It's really a matter of preference. I think ledges work best in minimalist modern applications, like your first photo. Personally, I like niches because I like to do contrast tile on the inside of the niche to break things up.

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I have only done niches. That said, I didn’t vote because I like your idea of a ledge.

Personal taste.

I'm trying to make the same decision so am looking forward to other comments. My husband fell in love with this picture - think the lights did it for him!

In my previous house I did fancy tiled niches. In my current house I wanted to simplify thing so I used shower baskets. Neither is right or wrong, just different choices.

My shower baskets are placed behind a wing or pony wall, so not visible when you look into the shower. I like not being able to see the "stuff" in a shower. These are from Kartners and they come in different styles, sizes and finishes. Easy to install and very easy to keep clean.

I too decided against a niche or ledge and did a Kartner's corner ledge/tray. I love that mine detaches from the wall for cleaning and hides my products more thn an open niche.

I have grab bars with integrated shelves. If I hadn't wanted the grab bar situation, I definitely would have used a shelf as you show in your photo, as I think it looks simpler and cleans up easier. Having fought shower mold for years, I don't want any corners that are hard to clean.

I did both. The ledge is lower for a foot rest for leg shaving and I have shampoo and conditioner bottles on it. Niche has DH shampoo, face wash and body wash. My shower is not huge.

I have found niches difficult to keep clean - the bottoms stays wet. A ledge on the other hand dries quickly.

I prefer a ledge

a niche, with a contrasting tile looks messy, once you introduce the variety of products

I have a niche, done in same tile as my shower walls. Haven’t had any issue with cleaning it or with water pooling inside it. I do like the shelves you showed too, though. If you opt for a niche I suggest making sure it’s tall. I believe ours is 18” tall so no problem fitting larger bottles.

I prefer ledges for cleaning purposes!

We have a niche in our bathroom and a shelf at the end of the tub in the kids' bathroom. I like them both, but functionally, I like the shelf better. You can fit more things, and there's no tippy-toes trying to reach the top shelf of the niche. ;)

I prefer the ledge. No size restrictions. It's open. You can do a different tile above it in a larger scale. It's fresh and new. I'm tired of niches.

Although Pat's picture above with the tall niche and the lights does give the feeling and benefits of the ledge since it is open and goes across the whole shower wall.

I also like this idea of a niche

Good luck!

Ledges are easier to clean. Functionally the same, though.

The ledge is just adding a pony wall to the space against a wall, and tiling over the whole thing. If you have a small shower you lose about 4 1/2" with a ledge vs a niche that is inset into the existing wall. If the existing wall is load bearing, or exterior, you run into more construction issues for a niche than you will if it's an interior wall.

As a whole, with as large as showers are getting, the ledge makes more sense, because it reduces the overlay large spaces somewhat.

No real preference abut a ledge in the shower as opposed to a niche but one poster above mentioned having grabbars in their shower. That is an excellent idea at least in a master. As people age they need the extra stability afforded by grabbars.

Many times niches are never detailed (waterproofed) properly, so that is another thing to consider.

Whichever you choose, remember the devil is in the details:

- It's best if your ledge or niche is slightly angled forward, allowing water to drip off into the shower /not just sit.

- If you plan to use pretty tile as an accent inside a niche, consider that you're going to cover it up with toiletry products.

- Note, note, note that the pictures presented here (and all over the internet) show carefully staged showers with few toiletries. None of them ever show the big purple squirt-bottle top (and similar) that I currently have in my own shower. Unless you're dedicated to decanting your toiletries into pretty bottles, it's best to position your in-shower storage so it's hidden from view. Inside a pony wall?

- Consider going with a shower curtain: it covers up less-than-lovely shower items, it adds color and pattern, and it's easier to keep clean than a glass door.

Neither. I love corner shelves.

I’m getting both in my master shower. I specifically requested a ledge and you wouldn’t believe how difficult it was to explain this simple thing to my builder. So frustrating. Anyway, we went to look at progress a few weeks ago and along with the ledge, they had added a niche below it which I didn’t want but my husband liked it so we’re keeping it. So, now we have both in the master shower. I’m absolutely not doing an accent tile, though. I’ve had it with tile decision-making. The niche will be the same as the rest of the shower walls. I just hope it’s not a b*tch to keep clean. Ugh.

My plan didn’t call for niches in any of the other bathrooms but we noticed they put them in anyway. I wan’t thrilled about it but I’m not going to delay things further to have them removed. The tile inside them will be done like the master shower - the same as the surrounding walls.

The ledge definitely gets my vote. The extra 5 inch space along the shower back wall is a spacious feel from the viewpoint of a standing person.

I prefer a niche. With the limited size it's easier to hem in products. A continuous ledge provides a lot more space and IMO it wouldn't take long for a shower to start looking junky.