Judith I think I have a pretty good idea of what you have on your mind now. From what you've said the shower will be going against the brick wall. That will leave the other side "open". What I'd suggest to consiser is make use of that side too so you'll have double the use of that area. If I was in your shoes, on the other side of the area, near the current metal fence, I'd have a sitting area. In Key West they'd probably have one or two andorondike chairs. This way, after you put all that work into your tropical get-away you'll be able to enjoy it even more, with a cool spot for reading or relaxing. You could literally spend the day in their if you where so inclined. But now back to your dream picture. It really is a nice area. What really gives that area the tropical look are the plants and just as importantly, the wood work. What I would recomend for your project is to first "pencil out" a design, then install the shower and floor/ground cover and add plants last. Once the shower is in and maybe a chair or two, you'll know exactly what you have to work with. The shower is the most important thing, especailly the functionality. WHen you put that in, I'd assume it'll drain into the yard, you have to make sure the area has the proper grade, so water moves away from the area. So get the shower in and work around that. Next you can look at the sides. I think the brick wall is nice. On the side with the metal fence, what would be best for the long run is to build the same wood fence you have now. Add another twelve feet or so. Or like you said, you could go with a roll of bamboo fence. Or even cheaper I think, is a roll of reed fense that's available at Home Depot or Lowes. Last would be to get the ground done, which is really part of doing the shower and should probably be done first. Now's the time to refer to your plan and start building that in. In your picture, what really sets things off is that nice "teak?" floor. If you have it in your budget to do that, great. But if you look at your picture between the two deck areas, you'll see a gravel path. That's what I would go with to keep thing cheap. Under the shower I would put 4 large, square terra cotta pavers for the floor. In the areas that won't have plants I'd put white pebble gravel. The white rock really "pops" in a shaded area. Prior to laying the gravel down make sure you give it a douple or tripple layer of gardeners cloth, or what you find best, so that once the gravel is down, you won't have to worry about weeds. And for a pathway through the area, I'd use the pavers you have, but I would double them up into squares, and stagger them to recreate the nice curved path you have now. This again is all Key West style. I'd assume they use this because it is the cheapest way of doing things and it comes out great. Once all that was done and working nicely, I'd add the plants. If you really want a secluded area with lots of privacy, on the backyard side entrance, I'd have the two big banana marking the backyard entrance, either near the fence and the wall, or closer to the center. Looks like you have may enough room for a banana in each corner. Once all that's done, you can fill in the interior as you see fit with plants, pots, stones, pagoda's or whatever catches your fancy. Plenty of ways to do it cheaply. You won't have the huge teak deck that the picture has, but one thing you will have, hopefully, is some contrasting red, burgandy, in form of caladium "small elephant ear", canna or Thai plant. And that is actually the one thing that would make your picture perfect. Anyways, that's just some ideas for doing it on your own. All the supplies can be hauled in from Home Depot, aquired fairly cheaply, or for free. Good Luck!

More important than making sure that the grout is sealed is making sure that the shower is built properly from the ground up. If it is a membrane/cement board shower there MUST be a slope under the liner, it cannot lie flat on the floor. Without a slope under the liner water will collect under the tile, leading to mold and mildew. I think that the best shower system is the Kerdi shower, because the waterproofing is directly under the tile, it forms a complete waterproof envelope for your shower.

I have a very similar design happening, large format tiles, curbless with trench drain, floating vanity etc. I am very close to the glass install. Curious about your glass install. How is it secured so that it does not wobble? Floor to ceiling, wall brace, or? I am considering a panel about 72" high by 54" long, the length of the shower, fixed to the wall and secured to the floor without screws because of danger of puncturing membrane. Panel would be stabilized by a return panel 8-12" across the shower opening. We were going to try it first without a door. Thanks.

Lauren -- thanks much, we are trying to get our DIY/pro mix to "take" in our 6 x 10.5ish room! Agree we may end up with 1 fixed if budget constraints get in the way, but seems like it'd be a shame. 1) Window credit goes to tiler, though we made his job harder by forcing him to design from the full run of 6 x 6 tiles between the window. All cuts relate to that, for better or worse. 2) Yep, leaded glass -- I found/fell in love with the salvage doors years back (not in my house, alas) and basically designed the bathroom around 'em. Fell a little less in love with them after spending hours using progressively more toxic cleaners on the decades of mineral etc deposits before sending them off to the cabinetmaker. And of course after priming and painting (and painting) the cab boxes. But I'm feeling the love return, ha. 3) Oh, glass tile would have been too easy, ha. You know I love my aqua iridescent glass mosaic backsplash, but Mr Vix and I both feel in love with a ceramic liner topped with oyster shell slivers. Luckily the bath is small and our field tile was rock bottom in price, sigh. HEY MARISA -- No need to worry about being lonely while all others finish -- we just went to install our sink and the GC's plumber didn't seem to take our vanity shelf configuration into account, so we'll probably have to call (another!) pro for help. No running water for meeeeeeee though it's nice to have it out of the den (though its mirror needs to join it!):