No they do not have to be ugly! I'm sorry I don't have any clippings or links for you - I didn't save any because we were not looking for grab bars for the bathroom we just finished. However, as we were looking for bathroom fixtures I saw several grab bars that did not look like grab bars at all - I was surprised at how attractive they were - and I am picky! You might want to look at high end bath shops, find what you like then surf the net for good prices. Good luck.

Kohler and other companies make grab bars that match their other fixtures and towel bars although they are hard to find on the site.

They are a lot more expensive than "generic" grab bars but I think, worth it in the scheme of an overall bath remodel.

I'm also considering asking him to make the pole from the hand held showerhead extra sturdy behind the wall so I can use it. I don't really need to grab and pull on it, I just use it for balance. Any thoughts? The shower head already has been ordered so I can't switch now to one intended for that use. I'm getting a Grohe Relexa Rusti

The hardware that comes with your handheld is strong but is in no way a Grab Bar. It may steady you week after week but when you need it most it may fail!

These custom bars I talk about can be ordered through any high end bath fittings store and can be made the same size as the stock tube. Consider having the bar made extra long so it can aid you if you need to get up from the floor after cleaning, etc.

I can price a custom bar package out for you here with ease that you can use to give you an idea of what it might cost for this safer upscale look. With an extra long bar your simple hand held could be slide down and used sideways as a single body spray jet. Many of these jets have massage settings and a nice lower back massage is a could way to end your day!

I'd be happy to work out this price for you. I can't sell them to you but I can tell you what I would charge some here in Vancouver for the same thing.

The strength of these Grab Bars needs to be great. The force they need to hold back in excessive of 300 pounds.

I'm passionate about this subject because my Nana fell in the shower. The one my Papa built her 60 years ago. Same tub. Same tile. Green and ugly - sorry Nana...

We visited her after her fall and she had a new 2' grab bar installed by a local Vancouver Medical Equipment stores installer. I asked why se didn't call me and she said "You are always busy!" True. I asked if I could test it. Nana said yes.

I weight 230 - maybe 210 with the weight I lost this week digging. I do not work out but have a tough job. I pulled the bar clean off the wall with less effort than picking up a bag of ready mix concrete.

"What a Joke" - 4 plastic wall ancors and 4 #6 stainless steel pan head screws.

I went back in the morning. Moved the buffet in the dinning room (back side of shower) and opened up the old walls to install proper backing. I patched the wall with one pass of drywall, moved the server back and installed the grab bar with some # 10 stainless screws and silicone.

I tested it again and Nana can do "Dips" if she chooses going forward. This single bar is a reach for my 84 year old Nana and I have asked time and time again to install more and make it ADA compliant. Nana thanks me every time and says she will call me when she is "Old".

The person building this shower for you should understand that this much force "Will" be used in testing. Test after boarding. I would not want to add this much deflection to a finished wall but it is a good idea to test the walls stregth before you tile.

Some scrap strong tie and a crow bar make for a good test Grab Bar. MAke sure you take down any breakables on the back side if you plan on really yanking on the wall.

Good Luck.

Let me know if I can help.

Ours is next to our clawfoot tub (with shower). It's a marble floor and there's a step there, so all the more reason we needed a bar. It took me a long time to find one that fit with the Victorian look of the bath. I can track down my sources if you want. It was expensive but like you, I didn't want an industrial-looking one.

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Astonishingly, I found the order confirmation from two years in my massive inbox.

This place has a variety of styles. I had no problem with the order or delivery, FWIW.

Here is a link that might be useful: Designer Hardware grab bars

I love mine from Smedbo & here's a link to it below. This blogger has a whole post and photos about innovative designed and brands, curved ones and round ones.

http://kitchensync.typepad.com/my_weblog/2009/09/designer-grab-bars.html

Here is a link that might be useful: Smedbo grab bar example

Thank you all so much for this great information. So there ARE some great looking grab bars out there, everything from contemporary to Victorian. I really didn't want one that was so wide around.

John, thanks for your offer of help. That shower is so pretty and I loved the story about watching out for Nana.

I am going to be SOL if I ever have a hip injury because I doubt that I could step over the side of the tub. I only have one full bath. There is an option of adding a separate shower stall at a later date. I was going to do it this time around but the cost was getting out of hand.

Now to decide whether to add the grab bar now or later.

You should add the grab bar now while you have the work going on. Order the grab bar so the supports will match it. See they aren't always vertical. I have mine on the long tub wall and I lean in it while I'm up on one foot shaving my legs. A friend told me about this line, Invisia, where the shower shelf, towel bar and ring around the water control in the shower are all grab bars and they are cool looking.

Here is a link that might be useful: Invisia grab bars - designer look

Look into Moen and Jaclo. Please let us know if you like the price and features. Apparently they have bars that can be both hand-held shower bars and safety bars. Exactly what I wanted to install when I did a few bathrooms.

Here is a link that might be useful: using hand-held shower bar as safety bar

Wow, I wish I had thought to ask this question sooner. I already have the Grohe handheld waiting to be installed, so it's too late to change to one that doubles as a grab bar.

The Invisia items are amazing -- great designs.

Yes, moen has some surprisingly attractive grab bars.

Hey Pam!

I wish that I had seen some of these cool designs a few years back when we added our master bath. I opted for a low entry and no grab bar. It was probably foolish, but I can't add it now. However the shower is huge and we do have a full seat built into the wall. The water closet does have one and I'm pleased with that decision. I've used that one quite a few times when my knee or back gives me issues.

Hey, Ellen. These are really cool, aren't they? My new tub / shower will be 17" high. The current one is 14" and not a problem. Even now the 17" most likely won't be a problem but who knows down the road -- or how long that road might be. It only makes sense to add a bar now, especially with all the pretty choices.

