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Expert Talk: Frameless Showers Get Show of Support
Professional designers explain how frameless shower doors boosted the look or function of 12 bathrooms
Houzz Contributor. After graduating from UC Berkeley, I found myself utterly unprepared for the real world and at a loss as to what I should do next. Luckily, one day I stumbled through the doors of Architectural Digest and was taken under the wing of legendary editor Paige Rense. She had the vision to look past my uninspiring sociology degree and my general lack of experience—an unlikely journalism career was born. After AD, with my magazine karma still intact, I was hired by yet another publishing legend, the food critic and writer Ruth Reichl. I currently ply my trade as a freelance writer and editor and live in stylish Mid-Century-Modern comfort with my dog, Mike.
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Frameless shower doors convey a clean, modern feel and are, well, kind of sexy. Here are 12 reasons why you should consider installing one in your home.
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by Amoroso Design
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| Divide and conquer. "Given that the design for this bathroom placed the shower in the center of the room, with the vanities on either side, a frameless glass enclosure was the best way to keep the space open and airy," says Shelly Amoroso of Amoroso Design. "I understand the need for a couple to have separate vanities, but hey, you would miss a lot of funny banter and together time if you couldn't see each other." |
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Turn toward the light. "I changed the layout of this bathroom quite a bit by turning the shower area 90 degrees from its position on the long wall to sitting under the window," says Ines Hanl of The Sky is the Limit Design. "This had a massive impact on the visual aspect of the space. All of a sudden, a rather dark, train-compartment-like room became somewhat grand in appearance, and we didn't even need to enlarge the window. And the gray stone is balanced with lots of openess and light."
She adds, "The color scheme was driven by the client, who had spent a summer in Rome and wanted stone in shades of gray. The silver slate has a beautiful shimmer to it, and I was able to combine a number of different patterns. The ginormous showerhead is a favorite with the whole family."
Hanl did consider "frosting the glass for privacy, but after quite an intense deliberation, we opted against this since it would have enclosed the space too much."
She adds, "The color scheme was driven by the client, who had spent a summer in Rome and wanted stone in shades of gray. The silver slate has a beautiful shimmer to it, and I was able to combine a number of different patterns. The ginormous showerhead is a favorite with the whole family."
Hanl did consider "frosting the glass for privacy, but after quite an intense deliberation, we opted against this since it would have enclosed the space too much."
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Get the balance right. "This is a steam shower, which is why the ceiling is sloped and tiled, the glass goes all the way up to the ceiling and there's a hinged panel that can be cranked open," says Ines Hanl. "The shower has white Thassos marble on the walls and a black marble mosaic on the floor, both of which are inspired by the color scheme in the rest of the bathroom— black and white marble mosaic for the floor and black-stained cherry cabinetry."
She adds, "This bathroom is in a house where there's a more modern-inclined husband and a traditional-favoring wife. To keep things balanced, the shower got a bit more of a reduced treatment."
She adds, "This bathroom is in a house where there's a more modern-inclined husband and a traditional-favoring wife. To keep things balanced, the shower got a bit more of a reduced treatment."
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Contrast modern and rustic. "This bathroom was part of a renovation in what was originally an old stone gatehouse," says Kelly Solon of Murdock Solon Architects. "We were trying to insert a clean, modern design into a very rustic and visually heavy environment. The frameless enclosure provide a light and airy feel, as well as a contrast to the other materials in the space."
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| Show off your tilework. "We like to use frameless shower doors for a couple of reasons," says Mariette Barsoum of Divine Kitchens. "With a frameless door, there's no visual separation, which make the space larger. Plus, unlike framed doors, they don't hide the beautiful tilework in the shower. Frameless doors also sport a cleaner, more modern look — and we like that." |
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Make a small room feel larger. "I was inspired by the framework of this house and its secluded and forestlike surroundings," says Kimberly Arnold Fletcher of Spectrum Design Group. "My goal was to create an open feel and bring the outside into the master bathroom. The frameless door allowed me to not only provide a transparent look that mirrors the windows added to the space, but it also made a very small room feel larger and more spacious."
by Alison Causer
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Bring in natural light. "A frameless shower gives the illusion of openness. The less metal, the less you notice that a wall is dividing the space," says Alison Causer of Alison Causer Design. "In this master bath I really wanted the natural light to reach every corner of the room. Since we used dark, natural stone on all four walls, we really needed to keep the light moving around the room."
