I hate shower niches I never understand the need to make shampoo bottles a point of interest IMO a simple holder that can hang over the door or wall works better and BTW subway tile in showers is IMO way too many grout lines.

That was well done thank you.

I am also in the camp of no niches.

@BeverlyFLADeziner and @Patricia Colwell Consulting and all other Anti-Nichers,:I've been hunting online for a streamlined, modern alternatives to niches, but so far I haven't found anything that feels quite right. At least not anything under $250. :) Just in case you've got ideas...

That’s no $200 prefab niche, and no plastic liner and visqueen shower construction, that’s for sure! That’s all pure custom, mitered edges, with a modern membrane waterproofing system, and an expert craftsman that can create that. Simple things costs a lot more to get right. That’s a 1K niche. $100 for materials. $900 for knowing what and how to use the materials. And the extra time needed to do it right.

Wow, $1,000 niche. I had no idea. Shower caddy sounding just fine at this point!

In the overall of an 8-10K custom tile shower, 1 K on a niche feature isn’t a lot of extra expense. Tile is considered a luxury material, with a luxury price to be correctly and well done. Even a “simple subway shower” is not at all “simple” to do correctly. All of the work to make it look good and not leak is under the surface. The hard part is the invisible knowledge part that is inside your expert’s head. That’s what you‘re paying for. Doing it correctly once is sure cheaper than hiring the lowball 4K guy who does it wrong, rots your house, and now you have a 10K shower to redo plus 2K of demolition and 2K of mold remediation!

Not a fan of the exposed edges. Looks like chippng just waiting to happen.

I'm going to be argumentative:

- I like my shower niche better because it has a small granite shelf on the bottom. The shelf is slightly "tilted forward" so water runs out of it. This is not my actual niche, but it's similar:

- What I did wrong with my niche: it's only 12x12. I wish I'd either made it wider or taller. It doesn't hold everything we need, especially soap. When we build, I'm going to have something larger:

- Final thought: I had the pretty-pretty tile from the shower floor placed behind my niche, and it was a waste. It's covered up by shampoo bottles! In my new house, the niche is going to be hidden, so it won't matter whether it's pretty.

Threads like these make me want to be a renter again! LOL.

@Mrs Pete, thanks for that input about shampoo covering pretty tile. Good thing to keep in mind while I'm hunting for that "perfect" niche tile!

Niches are super useful IMHO. That's what makes the world go round we are all entitled to our views. I have a double shelf niche. We were lucky and had a great tiler in my opinion as I have always enjoyed our shower [15 years and going] without knowing any potential horrors.. It has a glass shelf in middle. Top shelf is hubby's bottom is mine...Great for accessing our products. I dislike the hanging organizers myself. Don't like that look. Nor do I want product lined up on my lovely bench [although typically products find there way there too ha].

Mittens Cat - we used these from Sculter. They come in 3 sizes and 2 patterns. We haven’t used the shower yet (not moved in) but they do look nice.

https://www.schluter.ca/schluter-ca/en_CA/Shower-System/Accessories/Shelves/Schluter®-SHELF-E/p/SHELF_E

Have you thought of a ledge, Mittens Cat? That's what I'm seeing mentioned in design articles on Houzz. You lose a few inches though.

@Shower Niches and Shelves, do you have any pictures of the whole shower with your shelves? From my quick visit to your page, I see only close ups.

Shower Niches was spamming.

I agree with Trisha. I prefer my niches over a hanging something or like in our rental a corner shelf that was barely large enough for a bar of soap.

I am pretty happy with the niche in my master bath shower. Like Mrs.Pete I used solid the curb material for all the shelves and they are tilted slightly forward for drainage. My shower tile is 12 x 24 and with the shelf placement there are no grout lines in the niche. I also like the clean look of the white Schluter edge.

Yes, I like the just-above shower niche very much!

Call that shelf in the shower a “nitch”,

Give a Frenchman a serious twitch,

Like a dog and a leash,

Does a tub need a niche,

Or like emperor’s clothes need a stitch?

That inspiration picture just is not possible with prefab niches. Prefab niches aren't customizable to work custom with all of the tile sizes and placements. You’ll end up with ugly tile slivers somewhere using prefab.

They are also meant to tie into their own brand of waterproofing. A Schluter niche needs Schluter waterproofed walls and pans. Prefab niches do not work with the budget guys questionable budget install systems. There’s no way to tie in the different waterproofing methods together. It’s the spot for an guaranteed eventual leak.

Wet locations in your home see more gallons of water inside your home than the Amazonian rainforest. Let that sink in.

Water management is the #1 function of a house. It keeps the water outside, because water is the universal solvent, and is highly destructive. Showers invite that destructive force inside your home. Let that sink in too.

Incorrectly built showers cause more out of pocket costs for water damage inside your home than does a damaged roof. Bad workmanship is not covered by insurance.

Choose wisely. https://www.ceramictilefoundation.org/homeowners-guide-to-hiring-qualified-tile-installer

My G.C. is a Scluter guy from way back, so that'll be his method. I do like those stainless steel Schluter shelves, but DH feels they're not roomy enough and it wouldn't look good to do more than one (or a shelf plus niche).