I refuse to put one on the back of the tub surround at an angle just yet. I'm getting a niche centered on that wall. It will have glass tile in the back of the niche.

Tomorrow I will go to the bath showrooms to see what's available. My new tub will look a lot like the link below. It's a Kohler Expanse. The surround will be subway tiles in an off-white, with a niche in the center of the long wall.

Imagine a sexy grab bar on the right hand wall, hung vertically. What do you think?

Here is a link that might be useful: Kohler Expanse tub

I am disabled and had grabs installed next to all of my toilets and in the shower. I googled "grabbar" and there are lots of sites online where you can order attractive grab bars. There are also links to correct placement of grab bars.

Thanks, Corky. Right now I am in my early 60's (aaaack) and perfectly able to step over the side of the tub. However, I have just enough creakiness in my knees and hips to know that I may not always be this way. Since I am in the midst of a renovation, this is a good time to consider at least one grab bar for the moment, just one to hold onto while stepping over the tub.

This is a Moen sliding hand shower that we had fixed to a stud. If you had this set up installed to go with your bath tub, it would look great and serve dual purposes. The bonus would be having both a hand shower and regular shower along with your bathtub. Best of all worlds. And I don't think it's ugly :c)

Dedtired, I'm only placing one grabbar at this time, but I am having the BLOCKING installed where I think future bars will go. It is cheaper to do it now and have it behind the walls, than to put blocks on the surface and mount the grabbars that way.

If your walls are still open, consider that blocks are cheap now, expensive to add.

I appreciate all the links to some really great products. Our bathroom walls are still open in two of the baths we are doing, and I want to put in only products which do not make it look "hospital" style when we sell the house, just smooth and efficient and safe.

Luk, that is so pretty -- not even remotely ugly!

Yes, I am going to have the blocking put in even if I don't install a grab bar now. Thanks.

thanks dedtired, I'd highly recommend the slide bar hand held shower, I knew I would like it, but it has really exceeded my expectations in several different ways.

Pam I LOVE that tub and can't wait to see photos of the finished bath! Our tub is a large Americh and we took the option for hand grab bars. I didn't regret my decision for a moment. It's a deep tub and I feel more secure holding on to the bars. It looks right, they work with the design of the tub.

You're wise to think of everything now-- your spry mother offers a wonderful promise of your later years.

Ellen, my mom is nearly 93. I went over to her house yesterday (huge house on three acres) and she was cleaning the garage. She'll be in CA for a week in August. Too bad you can't meet her. She'll be with my brother in La Jolla.

I am excited about that tub. I couldn't do a separate shower stall, so this tub provides lots more space.

I think my grab bar looks pretty swank. I think it's the bars that are rounded at the ends that tend to look institutional. Check out my picture at this link.
http://picasaweb.google.com/DCOGNAC/20100713?authkey=Gv1sRgCIbp9ITylJqDUw&feat=directlink

The underside of it has black rubber that gives you a very good grip when you grab it. But you can't really see the black.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bathroom Grab Bar Photo

That's very nice, Colorlady. It almost looks more like a towel bar than a grab bar! By the way, I like the color of your walls. Do you remember the name of the paint?

I meant to post a picture of ours earlier in the thread, but haven't had time to upload any photos of our completed guest bath as we push toward completion of our master bath. But from the manufacturer's web site, here is a photo of a Jaclo grab bar which is a little more contemporary and not "institutional ugly".

-- Eric

I purchased Moen fixtures for my bathroom and I noticed on their site that they have grab bars as well. (I did not install any, but they have quite a selection).

From the pictures supplied, I think mounting them vertically (rather than the traditional horizontal or 45 degree angle) might make them look more decorative than functional.

>From the pictures supplied, I think mounting them vertically (rather than the traditional horizontal or 45 degree angle) might make them look more decorative than functional.

Yes, but it depends on what use you want. Small hand grabs and grabs for when you're showering can be vertical, but usually if there's a tub you want the bar for helping yourself get up out of it to be horizontal so that you can push down as you stand.

We did one horizontal in the middle of the long wall of the tub to help with sitting down/standing up in the tub, and one vertical -- which doubles as the handheld showerhead bar -- to help climbing in or out of the tub. We don't need grab bars now, but figured we'd do them while we were doing the complete remodel.

-- Eric

We installed grab bars in our bathroom for our uncle who is mobility challenged. The grab bars proved useful for all of us not only my uncle. The bathroom feels like more of a secure place now. The sight of the grab bars itself makes you tread carefully and to hold on to the nearest one reducing the chances of an accident due to unawareness.

We bought the grab bars online and the quality is great whether in terms of usability or looks.

Here is a link that might be useful: bath safety products

Check out these grab bars. You can get multiple colours, finish and ones with dual-functionality.

Just my opinion, but I would worry less about aesthetic properties, and plan for security. One can‘t go by age because joints can go at anytime. If you don‘t use something ADA compliant, you could end up falling holding on to the “available” bar. Something that works one year may not be adequate for the next year. We used metal wall anchors for our grab bars because I wanted the ”big girl” strength variety. If you are rennovating, plan on now to make it handicap friendly. Your love ones may need assistance before you do when they visit. You might check with your workforce commission, vocational rehab, or whatever they call themselves now if you still work and need support services. Before I retired I wanted an egronomic chair to work for the state from home. What I didn't know was they had money to get me an office chair, work desk, foot rest, desk lamp, ramp outside the house, grab bars near the toliet, and made a roll in shower with grab bars. At the time I was using a cane. My husband became disabled also, so this worked out for both of us.

I like my home nice too. I just incorporate what I need to also be safe.