She adds, "We also installed a skylight in the shower, which combined with the frameless shower door really helps convey an open feeling."
She adds, "We also installed a skylight in the shower, which combined with the frameless shower door really helps convey an open feeling."
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| Maximize the view. "This home has a sophisticated and subdued palette with walnut casework throughout," says Kerry Ellis of Benning Design Associates. "It also has stunning views, which is why we decided to keep the master bath, and shower, so open." |
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Go for an elegant look. “The inspiration for this bathroom was elegant glamour," says Jamie Herzlinger of Jamie Herzlinger Design. "The easiest way to get elegance into your bathroom is by using a frameless shower, because it keeps the look clean and sleek.”
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Embrace minimalism. "We were looking to have the colors of the limestone tile bounce light around the room and to use few if any noticeable details, in keeping with our firm's philosophy of embracing minimalism," says David Webber of Webber + Studio Architects.
"In my opinion," he adds, "the shower glass is actually not minimal enough. The original design was for the glass to be slid into a recessed slot, which is what I would have preferred. But the shower's framing didn't allow us to recess the hardware, so we went with a surface mount instead."
"In my opinion," he adds, "the shower glass is actually not minimal enough. The original design was for the glass to be slid into a recessed slot, which is what I would have preferred. But the shower's framing didn't allow us to recess the hardware, so we went with a surface mount instead."
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Infuse a sense of calm. "I was inspired by the tranquil river and landscape surrounding this home to create a peaceful sanctuary that brought the outdoors in," says Justine Sterling of Justine Sterling Design. "The frameless shower design was key in creating transparency, openness and a sense of calm."
Invite nature to be your guest. "This master bath is in a summer home on a lake, and the back of the house faces the woods," says Nora Schneider of Nora Schneider Interior Design. "The shower faces an entire wall of windows overlooking the woods, and I wanted to invite nature in as an evergreen guest."
"The shower tile resembles bamboo, and the glass floor tile echoes the look of sand. The openness of the entire house is meant to invite nature in, so a framless shower was the obvious choice."
"The shower tile resembles bamboo, and the glass floor tile echoes the look of sand. The openness of the entire house is meant to invite nature in, so a framless shower was the obvious choice."
Ideabook published on May 15, 2012.
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Do frameless showers come with less revealing glass?
Next I have a few minutes to wipe off the water. Not squeegee. Then I use Pledge on the glass every three of 5 showers. The concept was explained:
Glass is porous. The hard water get pushed into the pores fogging the glass when you squeegee. The pledge is basically a wax, filling those pores and keeping the hard water off the glass.
Marlene
We are on the West Coast, and wondering if it is code elsewhere to use the corner clips? They really detract from the look of the enclosure, IMO. Also, the very obvious glass edge in the fifth picture means the corner was butt-glazed, and not mitred. If you have a corner like that, insist on a mitre. It is stronger and less intrusive.
One last comment - pricing today is the best it has ever been for these types of enclosures. Framed and semi-frameless enclosures have a lot of aluminum hardware, which is getting more expensive. So if you're on the fence, go for it!
There would be either one knob on the other side of that towel bar, and a simple plate covering the second hole. other times we use another towel bar inside as well, which people like to use to hang washcloths on etc. of course you wouldn;t show this on a picture..... :)
there is also another set up where we used a socalled D-pull on the inside in combination with the towelbar - i attached a photo of such a combination....
Thanks Lawrence for the inspirational and informative article.
I like the bathrooms with no shower curb, it makes the room look bigger
For more information visit www.ShowerGuardGlass.com