What's the question? One comment I'll make is that the callout in the shower says there's no door, but then there's a door swing indicated. Which is it?

@Sabrina Alfin Interiors for some reason the text of my post didnt go through. Can you see it now? That was left over from our original plan which I am now waivering on, noted in my question.

Curbless or not, I'd swap the shower head with the bench so it's on the same wall as the toilet. Then you can put the shower valve near the shower opening. And FWIW, $2500 extra in the scheme of a total remodel/addition is pretty small change. If you want one, do it.

@Sabrina Alfin Interiors I dont want curbless that badly, so I am okay not doing it. I am more worried about a functional set up for the shower regardless of curb. If we swap the shower head back to the exterior wall, we lose the bench, correct? Can’t the controls go near the opening regardless of which wall the shower head goes on?

I had/have the exact setup shown in your plan and it works just fine. I would make the shower door larger if possible, which might mean you need the heavier duty hinges, but it is a small up charge. Make sure the door can swing in and out.

We did curbless in the new house, but had small curbs in our previous house. Definitely easier to manage water staying inside a smaller shower when you have a curb.

In my previous house I had built-in benches in all the showers, but when we built 2 years ago I went with free standing teak benches. This is our retirement home and I didn't want space to be limited by a fixed bench in case we need specialty seats/equipment down the road. Really happy with the teak benches.

This is one of my guest bathrooms 3'4" x 6'5" . Door is 35" wide.

I also do a fixed shower head and a separate handheld on a bar in all my showers with individual volume and temperature controls.

Starphire glass (no green tint), so the tile color doesn't get distorted when viewed through the glass.

I have this shower basket on the other side of the pony wall. I didn't want to deal with niches and the extra tile and details that I would have to design. Lots of details to build a house and I chose to skip that one. Really like the shower baskets (shown in one of my other guest bathrooms that is set up the same way). I put the teak bench right there in front of the linear drain and next to the handheld shower head on the adjustable bar.

Shower head on the outside wall with the controls to turn on the shower where the shower head is now. Switch the door swing so it opens the opposite way and get a door that swings both in and out. You don't want to turn on the shower and get a blast of water as you step in.

If it were me, I'd ditch the bench. Trust me when I say they're cold where you don't want cold. Get a moveable teak bench instead.

One other thought. In the laundry room you don't need a 24" deep sink base. 21" would be better and give you the extra 3" for standing.

Also if those are cabinets over the W/D, good luck trying to reach into them.

And you can't have hanging clothes on both walls of your WIC. Way too narrow. Clothes take up 2' of space.

A lot of this is just personal preference, but for me, I prefer having a curb and a door, having used larger showers without these. You might not, and a curbless entry may be important if you're designing for future accessibility needs (but if so, make sure the other entry doors accommodate this too). We have the same basic layout for our shower except it isn't as big so ends where you have a bench and is only 36" deep, but I really like the door placement since you can open the door and easily reach in to the controls without having to get into the shower. I would not want to have to get in to reach the controls--our water takes a minute or two to warm up to temperature so you'd have to stand under cold water in the meantime. As long as you keep the valve near the door so that this isn't necessary, I don't think it matters hugely which end the shower head is on unless there's a preference to keep all the plumbing on the exterior walls.

For the closet, consider using a system like Elfa, which would let you put hanging clothes on both sides since it takes up less space--their hanging rods are 16" deep, which leaves you a healthy aisle in between.

I did the moveable teak bench for my master shower for the exact reasoning Chiispa mentions.

You should be able to find curbless shower entries for less than $2500. I did. Might not look as nice - likely not - but if you plan on aging in place, this is seriously worth considering. Whether or not, though - do go with the moveable teak bench - I haven't needed to use mine yet, but it is versatile and it is also attractive. (And if I had it when I broke my ankle prior to living in this build - it would have been so much better than sponge baths at my old place!)

@chispa these pictures are so helpful! I love the teak bench idea. I like having somewhere to sit or put my leg when shaving, so this would serve that purpose without being permanent. I also, surprisingly, really like the wire baskets. since you wont see them behind the half wall, they make the most sense vs detailed tile work. Our current niches breed mold and dont fit everything height wise. I would need two baskets and probably a clear shelf or two for bar soap and our toothbrushes (we brush in the shower every morning). I can also increase the width of the door. I think the extra cost for another valve and shower head would be well worth it. We have a combo one now that is magnetic, but this shower is large enough to add both. If we end up showering together, I wont be cold!

