New This Week: 4 Dream Showers
Large and luxurious, these beautiful spaces might inspire you to consider some splurges in your bathroom renovation
Mitchell Parker
February 7, 2020
Houzz Editorial Staff. Home design journalist writing about cool spaces, innovative trends, breaking news, industry analysis and humor.
Houzz Editorial Staff. Home design journalist writing about cool spaces, innovative... More
Think about the best shower you’ve ever had — perhaps after a long camping trip or a hectic day of travel back from another country. Now imagine cranking that experience up to 11 and enjoying it every day. That’s what the following showers promise. Elegant tile, spacious layouts and convenient bench seating with nearby handheld showers create spaces worth dreaming about.
1. Marvelous Mosaic
Designers: Doug Reynolds (architect and builder) and Leah Bolger (interior designer), both of Reynolds Architecture
Location: Glenview, Illinois
Homeowners’ request. For this new-construction design-build project, the homeowners wanted a light, bright master bathroom with a large shower. Early in the design process, the homeowners shared with designer Leah Bolger an inspiration photo from Houzz that features a shower with a recessed LED light and a floating bench, two elements they wanted to incorporate into their design.
Shower features. Ombre glass mosaic tile, lit from above. Shower head and body sprays. Hand shower on the wall next to the floating bench. Statuary marble floor. White 12-by-24-inch Thassos marble tiles on shower head wall. Tiled infinity drain.
Designer tip. “As projects evolve, it’s important to understand that every decision affects another,” Bolger says. “Thinking about material selections, their distribution and how they relate to one another as a whole, rather than as individual components, is critical.”
“Uh-oh” moment. “Even after previewing a lot of pictures, the client was unhappy with the range of veining in the statuary marble after seeing it on-site,” Bolger says. “We looked at many other lots, which were the same or worse. The other marble selected was Thassos, which is white and consistent. The problem was solved by redesigning the floor pattern and distribution of materials within the shower. This allowed for solid white material to be used inside the shower, and hand-selecting the quieter pieces of marble for the larger floor areas.”
Cabinetry: custom, Reynolds Cabinetry & Millwork; paint: Pelican Gray (walls) and Oxford White (ceiling), both by Benjamin Moore
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Designers: Doug Reynolds (architect and builder) and Leah Bolger (interior designer), both of Reynolds Architecture
Location: Glenview, Illinois
Homeowners’ request. For this new-construction design-build project, the homeowners wanted a light, bright master bathroom with a large shower. Early in the design process, the homeowners shared with designer Leah Bolger an inspiration photo from Houzz that features a shower with a recessed LED light and a floating bench, two elements they wanted to incorporate into their design.
Shower features. Ombre glass mosaic tile, lit from above. Shower head and body sprays. Hand shower on the wall next to the floating bench. Statuary marble floor. White 12-by-24-inch Thassos marble tiles on shower head wall. Tiled infinity drain.
Designer tip. “As projects evolve, it’s important to understand that every decision affects another,” Bolger says. “Thinking about material selections, their distribution and how they relate to one another as a whole, rather than as individual components, is critical.”
“Uh-oh” moment. “Even after previewing a lot of pictures, the client was unhappy with the range of veining in the statuary marble after seeing it on-site,” Bolger says. “We looked at many other lots, which were the same or worse. The other marble selected was Thassos, which is white and consistent. The problem was solved by redesigning the floor pattern and distribution of materials within the shower. This allowed for solid white material to be used inside the shower, and hand-selecting the quieter pieces of marble for the larger floor areas.”
Cabinetry: custom, Reynolds Cabinetry & Millwork; paint: Pelican Gray (walls) and Oxford White (ceiling), both by Benjamin Moore
Find an interior designer on Houzz
2. Pretty Pattern
Designers: David Ludwig (architect) and Candace Killman (interior designer)
Location: Sausalito, California
Homeowners’ request. Convert an unused study into a new master bathroom.
Shower features. Graphic large-format wall tile. Curbless entry. Frameless tempered-glass panels. Built-in bench with handheld shower. Recessed niche below rain shower head. Trench drain on back wall.
Other special features. Vessel bathtub with floor-mounted filler.
Designer tips. “With the back wall of the shower as a focal point for the room, it was decided to keep the layout symmetrical and free from all distractions, such as grab bars and plumbing trim,” designer David Ludwig says. “Showers tend to collect clutter, so a niche and bench were included as concealed repositories for common clutter items.”
“Uh-oh” moment. The only way to add new plumbing for this master bathroom was laterally through the ceiling over the entryway of the home and to an existing exterior-wall bump-out. The design-and-build team was concerned about plumbing noise right over the entry, and used cast iron drain lines to minimize the noise.
Shop for shower heads and body sprays
Designers: David Ludwig (architect) and Candace Killman (interior designer)
Location: Sausalito, California
Homeowners’ request. Convert an unused study into a new master bathroom.
