Maybe the towel bar in the shower has been replaced by towels hung on the long handles outside a shower door, hooks on the shower glass, hooks on the wall nearby, towel rods on the wall outside, and towel heaters that hold towels. I mostly used my ceramic towel bars in showers to hold wet washcloths and hang caddies. Those ceramic bars always broke, too,, and had to be replaced by plastic or chrome. You could possibly put in a nicer grab bar and use it to hold towels after the showers are done. This is where I hang my wet washcloth. You can find some corner shelves with grab bars or washcloth bars on them. Otherwise, people recommend hooks, especially the Command ones that can be removed.

Nooks have replaced the old soap dishes, but the soap has been replaced, too. Soap leaves not only soap scum, but works with hard water for more deposits on the tub and walls and fixtures. Everything stays cleaner with liquid shower cleanser. I find that using an empty bottle to hold some shower liquid cleanser with an equal amount of water or more, gives me a cleanser I can splash on that soaps me up great. We use the Trader Joe's shower liquid. These liquid soaps are far cleaner for the shower itself. If you wipe down the walls and fixtures after last use each day, you will find that cleaning is so much easier, too.

Some designers here are souring on the niche, or making those they do include less obvious.. No more fancy niche tiles (which get obscured by bottles and things, so never look as nice as they did when first done). They are also hiding niches or shelves in side pony walls. The most up-and-coming place to set your shower things appears to be a arrow 3 or 4 inch wide ledge running the length of a wall, usually having the entire wall above the ledge inset by those 3 or 4 inches (or having the whole wall below the ledge built out that far. No special tiles, just have it meld into the background tiles.

Speaking of tiles, folks here are moving toward a far simpler tile layout. Chose a floor tile, use it on the walls of the shower, too. Big tiles are popular in order to cut back on grout. No edging tiles beyond maybe a matching bull nose, no stripes of colored tiles going around the shower or bathroom. If you do a stripe, it is more likely to be vertical and wider. It can run down the center of the shower head wall, or somewhere on a wall facing the rest of the bathroom. No liner tiles, half-rounds, pencil tiles or chair rail tiles unless you are doing a nod to a different era or style. Subways are still popular, though some seem to think it means any plain field tile of any shape, not the oblong tiles. (I did a double take the first time I read "5" square subways.") Some do herring bones on the walls or floor, or pickets, or braided pickets on walls, though it will mean an experienced ($$$$) tiler to do it right. People seem to like the custom look of tiling higher onto the wall, if not all the way to the ceiling. The tile is often at least higher than the shower head arm. Tubs often have a stationary glass panel or a hinged one that does not completely cover the length of the tub. French-door type shower doors can look very neat if you do not like the headrail used on the sliding shower doors.

As for non-tile surrounds, you can do a glue-on application of Corian or Swanstone or other brand of solid surface panels. No grout means no mold and less mildew, and if you get the corner moldings, you can even cover some of the lines of caulking. Solid Surface means that the color on the face of the panel goes all the way through, so any scuffs or scratches can be sanded or buffed out. This is 1/4 inch thick material that will likely last a lifetime. People on here have not been doing much of the fiberglass or other surrounds, except for the Kohler Choreograph. It was popular, if you could get it delivered unbroken and could wait for the long wait times. They were always running behind on getting this material to customers. Now Kohler has a new shower wall product. I don't think it is solid surface, though. Choreograph was not solid surface.

If your soap turned to mush in the soap dish holder (actually just a mini niche), then it will turn to mush in a large niche. Get a separate container to hold your soap and cleanup will be much easier.

IMO shower niches are just not good almost every shower leak I have ever dealt with came from the niche, they are always yucky and I have no clue why highlighting shampoo bottles is done at all. As for towel bars I lke hooks better and if you go bar type there asure lots of more attractive ones. I am not sure if you are just making a comment or wanting real help. I like bathroom floors and shower walls to be the same 12 x24 porcelain tile , no niche , glass walls or a glass shower screen no sliding doors and since I love my tub a nice deep saoker tub / shower combo. if you have a huge bathroom then I guess you could do a free standing tub but before doing that go get in and out of one they look great in pics .

I need help because I am hung up on the towel bar situation, as I plan our re-tiling project for our family bath with tub/shower combo. We want to do an all white treatment for the three walls of this enclosure, and for functional reasons, want to maintain a towel bar on the end wall. I'm perfectly happy with the old ceramic end, square rod type of towel bar, the kind we have in this tub/shower now. This type of rod has the advantage of fitting my all-white aesthetic, and is low risk for installation since no drilling required. But I have the impression that this kind of rod is now considered "dated" so maybe not a good idea for a house that will go on the market in the next couple of years, when our current seller's market could switch to a buyer's market. Or maybe it's such a minor thing I should forget about what potential purchasers might consider dated and just do what I want....

It would help to know your home style (or the style of bath you want) and to have a photo of your bath. Niches need installed at a location between studs, where the showerhead water won't drown the soap in the niche.

Frameless showers make your room appear much larger. Insure the shower door has room to swing out, in the event of an emergency (person in shower doesn't fall against door, preventing you from opening door).

Larger tiles will greatly reduce grout lines on walls and speed clean up. Smaller floor tiles in a shower insure more grout lines and less chance of falls. Insure you install floor tiles on the floors, rather than wall tiles (better coefficient of friction).

Install a humidity sensing exhaust fan that automatically turns on and off, to better control humidity. Avoid tiles with rougher surfaces or odd patterns that will slow clean up.

Insure a well secured grab bar is installed (at least one-and no-they don't need to look like they belong in a home for the aged...). Metal towel bars or hooks are more popular, presently, unless you're seeking a period bathroom look. You have many options from Moen, Delta, Brizo, Newport Brass/Ginger, etc.