
1. There is proper privacy, and the windows aren’t open to the street or neighbour’s house.
2. Heating systems are in place or not needed. (Hot water has a way of warming up a space.)
This Berlin bathroom illustrates the concept perfectly: the shower is completely open to the views and the light provided by the bank of exterior windows. (Shades rise from the bottom up to provide a privacy screen.) The view outside the window isn’t the only attractive thing to look at; the glass wall makes it possible to admire the wood grain of the pine ceiling and walls. The designers installed a rain shower head, something that is high on the wish lists of many homeowners.