21 Dream Showers Let You Soap Up in Style

ModCraft who makes the tile with the dog faces in the doggy shower?

joaniemichaels Great bathrooms - now about some tips on keeping all that glass clean & clear? Hate cleaning soap scum build-up off glass doors :)

Sharon Try to clean any of these showers! The reflective or dark surfaces are going to show soap scum. The porous surfaces like wooden floors and porous stone are going to be impossible to clean. The white marble will turn yellow with the use of cleaners. River stone will be very hard to swipe and will require a scrub brush. There are reasons why most people go with the easy to clean glossy porcelain tile or acrylic. These are beautiful looks but for rooms that are never used.

pspgirl I expect a maid comes with each of these?

kujo this is only the second time i've seen the tankless toilets...really a great look

Fabian Borre I love the designs but I believe some of these finishes are not practical to be utilized on bathrooms. I strive to create beautiful spaces that are functional and stylish.

kathyfansler beautiful....but cleaning most would be a nightmare....I work hard on the farm...which leads to dirt...need something easier to clean up...relaxation time should not be filled with more work.

calsterrr beautiful! I just love these - especially the one that looks like it's straight out of the alhambra.

tompaul these owners unquestionably do not clean their homes themselves......now having gotten that out of the way:

soap scum does build up on rougher stone surfaces but removal is not that difficult. i, for one, go at it once or twice a year myself. depending on the color you have to look very carefully to see it. hand held shower wand rinse after use takes two seconds and largely reduces any build up.

clear doors are available with several types of coatings which makes cleaning quite easy. i still quickly rinse and squeegee after each use...takes little time. it takes no time if you are the first in the shower. the glass guys have great cleaners which leave no residue...ask around.

all of the above are small costs relative to the design impact...especially in small baths where the clear glass gives a dramatic increase in the perception of space and showcases expensive, interesting tile work. the grotto look with rough surface on one wall against smooth tile on adjoining walls in a flush floor shower is nothing short of phenomenal in my opinion.

these are very expensive jobs shown but elements of them can be employed at reasonable cost for a unique result. unless you want to be ordinary and what fun is that?

jynni Sigh... I would never come out! Would be very bad for water conservation!

Pangaea Interior Design, Portland, OR There's something wrong with your dream machine if you can dream up the amazing shower and not dream up the amazing housekeeper to go with it. If you can afford these showers, you can afford a housekeeper!

Even if you just love the idea of cleaning your own shower or have to, most of these showers are actually easier to clean than 4" x 4" white field tile, lots of white grout, and sliding shower doors with aluminum frames where gunk gets stuck in the tracks. Cheap and ugly does not make a bathroom easier to clean. Just saying... Full stone slabs or large format stone or porcelain tiles with super thin grout lines filled with epoxy grout and walls of frameless glass that only require a squeegee would be a snap to clean.

tompaul -- Thank you so much for your tips, but most of all for "getting it"! These bathrooms are stunning and the few that are actually a little extra trouble to care for are worth it.

ModCraft -- I don't know who makes that tile specifically, but here is a link to a company where you can get any photo you want put on tile. I suspect they used a service like this. https://www.imagesnap.com/
Looks fun and easy to do!

kujo -- Yes, I really like them. The tank is actually inside the wall. They reduce how much space is used in the bathroom and are pretty sleek.

jynni -- Hope you don't live in Arizona. ;0)

jynni I live in Australia... similar issues often though! It's either flooding or drought-ing here ;)

Tierney Conner Design Studio Thanks for the great idea book - I'd love to add this indoor/outdoor Santa Barbara Shower by Tierney Conner Design Studio

tompaul thanks pangaea. i agree the newer designs with large format porcelain tiles, small epoxy grout lines, frameless and coated clear doors are a lot easier to care for.

one more thing kids....absolutely spend the money and effort to install the wall mounted toilet. geberit makes a carrier for 2x4 walls as well as 2x6. eliminating the tank and getting the john off of the floor is an enormous benefit in terms of perceived space and eliminating the nasty spot on the floor around the beast which is always dirty. the heights are widely adjustable on install for comfort height. you do not have to go expensive i.e. duravit etc when toto makes a very nice unit for $230 or so plus the wall carrier. yes it is money but once you live with one you will never go back to the old design. there are some construction issues on remodels but workable and the first install is scary. talk the plumber into it if he is reluctant. i can't say enough good things about these units......very, very slick....your buddies will be envious, very envious.

while you are at, get a wall hung vanity as well. if you get everything off of the floor, cleaning is quick and the perception of space created by unobstructed tile floors is dramatic....the ultimate in clean spa like design. i waterproofed the entire floor in my small baths and spray the hand held shower around and sponge mop. europeans call them wet rooms i believe. i do my own cleaning and i call them easy.

by all means heat the floor.

cheers

lianab Gorgeous! Bravo for creating something unique.
In my 3 bathrooms, kitchen and 14meter glass pool fence I have combinations of river stone-(painted with sandstone sealer for outdoors) dark tiles and dark and metallic mosaics (including my ovens splash back and I cook constantly) white and composite stone bench tops - no harder to clean than anything else (agree the glass sealer is an excellent product).