Shower features. Graphic large-format wall tile. Curbless entry. Frameless tempered-glass panels. Built-in bench with handheld shower. Recessed niche below rain shower head. Trench drain on back wall.
Other special features. Vessel bathtub with floor-mounted filler.
Designer tips. “With the back wall of the shower as a focal point for the room, it was decided to keep the layout symmetrical and free from all distractions, such as grab bars and plumbing trim,” designer David Ludwig says. “Showers tend to collect clutter, so a niche and bench were included as concealed repositories for common clutter items.”
“Uh-oh” moment. The only way to add new plumbing for this master bathroom was laterally through the ceiling over the entryway of the home and to an existing exterior-wall bump-out. The design-and-build team was concerned about plumbing noise right over the entry, and used cast iron drain lines to minimize the noise.
Shop for shower heads and body sprays
3. Marble Makeover
Designer: Katie Rees of Katie Grace Designs
Location: Little Rock, Arkansas
Homeowners’ request. Update a dark and closed-in shower by knocking down a wall and adding seamless glass to create a more open, airy feeling.
Shower features. The entire shower is wrapped in white-and-gray marble — large tiles on the side walls, ceiling and bench; small mosaic tiles on the floor; and elongated hex tiles on the back wall. Polished-nickel shower fixtures add to the “refined, high-end, finished look,” designer Katie Rees says.
Shower fixtures: Brizo
Designer: Katie Rees of Katie Grace Designs
Location: Little Rock, Arkansas
Homeowners’ request. Update a dark and closed-in shower by knocking down a wall and adding seamless glass to create a more open, airy feeling.
Shower features. The entire shower is wrapped in white-and-gray marble — large tiles on the side walls, ceiling and bench; small mosaic tiles on the floor; and elongated hex tiles on the back wall. Polished-nickel shower fixtures add to the “refined, high-end, finished look,” designer Katie Rees says.
Shower fixtures: Brizo
4. Beachy Beauty
Designer: Gerard Ciccarello of Covenant Kitchens & Baths
Location: Westbrook, Connecticut
Homeowners’ request. This master bathroom was part of an overall house remodel. The homeowners wanted a Zen feeling in their bathroom, and bench seating inside and outside a new large shower.
Shower features. Rain shower head. Wavy, large-format 3D wall tiles nod to the waterfront location of the home. Similarly, pebble tile on the shower floor recalls beach stones.
Other special bathroom features. Custom vanity with quartz countertop. Beachy colors and warm walnut wood shelves.
“Uh-oh” moment. “The homeowners took on a whole-house remodel and reached a point of decision overload,” says remodeler Gerard Ciccarello, who used Houzz ideabooks to refine the style for this project. “Working with a design-build professional helped with making decisions that resulted in a more cohesive look for the space.”
More on Houzz
See the Latest Trends in Bathroom Faucets, Showers, Tubs and More
Get more bathroom design ideas
Find a bathroom designer
Shop for your bathroom
Designer: Gerard Ciccarello of Covenant Kitchens & Baths
Location: Westbrook, Connecticut
Homeowners’ request. This master bathroom was part of an overall house remodel. The homeowners wanted a Zen feeling in their bathroom, and bench seating inside and outside a new large shower.
Shower features. Rain shower head. Wavy, large-format 3D wall tiles nod to the waterfront location of the home. Similarly, pebble tile on the shower floor recalls beach stones.
Other special bathroom features. Custom vanity with quartz countertop. Beachy colors and warm walnut wood shelves.
“Uh-oh” moment. “The homeowners took on a whole-house remodel and reached a point of decision overload,” says remodeler Gerard Ciccarello, who used Houzz ideabooks to refine the style for this project. “Working with a design-build professional helped with making decisions that resulted in a more cohesive look for the space.”
More on Houzz
See the Latest Trends in Bathroom Faucets, Showers, Tubs and More
Get more bathroom design ideas
Find a bathroom designer
Shop for your bathroom
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@ Shon Hall. Oh, don't apologise! If this comment thread has veered it's because those of us participating are thoroughly enjoying it! This is the best comment thread ever! I agree with you about small cities. Hobart is a two hour drive from where I live (and the capital of Tasmania). I have always said that if I had to live in a city it would be Hobart (or Reikjavik - I've never been there but I'm a bit obsessed with Iceland). Having said that at the end of a day in town I can't wait to scurry back to the highlands.
Hell yeah I'll speak to you in my Aussie accent, hell, I'll even speak in the local mountain dialect for you (it amuses my mainland relatives).
@juthurst your comments just tickled my funny bone! My husband and I, for the most part, respect one another’s privacy while in the bathroom, but we have been know to wander in and out on occasion... we are in our late 60’s and have been married a long time... if we’d had one of these big roomy showers in our younger years, we might have found ourselves hosting several children at a time in the shower... 😂🤣😂🤣
Oh man, anything with a freestanding tub has got me. But, that being said, the last photo is also insanely beautiful! It's a tight race between the 1st and 4th bathroom...