I think that much clutter and junk in a shower is ridiculous so I am of NO help.

Too big and too much stuff for one to start with. Not big enough for two. Do the Moen digital control. If you haven’t roughed in the Groehe. You are stuck if you have.

That's an almost nice size shower for 1 person. Tight for 2, you'll be bumping elbows. Our new shower is around 42" wide and at least 6ft long. Controls, etc on 42" wide end. Any smaller isn't enough room, and we are average/not large people.

I think you are needlessly complicating this by having a t-stat valve for each fixture. Set one temp and have 3 volume controls.

I have a similar setup currently (no rain shower, but body sprays) and I have 1 t-stat valve and three volume / on-off valves on the entry into the shower to turn them on without being "in" the shower. Consider that, as well.

IMO too much in too small of a space this shower is really not big enough for two

Your shower doesn't appear to be functional to me - is your lifestyle such that two people are regularly showering next to each other requiring separate hand held showers?

The shower I designed for my current remodel actually does have two hand held attachments and a shower head - and even includes two grab bars for good measure :-). However, I installed the showerhead and one handheld on the "short" wall of the shower opposite the bench. Short end with the shower head and one hand held and one grab bar is also where the controls would be which includes one handle and a three way diverter since I am in California and can only have one water fixture on at the same time.

I would control the water before stepping into the shower because that is the side where the door opens. How are you actually going to turn on the shower as most people like to adjust temperature before actually getting in.

I installed a handheld near the bench for functional reasons as I wanted to have water near me if I were using the bench - especially since I am remodeling with a view to aging in place and there might be a time when I need to sit and be hosed down by my caretaker :-).

I hope those that put bars in their shower use unbreakable glasses.

my husband and i tag team in a 5 x 8' shower but really there isnt room for 2 bodies who are actually busy showering. if we really needed to shower at the same time regularly i'd do his and hers bathrooms.

aMark Bischak you wrote "I hope those that put bars in their shower use unbreakable glasses"

What does this even mean. Grab bars are placed on studs so that they are functional for the purpose of stopping falls. What do bars have to do with unbreakable glasses?

I had to read it twice, but I got Mark's joke!

We have one regular shower head at the short end and a handheld on a shower/grab bar near the bench. One thermostatic valve and 2 volume controls.

Handheld placed near the bench for the reasons mentioned by Helen. The bench and handheld were used as designed last year when DH had knee and then shoulder surgery. I used a 48" bar and 60" long hose to be able to place it low when seated at bench and high up for regular showers. Long hose also allow you to reach all corners for cleaning the shower.

Are you not tiling all the way up? I always tile the whole walls and the ceiling above a shower or tub/shower.

Thanks to all of you that have offered constructive criticism. A few thoughts to help clarify questions asked in the thread:

1 - It's really a 1 person shower maybe 2 occasionally, wife and I keep different schedules. Otherwise it'll be a 2 kid shower - we can't seem to shake the rug rats. Size is what we have to work with.

2 - It is tiled all the way up, though not ceiling.

3 - Separate temp controls are a luxury. Wife and I like extremely different water temperatures and rain shower head water gets cooler sometimes.

4 - Separate hand showers - with 1 person showering I was going to cheat and move the handshowers up and down the bars to use as body sprays.

5 - Yes handshower near bench is a must. Had ACL reconstruction a few years back and was a huge pain with only a shower head.

6 - The Moen digital looks really nice! As much as I paid for 6 valves/trims I could have done one of those. Bit late now :(

So with the above criteria in mind, any thoughts on how to center the bars for the handshowers? Or perhaps go wider, with bars further to the left and right, with controls in the center? Got to figure out where the wall unions go too to prevent getting hose stuck on lever handles.

I've been really thinking hard about the controls at the entrance part too. Volume control for the handshowers isn't really useful, they're either going to be all the way on or off. The rainshower though it'd be nice to vary it for a rain effect.

Also, never used a thermostatic valve (other than a hotel before) so I'm not sure how much we'd fidget with the temperature while in the shower.

7 - I didn't get Mark's joke. Thought it was some BDSM stuff, but ok! :)

I was reading this thread too early - Subsequently went back to sleep for a few hours :-)

Mark was joking about drinking bars.

I don't know about your hand held, but can you just put one between the shower heads, and the other at the bench? Or one total?

Oh my! I'm not really a morning person so all those complicated shower things would do me in. Give me a good soak in a normal bathtub before bed, anytime!

@Allison0704 - sorry at my poor photoshop skills. There are no shower heads, just two handshowers in total. And the one rainshower head.

@Anglophilia - we're in the unused garden tab category. Decided not to do any tubs at all in the new build.

I get why you would be putting the bars to use them as body sprays, I did that once in a hotel, with their one hand shower. I would, however, put one of the bars and controls where one could reach them sitting on the bench, since when one is "laid-up" and sitting on the bench not mobile is precisely when you DO need the volume control to turn the hand held off. It needs to be much lower over there, too. That one can be your "low" body spray.

Since you have all this hardware, you may as well make this shower usable for someone who needs to sit on that bench. Or is just exhausted and wants to sit for a while and have a spray on a sore spot. Or wants to soak her feet and be able to warm up the soaking bath. You get the idea!

I can also understand that two people sharing the shower might have different temperature desires. I have a plethora of valves in my shower, too and I lined some up horizontally instead of vertically. You might try that. Have the temperature control on the left and the volume control on the right. I have my two upper shower heads lined up horizontally. My regular shower head (for hubby) and rain shower head (for me) are both above my temperature control valve. Then I had my contractor use the tub stub, (which points downward from the valve body inside the wall) for the hand held, and it is below. Mine all have the name of what the valve controls on the white dot in the middle, though. I do like the option of you simply putting the hand-held shower head holder to the right of the two control valves, though.

I have had at least one comment that I have too much stuff in my shower (there is also the bar and then all the grab bars).

BTW, if you have not already purchased the shower bar, (or if you can return them, if you did not get ones that are also grab bars) you really should have the ones that are also grab bars. Kids ARE going to grab them, I bet. Most are not made for that, but some are. They are identified as sliding shower head bar/grab bar combinations.