I was lead to believe by my GC that the niches should be placed between studs so about 14 inches wide? How do you have a single longer one without building out a false wall which would increase costs I believe.

That is what I'm looking for--someone to mediate between tile person and my contractor. Thank you!

Just another thought, will your product bottles fit in a short but long niche? I went taller but narrow on mine for my products are in tall bottles and I wanted less horizontal surface to have to wipe dry and clean too. I had my bottles with me when we designed the niche spot.

I don't use the same stuff all the time, especially not for years at s time.

We just installed a long niche on a 4 foot wall on our shower. It had to be framed out like a window with a header, since it didn't fit between the studs, but it was framed on the sides too. For extra stability, we also put a sheet of plywood along the back of that wall.

My original vision for my alcove shower in my masterbath was a niche about 15" tall running the length of the back wall of the shower. Then I thought about framing. The niche, as tnfarmhousefixin pointed out needs to be framed like a window. So to install it in the back wall was possible, we could have cut the studs and put in the header but I wanted full back wall which means that the side studs holding the header needed to be in the side walls not in the backwall- that really didnt work for my vision, and the extra effort to achieve it made my DH think I had started smoking crack so that idea had to die.

Moving on to my second vision, I decided that I would take down one side wall, the move it five inches back and when I rebuilt it would have a ledge about 48 inches off of the ground. Again I was thought to be of dubious sanity. I was going to persevere but I didn't ever fall in love with the way the ledge worked into my tiling ideas.

Continuing onward, we come to vision # 3. This is what we ended up with. I very tall niche starting at 18" off the floor of the shower with 3 shelves spaced 12 - 14" apart. The lowest shelf will serve as a foot rest, for shaving my legs. The niche is between existing studs. It was easy construction-wise. And I am very happy. Someday soon I may actually be able to use that bathroom again, then I will be really, really happy.

Sorry for the long post. Also, someone posted a similar thread not that long ago, lots of information in it

http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/4071114/storage-in-tile-surround-shower-bath?n=5 

Fantastic! Very helpful! Can you please post a picture of what you did??

I like the tall vertical niche there, localeater!

Just finished this Master Bath remake in late 2015 - early on in our planning process, we saw some horizontal niche photos on Houzz, and that became a "must". A year later, we are loving it!

In this case, we did have to give up 4 inches of shower space, and add essentially a false wall. At the same time, it made it a lot easier for the builder to route all of the plumbing, and fit the blocking inside wall framing to support possible future grab bars. The trick was getting the height right. We made it the full width of the tile high, which in this case was 13" (13" x 20" tiles). It easily fits all of the shower stuff, and is easily squeegeed after a shower.

Probably in hindsight, the one thing I might have done differently would have been to frame it on the left side at the corner, to make it more symmetrical. In an alcove installation, it would be great having the niche run to each corner.

There are lots of good solutions - good luck!

They can be whatever size you want. I put these between studs and added glass shelves with a LED light at the top.

It IS possible to do a long niche. There just needs to be some modifications to the wall framing. I WOULD, however be leary of doing it if it's a load bearing wall. I don't know how far along you are, but maybe something like this might be a thought?

Hmmmm, a lot of food for thought here. So long niches are possible but almost certainly not in my tiny space where something like a false wall would be impossible and also where the wall is load-bearing.

I do like the looks of the tall niches above too. I am sure we won't try for lights at this point but how did you manage the glass shelves? I would like something like that for sure.

Vincent, I'm confused-is that a niche at the bottom?? I think my eyes are deceiving me. On my phone it looks like a bench or something but that wouldn't make any sense. I love the look of that tile and grout and the contrasting pattern!!

we aren't at the tiling stage yet. They just got the tub in place today. Tuesday plumbing fixtures in the tub hopefully.

I couldn't afford a niche at all in the second bathroom, so I went with a tempered glass shelf. (Upstairs bath had a niche.) I am very happy with the tile giving a subtle oomph to the mostly white/gray bath.

The double towel bar can be swapped for a single. The spacing on that right wall is distorted - the glass shelf is in the shower, then towel bar outside slightly off center to allow for a robe hook, then in wall cabinet for storage (purchased from the kitchen pantry section instead of bath products - much cheaper.)

Check out pippabean's accent strips and color scheme in this thread - it's really successful!

http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/4079150/lets-talk-about-shower-rods#18074625

And here's my accent strip upstairs

It's Jeffrey Court Lucky Cove at home depot.

This is also very pretty ...

http://m.homedepot.com/p/Splashback-Tile-Mother-of-Pearl-Carved-with-Multicolored-Abalone-Dot-Pearl-Shell-Mosaic-Floor-and-Wall-Tile-3-in-x-6-in-Tile-Sample-R3D12/206496954

Purrus-- it's not a niche. It's a shelf that bumps out from the wall about 6 inches

Here's mine. The tiles are 8" wide so I'm thinking the niche is about 2 feet wide.