Do you ever wish your door swung open the other way?

@artemis78 Does your door swing the same way? I am unsure which way makes the most sense. I am okay with having a curb.

I will check out Elfa. I was planning on Ikea with shelves/shoe racks on one side and hanging on the other.

I have a new curbless shower 7' x 3' with no door. I have two linear drains, one under the shower head and one at the doorway. The shower head is on the short wall furthest from the doorway, which is at the far other end. Water sprays onto the floor outside the shower but not much, like a little bit of mist. We lay down a washable floor mat like a thick towel and hang it up after and it doesn't stay soggy or anything. People warned me I would be cold. I am not, not even close. I have a heated floor set at 80F and that might be part of the reason. Where the pebble tile is not heated, in the hallway outside the bathroom, the floor is much colder. I can't say enough good things about radiant heating of floors and driveways and walks.

That's just my experience. Others probably different. Good luck with yours. Oh... I'm in my 60s but very active, like tiring out 30year olds active. So that also might be why I don't get chilled.

@cpartist the laundry sink counter is 21” so no room to make it smaller. Here are some renderings. The dryer side will be a rod for hanging clothes. I have plenty of cabinets behind the washer/dryer if I cant reach the higher cabinet, but I’m pretty tall :)

I’ll prob do shelves or shoe racks on one wall and hanging on the other. Or look into Elfa as suggested below.

@saraheesmith, no, never wished the door was hinged the other way, but I've always had showers set up this way. Maybe if I had tried it the other way I would choose differently!

The bench is from DecoTeak. Sold in different stains, styles, heights and widths.

https://www.decoteak.com/brands/Decoteak.html

The shower baskets are from Kartners. Also come in different sizes, finishes and configurations. I have 3 different types/sizes in the master shower.

https://kartners.com/products.php?subcat=Shower%20Basket

https://kartners.com/products.php?subcat=Soap%20Basket

You could do a corner bench or get a freestanding one as @chispa suggests.

I am wondering if it would be nice to exchange the laundry sink and window with the drawer cabinet. You would get more light into the room.

@saraheesmith ours has a pivot hinge but is currently set to only open out (as in your plan) because the glass installer adamantly believed in-swing would be against code. I think he's wrong--our local code says the door can't open in a way that blocks the controls, but I think what they mean is that it can't *only* open in a way that blocks the controls and the inspector didn't even check it at the final inspection--but we figured we'd just take the gasket off ourselves since it's just a plastic edging that stops it from swinging in. But then we actually found that we really like the out-swing door, so haven't bothered. We could not reverse the swing on ours because then it would have been attached to glass panels vs. the wall--we also have a 42" knee wall with glass on top--which made it a more complicated and costly installation. The wall has blocking in it to support the hinges so per the glass company, that's the preferred way to install if at all possible.

@kl23 Thank you for this perspective! We will have heated floors in the bathroom, so that will help. I’m the 30 something that is ALWAYS cold! So I think we will stick with a door.

@chispa thank you for the links! A few questions:

Does the teak bench get wet every time you shower? How does it hold up given the daily water/moisture? Are the baskets installed after the tile is completed? With your setup, where are your towel bars to hang your towel while showering?

@Karenseb You are one of the reasons I am getting so much out of this addition/remodel, so thank you, again! I like your idea of switching the window and sink for light, but was thinking we would lay mail, keys, etc on that countertop by the door. I’d like to select a door that lets light in so hoping we can get by with the current setup. Plus we already ordered cabinets!

@saraheesmith, the teak bench in the master shower gets wet every day. looks like new after 16 months of use.

Yes, baskets are installed after tile is all done. Make sure to also think about blocking (pieces of wood between the studs) for installation of any future grab bars.

In the bathroom photo with the marble-look porcelain the towel bar is in the same spot as in your diagram.

You can also do a door pull that doubles as a towel bar, BUT it has to be done when you order the shower door. Holes can not be added later to tempered glass.

Like this https://www.kartners.com/product_detail.php?28870824-1869

or this, but placed horizontal https://www.kartners.com/product_detail.php?3427824-1698

@K L Thank you for this perspective! We will have heated floors in the bathroom, so that will help. I’m the 30 something that is ALWAYS cold! So I think we will stick with a door.

I was in Africa a few years ago and they had a shower without a door. I was so cold in that shower, that when we built our new shower, we absolutely put a door on. And when that door opens so I can grab the towel, I'm once again cold.