Nothing including beetroot or red wine (in the kitchen :) has stained and they are unsealed. (tiniest barely noticeable burn mark I sanded out when guest put burning hot cast iron pan down whilst I screamed noooooo! They need far less cleaning and show less soap scum than my plain white tiles. I use a steam mop and an Aussie product BAM on anything stubborn. For my frameless pool fence apart from the occasional bird dropping (they like to perch on it) hubby just hits it with the pressure washer every 4 months. Believe the thinner glass isn't as good/clean looking as 10mm.

vellum Saved half of these to my ideabook. Great collection!

ccss84 My glass shower door installer recommended Rainex to coat frameless doors for ease of cleaning and water spots. Anyone tried this?

Joseph parisi Interiors LLC Yes these showers would require some extra care but the pleasure you would get from them make it worth while. I have used many of these elements not only in my own home but for clients and have not heard a single complaint on the up keep.

jessieballard Large open showers are not necessarily comfortable to shower in in any but the warmest climates. The constant intrusion of room-temperature air against the shower-er's body leaves one constantly feeling cold.

Samantha Jayne Love many of these... I am preferring the wet room style with as few moving parts as possible, which as mentioned cause some of the cleaning issues... I agree though, they are not so hard to clean - I have a wet room with stone and glass and it always looks great, just a squeegee after each use and the occasional scrub!

Pangaea Interior Design, Portland, OR On Tuesday watch for my latest Ideabook on designing a bathroom that is easy to clean. The above are dream showers for those who have the money and the maids -- although I still stand by my earlier statement that these are easier to deal with than most people think. The ones coming out Tuesday show how you can create beautiful bathrooms with an eye on the upkeep.

Tierney Conner -- thanks for sharing the photo. Looks great! I particularly love that wall on the right in the first photo and the view to outdoors.

lianab -- you crack me up! I can just hear you screaming as that hot pan went down.

ccss84 -- It does help, but needs to be reapplied every few weeks.

rodlamour -- good to know the people who have put these types of bathrooms in are happy with them. We can aspire to have these ourselves and not be disappointed.

jessieballard -- yes, many people feel too cold in very large, wide open showers. In that case I would recommend going with the frameless glass enclosures in a smaller shower area and using a curbless floor design. You'll still have the look of wide open spaces but keep all that warm air inside.

jomarinell We're in the process of renovating a bathroom which has a cathedral ceiling. The shower space we're looking at is a 4' x 8'. We're going to use tile and glass which is open on one end. What is the average height of the glass that you would use? And because there is no door, what should we use as a width to walk into the shower.

Pangaea Interior Design, Portland, OR jomarinell -- You don't say how high the ceiling is, but if you take a look at the 15th photo (the one with the indoor shower next to the rock-walled outdoor shower) you see that the glass does not extend all the way to the ceiling. Certainly make it tall enough to be above your head ... maybe 7 or 8 feet tall? I would look for aesthetic lines and figure out a way to stop it at a height that works with other things in the room. 30" is a good width for the door. If you go wider, the door begins to become quite heavy and then it is better to hinge your door attached to a wall so it can't flex. Other dimensions would come in to play if you are going with a curbless shower and want it accessible for someone in a wheelchair.

lycf Question about the tankless toilets, what happens when the mechanism needs replacement and the tank is in the wall? Or when the valve needs shutting off? Do you have to chip the wall out? It does look great, but how practical? I have three high end toilets, and in 6 yrs, I've had to replace 4 flushing mechanisms (we are only a family of 5).

beata67 ...one more hint regarding scum build-up- don't use solid soap, use the liquid ones (one of my showers has 12 years old glass panels, still like new- no scum build-up- it works).... & it never has been treated with any sealant or other chemicals. Other shower has marble panels ( installed 5 years ago- no problems, no scum, no discoloration, no mould).
Using sealant on stone ( marble, granite, & other natural stones) helps to prevent from any serious problems ( if stone is very porous- well, it shouldn't be use in bathroom or kitchen in first place- nothing can help).But don't buy stuff from supermarket shelf to treat stone or glass- usually they are good...for nothing. Get sealant from suppliers involved in stone or glass industry.

dyberman Kid bathroom

tompaul LYCF
the entire mechanism can be accessed/removed through the flush actuator opening in the wall. it partially disassembles and comes out in sections.... at least the geberit ones. very slick engineering. this was an obvious perceived drawback for me but i am comfortable with the way it has been addressed.

while i am at it, i used polished chrome actuator panels. i was afraid of fingerprints. whatever they used for a coating is remarkable as fingerprints from cleanish hands disappear pretty much. not kidding.

sowmya_padki Am I the only one who simply scrolls through these pics knowing that thy are way too big for my house?

Pangaea Interior Design, Portland, OR sowmya_padki -- Well, your first clue that big houses would be involved was that the ideabook title says "DREAM Showers". Any ideabook that has descriptive words in its title like "dream", "luxury", "sensational", "spectacular" and so on, is going to show things that are high-end dollar-wise and probably in very big and amazing houses. If you want to see things for smaller homes that most people can afford, then look for titles that have descriptive terms like "small spaces", "practical", "affordable", and so on. Houzz has readers of all economic levels so there are Ideabooks that will appeal to readers with different interests. Hope that helps you find the Ideabooks that are of interest to you.

Maria Spencer I use ENJO bathroom glove and miracle. Stunning streak free chemical free cleaning solution that is great for our health and environment.