Thanks to you all! I'm going for two 14X24 niches, with a glass shelf 6" from the top. They will be placed atop one another, but I'm not sure where yet---need to go inspect the studs and decide on a location once my contractor is done working for the day. I am so grateful for all of the guidance and wisdom on this forum!

Be sure the glass shelves are removable for maintenance purposes.

How do I make sure they are removable? What kind of maintenance??

Glass slides into the slot between tiles. ( photo attached above) Normal cleaning from soap build up. Much easier to take the shelf out clean it and slide it back in.

Brilliant ideas here. My head is spinning trying to decide on niches.

Is it the norm for the slot to be removable? He might go over the edge if this is something unusual

My contractor just told me that two 24" niches in a tub/shower would look "stupid." I think he is used to getting called to a job and having the people who hired him just let him make all the decisions. He isn't used to someone with ideas of their own...

Nothing unusual. The tempered glass may need to be ordered but that won't stop the niches from being completed. You can slide the glass in when it arrives.

Thank you! I did buy the shelves already. So installing them so that they are removable is standard? Do I need to ask that this be done?

I would to be safe. Don't assume.

Ok. Thanks!!

Several thoughts:

- I was cleaning my girls' shower today, and I realized that the GIANT pump-top bottles of shampoo /conditioner they have right now fit into the niche ... but they can't pump the top inside the niche. Clearly they've been using the product, and they haven't been complaining -- still, it made me say, hmmm.

- The one thing I wish I'd done in their bathroom is to include a tall niche for most products ... and a shorter niche (or similar) for soap. I like the look of this multi-height shelf:

- Note that some niches have tile "ledges or shelves", while others have a small piece of granite as a "ledge or shelf". We have the granite, and I'm sure it's the better choice. It means no grout underneath your products. For example:- My plan for the house we're building is to place a long, tall niche on the inside of the pony wall ... so that the products are not visible from outside the shower. After all, no matter how nice the niche is, once you put in a big bottle of shampoo, the look of the pretty tile is lost. Something like this:

I love that first niche, MsPete!

We have an all white, no-accent-tile subway bathroom, but it really fits the historic vibe I was looking for.

My niche is a bit on the smaller side as we were restricted by framing, but overall it works. I've been debating hosting one of those soap dispenser thingies in the niche, mounted as high as I can, and then having a place for razor to rest on the shelf below.

Several different types of niches found here:
https://www.facebook.com/165818890157290/photos/?tab=album&album_id=555406961198479

I had a built in window already in the wall of the bathroom. When the room was redesigned, the window became inside the shower which serves as a niche. The only thing I put there are a couple sponges I used to clean the shower. I had a shelf installed as well as a bench/foot rest. My plumber wanted to put the shower head up at 7.5 feet, but I talked him down to 7 feet. That is still too high. We were going to use a hanging shower caddie, but the shower head was too high. Instead I put a Command Hook in at a more reasonable height.

The walls are porcelain, screen printed, with a wood pattern and a wet rock pattern that matches the look of one of the rivers in our area. Picture is from the middle of the remodel - still a work in progress.

So many amazing ideas continue to pour out of you people!!

Anyway, I've been stymied by one unfortunate fact: I confirmed my own suspicion that my second story ceilings are not 8 feet high but are in fact 7.5 feet high. I had a feeling this was the case since I can touch the ceiling flat-footed. It makes painting easy but I dislike it in every other way.

This was not why my contractor vetoed my idea of stacked tall niches--I think he just doesn't want to tile two niches and feels two niches are unreasonable and extravagant. I asked him how tall my ceilings are and he wasn't sure. I just measured myself and sure enough... Anyway, I do think this makes it harder to achieve reasonable spacing given the fact that there is less space to begin with and that my tub is a deep one (kohler archer).

So, where would you put a single tall niche in a tub/shower? Right now there are no studs on the short wall facing the shower mechanism so I could ask if he could frame it to make it possible to put it there...would look less cluttered. But at what height?

(Unless of course someone can tell me two stacked tall niches will still look good in which case I will try to convince him!)

I'm confused about a contractor vetoing your niche idea? Are you kidding or did he really tell you he won't design your bathroom how your prefer although it can be done structurally?

We are stacking three 16 x 11 niches at the rear of the shower. The middle niche will be split, quite possibly like the photo mrspete posted. Glad I saw it before the tile was ordered!

Ideas to split middle niche:

I got the stacked niche idea here:

And btw, I am referring to the actual plastic box niches that the Tile Shop and similar places sell, nothing custom.

No need to stack two or three niches. Do one long niche with several shelves.

Your guy is better off to trash the plastic premade crap, frame, durock, and waterproof his own. Then he can make it any size you want, and build it to fit the coursing of the tile.

If possible. :-)

He isn't going to do that. If I suggest it, he is going to hate me even more than he already seems to. I am not quite sure what his problem is.

"I did buy the shelves already." Then just build the niche to fit the tile as Bill pointed out. Locate the shelves. Done.