I would absolutely do the door that swings both in and out. I have it and it works great. When I go to turn the shower controls on, I push the door into the shower a bit.

When I want to get into the shower, I pull the door out.

When I'm done, I push the shower door in again so it drips into the shower.

If you haven't thought of it yet, I would look into getting a glass door made with Showerguard. Will save you lots of angst with soap scum, etc. Mine is 5 years old. I never squeegee or wipe it down. It's cleaned 1x a week and looks as good as the day it was installed.

As for a teak bench, in the old days boats were made of teak. Teak holds up very well.

As for hanging clothing, I just measured mine on hangers. From the wall to the end of the hanger takes up 20".

Yeah, the doors can be very pretty too.

My contractor loves his heated towel rack. If you are always cold, that might be very nice for you. I once had a bathroom with a heat lamp where I stood to towel dry. I loved it in winter. I hate being cold. I hope everyone's ideas help.

Thank you all for your input! I realized adding the bar movable head on the long wall is an exterior wall and it will spray toward the increased door opening. Should I forego the half wall, make it a full and put the second shower head on it?? I’ve mocked up a drawing. I could make each head have a removable sprayer and add recessed niches under each. I could even add a rain shower overhead and a towel rack where the half wall glass was so its an easy reach out the door (maybe even a heated towel rack?).

Is the shower opening too big now, leaving too little room for the second shower head space?

Here is the other option with it on the exterior wall which will need packed out for insulation and we will lose width, but keep the half wall with glass.

I guess we could also just put them on both short ends?

Why are you switching to a 3' door?

One or two people suggested increasing it. I thought @chispa said 3’ but ai just checked and her door is 35”. Her set up is much longer though. I am okay keeping our door as is.

I have a curbless shower, Water doesn't leak outside. However, when we step outside the shower with wet feet, the floor gets wet. We have a sliding shower head on one wall and a fixed head on the opposite wall. Those walls are at right angle to the entry. Separate controls for each shower head are both reachable from outside the shower. We also decided not to have a fixed bench, which was the best decision, because when I had surgery, I needed to sit higher than I could have done on the fixed bench.

Thank you @suero!

My shower is set up like your proposed plan. Bench on outside wall, shower head on inside wall, but I have a handheld wand with an adjustable bar on the back wall. I use the handheld all the time, so when I turn on the shower, I don't get sprayed. I do have a pivot door, but is wide. I would love to have curbless as I am getting older and less mobile. If you are staying in this house until, well, forever, you might consider doing the curbless and putting in grab bars now. They have them that look nice. You don't need to be elderly for grab bars to be helpful to you. You could injure your knee or your back, and you will welcome something to steady you. It's easier to incorporate universal design now than after everything is finished a few years from now. I don't get cold with a bench seat, just sayin'.

Thank you all for your input - @chispa @cpartist @artemis78 @Karenseb @Tara @suero @Sabrina Alfin Interiors @K L !!

I think at this point I’m good with the layout but really trying to determine shower head placement which will impact having the half wall or not.

Option 1: Shower head placement near door and on exterior wall. Will likely loose some width due to packing out the exterior wall with extra insulation. Will add niches or baskets under the glass on the half wall.

Option 2: Shower head placement near door and on short, opposite, exterior wall. Will likely loose some length due to packing out the exterior wall with extra insulation. Will add niches or baskets under the glass on the half wall.

Option 3: Shower head placement near door and on interior wall. Lose glass half wall. Will add recessed niches under each shower head.

Thank you

Shower head in ceiling and on wall to right

@cpartist the short wall? Does that work if two people want to shower at the same time? I dont know that I am a big fan of a rain shower. I was leaning toward a shower head on each short end and could add a rain shower in the middle if we wanted.

@cpartist the short wall? Does that work if two people want to shower at the same time? I dont know that I am a big fan of a rain shower. I was leaning toward a shower head on each short end and could add a rain shower in the middle if we wanted.

That's what we had in our old condo and what we have now and yes, it works fine. DH uses the rain head and I use the one on the short wall. Rain head is centered on ceiling but there is a switch to turn it into a more regular shower head. I use the hand held. My shower is about 45" x 60".

My old shower was 3' x 6'.

Our shower now:

Our old shower in our condo:

I was leaning toward a shower head on each short end and could add a rain shower in the middle if we wanted.

The problem with a shower head on the short end where you enter, is getting cold water when you turn it on.

Your last version will work too.