The struggle is real, people. :-D

@Mittens Cat Yes, the Schluter shelves are relatively small. We used two of the largest in our 4’ x5’ shower. I think they will be good for the two of us. They do look nice. Sorry I can’t find a picture.

My tile guy used extra quartz from my counters for the niche shelves. I prefer niches to mold collecting plastic over the shower shelves any day. Just finishing up the rest of our renovations and did niches in all of the 4 showers. Ya shampoo bottles and products aren’t exactly attractive to look at but they are necessary in a shower so might as well have a place for them. Here is the most recent one, it was placed where you don’t see it anyway from the door so it works out good. I love using tile from somewhere else in the bathroom as an accent.

Looks great, @K R!

Question for the tile pros (or semi pros):

How difficult will it be to get such nice crisp lines in a shower niche if one were using a handmade clay tile such as these from Seneca Studio? My son hopes to match the niche with the same Seneca tile he's using for his vanity wall. But now that I see all these beautiful niches, I'm guessing the Seneca tile's thick, rough edges are not going to work so well, unless there's at least an 1/8th inch grout line.

The rest of his shower is going to be 12x24 rectified white tiles. Is that too much of a mismatch with the chunkier Senecas, in regard to geometry, grout or style?

With something that irregular, use something else in the niche. Solid marble or another solid surface. You're asking for trouble otherwise. Is that tile even rated for use in a shower?

I prefer the projecting "sill" like in Mrs Pete's example.

For those using solid surface shelves in their niches & benches to match the countertop - did you use the same thickness on both or have the niche shelf material cut down to be thinner?

Most red body clay tile is far too porous to be used in wet areas.

3cm shelving or niche bottoms is done all the time.

Why not just just put it in a (tiled or teak) bench?

You can put stuff on that plus the obvious

Ahhh, the niche dilemma.... It's personal preference as to whether to "niche or not to niche". In custom builds it is preferred about 90% of the time. The other 10% would be built in shelves (and usually having to do with the ability to place a niche in an optimal location), or good quality metal (non corrosive) corner shelves (most often preferred, Kohler Large, K1897, usually 2) planned in advance and installed by us. The example Mittens posted is a basic design by a qualified pro, but very basic as any qualified pro would execute a good lay out and miters would not be a problem. Hopefully that tiled base is sloped slightly downward (according to standards). Couple things about that niche, if we want to get technical. While the mitered edges are well executed, I wouldn't want that base tile edge for water to collect (especially if it is grouted rather than the to standard silicone match). This is one reason why we primarily install a solid surface base that extends slightly outside of the niche (and sloped) for drainage. There are preformed niches of course, but we don't use them as we do our own framing for niches and prefer custom for the sizes and location. That being said, all pros have their own methods and homeowners have their own needs and budget. As for cost, while it varies by region, Mitten's niche example, framed ourselves, prepped to standards, and tiled, would probably add about $500 to the shower. We would prefer a trim element for a niche in many cases as it adds a quality aesthetic detail, such as a coordinating pencil liner or molding, style dependent. A minimalist or more contemporary design, for example, might not require this as we would stream line it with fewer elements. And if you have a pony wall (half wall tiled with glass above), consider placing the niche in the pony wall if away from direct water flow. A custom niche with multiple solid surface shelves could run $1000-$3000 in our market, depending on size, number of shelves, trim options, etc.. Most importantly, PLAN for your niche, shelf, basket, or nothing, in the design phase for optimal choice and cost. This is the conversation we would be having with our clients.

Whatever you do, keep the niche away from the bulk of the spray/splash. You'll have less to clean if it stays dry-ish.

Boohoo I can’t get a comment with images to post, message keeps disappearing entirely :(

Was trying to post that we used both pre-fab tile niches and custom ones. The pre-fab ones are sort of hidden on a “pony” wall next to the shower control. The custom ones are larger and could be sized to match the spaces and line up with the tile work.

Glad I asked about the handmade Seneca tile. Thanks @The Cook's Kitchen. wondering how the other handmade tiles like Fireclay and Heath work in so many showers? I always thought they also had rougher edges, too.

I hate niches. There are so many glass or stone prefabbed shelf options I just dont get it unless it is a design feature. A shelf leaves the option of height because that is usually the limiting factor in product storage.

I like Kholer's?? idea of adding a full length back wall handle and glass shelf. Every shower should have a handle for safety and the wall to wall shelf allows endless storage.

If you must have a nice do it on the short walls so it isn't visible looking straight on. Have your tiles available form the start.

make sure you installer can do bevel and compound bevel cuts. Hav them install a new blade before your job. The most important tool that 90% of installers dont carry is a simple $10 stone to dress rough or chipped edges to fine tune the cuts and edges to a near perfect one. Stones are available in different gritty and can really transform an ok job into a perfect one. Tiles usually do not cut perfect and the stone corrects al the little issues.

@GannonCo, good suggestions, thanks. I'll make sure there are at least a few $10 stones lying around to smooth the rough edges!

Another nice one (with Heath Tile):