This is a friend or family member doing the work? Not a GC that you are paying market rate? purrus

No I am not kidding, and to be clear I did not ask for his opinion. I came to him with a drawing from a designer from the Tile Shop. Then he said it would look stupid and he had never seen a tub/shower combination with two stacked tall niches before (ie single tall niche). I'd prefer this on the short wall facing the shower mechanism but I'm afraid he will rip my head off since it will require two studs instead of one down the middle (we tore out a closet to add this tub so there is currently no wall there at the moment, so studs can go anywhere).

Part of me is wishing I could break up with this guy!! We took the lower of two bids (other place was triple the price), and his Angie's list reviews were good, although again I think he does only very conventional work, for the sort of folks who just say, "yeah we want to redo our bathroom with brown tile, whatever you think looks best is fine, you're the expert!"

I am sorry--I just want my shower niches to be the way I want them to be, it isn't anything personal. I get everyone has bad days and I have been nothing but nice to him but he seems to get angry every time I ask for something to be tweaked or have an idea.

Oh, no, not a friend or family member. A contractor from Angie's list.

Question:

Would this niche layout look ok? (Imagine from top down)

Ceiling

12 inches clearance

24 inch niche with one glass shelf, probably six inches from top

3 inches

24 inch niche, same glass shelf placement

12 inch clearance

top of tub (15 inches from floor)

90 inches total (7.5 feet)

Or is this too crowded?

i am using 4x8 subway tile, brick pattern, nothing special in the actual niches for accent purposes. if it looks like it might be too crowded to you guys, I will just do one. I do need to decide today to avoid delaying the project.

hoping to gently suggest this to him this morning. It is a new day...

;)

i am not sure what I will do if he says no again. Perhaps I may suggest that someone else should do the job. I hate to delay it, but I do want to get it right. He did tell my husband yesterday we needed to find someone else to wire the bath fan...

Oh also, this would be on the short wall across from the shower fixtures in a shower/tub combo. He seemed particularly confused that this would be used in a shower-tub combination. Is there a concern with water from the shower constantly hitting the lower shelves?

I have an alcove shower not tub, it's 48" long compared to 60 in a standard shower. My niche is across from the showerhead stuff doesn't get wet.

My long much starts 15-18 off the floor and goes same to ceiling. It does not look crowded.

Ok thank you localeater!!

Ok, I got him to agree to the two niches.

He did start thinking out loud about whether it would just be easier to do it without the plastic things, but ultimately decided to just use them. Ugh. I definitely prefer the look WITHOUT those, but he was concerned about how hard it would be to pitch the tile to make the glass shelves fit (I think I am explaining that accurately). Anyway, I guess I feel lucky enough to have the two niches, but I still wish it were a single long niche.

I showed him the picture of the split shelves and he said he didn't know how those were supported.

Solution. He did not actually get to the point of installing the plastic thingies today so tomorrow am I will hightail it to the tile shop and buy two 14x14 niches as well as a long skinny short one. Done. No glass shelves so it isn't two separate long ones with glass shelves. It will just look normal then. I will just tell him to space them evenly. And he has already centered the stud on the wall where I wanted it.

This means plenty of storage for our Costco shampoo\conditioner/body wash etc and my razor. :) perfect!!!

Hope he isn't too annoyed, but I see it as the perfect solution

"Then he said it would look stupid and he had never seen a tub/shower combination with two stacked tall niches before"

Right then you should have sent him packing and found someone else. I know you can't do anything about it now, but I'm posting this anyway in the hopes that someone else in your position will see this and do the right thing while they still can. If this putz doesn't want to put together the way you want it done, there are plenty of others who WOULD be willing to do what the customer

wants!!

And as for never seeing it before, it's not often I use premade niches, but the homeowner already had them installed by the time I got there. :-)

Thank you for posting that example! I was just checking in on this thread hoping to see an example of where I might locate it on a tub/shower wall in terms of height since I will want to access it while lying down as well as while standing. Not a big deal (obviously!!!) but I want it to look right and to function right. I'm sure he is going to lose it on me. I have found all of this quite stressful at a time when work is also quite stressful. Oh well.

This, along with a couple of the bathroom rated command hooks for loofahs and we should be all good for storage sice none of my bottles are more than 13 inches tall. I was not thinking quite clearly yesterday when I went to the Tile Shop.

I wonder if he will also charge me $200 for tiling the little one? I hope not.

He really seems lacking in creativity and a desire to do anything beyond what he "has seen" or certainly to do what I want; first on today's agenda will be me telling him that we are going to find a way to recess a medicine cabinet in a structural wall (after all it does support only the roof, not another whole story). He told me yesterday it would be impossible to do so. I really think he usually just doesn't want to do the work or put in the effort and hopes I will just take him at his word if he seems unpleasant enough to deal with. What s smart strategy! It really is not reflected in his other AL reviews but maybe they just took it as him being a seasoned authority. I probably should remind him I am an Angie's list member.

I also like my new solution better because his thought process about the glass shelves did not inspire confidence. His tile work looks good on his AL review page so if if stick with what he knows I should get a good product and I am good with this solutions especially since I don't use two foot tall shampoo bottles. 8-$