18 Walk-In Shower Ideas That Make a Splash
Looking for a spa-like setup? Tap into to this bathroom inspo—then just add water
When you’re a spa addict, there is nothing like creating a spa-like setup at home. That’s where these walk-in shower ideas come in. Not only is a glass-walled respite like this an idyllic place for some sudsy “me time,” but it also looks like you’ve resurrected a suite at your favorite resort in your very own domicile. But the perks aren’t just aesthetic. “Walk-in showers are easier to enter and exit than shower-tub combos, which force you to take a high step in a potentially slippery environment,” says Mitchell Parker, a senior editor at Houzz. Additionally, walk-in showers are typically filled with natural light and glass doors that “help lighten the look and feel of a space.” Read on for everything you need to know about walk-in shower ideas, whether you have a small bathroom or a spacious wet room.
Photo: Wendy Concannon1/18Opt for a bold color
“This shower really exemplifies how dreamy and moody a bathroom space in a dark color can be,” Philadelphia designer Mindy O’Connor says of this showstopping walk-in shower with equally deep grout. “The all-blue herringbone design evokes calm and feels just right for a relaxing water experience; a shower is a great place to go all-in for a color-immersive experience, as it surrounds you and is a contemplative—and yet still practical—space.”
Photo: Paige Rumore2/18Create a steam room
Love a white bathroom in your interior design? This steam shower is more akin to a wet room and has a shower door on either side “for easy access from her or his side of the primary bath,” Nashville-based designer Brad Ramsey says. Instead of standard-issue subway tiles or blah white tile, “The Calacatta marble is used in multiple shapes and sizes to make the space feel layered and interesting and not overly monolithic.” Ramsey adds that a true walk-in shower would not have a glass enclosure, “but since this is a steam shower as well, we needed to be able to close it off.”
Photo: Mike Davello3/18Play with texture
If Santa Fe is your ideal getaway, consider this color scheme for the walk-in shower design of your bathroom remodel. “The ability to add warmth and texture to a space by bringing in softness via the fabric is very impactful,” says Ginger Curtis of Dallas-based Urbanology Designs, which designed this walk-in shower. “We are going to really see them grow in popularity in 2024 and beyond. They provide a more spa-like atmosphere that people are really craving right now.” No glass panel required.
Photo: Matti Gresham4/18Try a curtain
If you think stand-up shower ideas all need to be white-on-white, think twice. This tile walk-in shower with a rarely seen color scheme offers a stylish rebuttal. “You don’t see a super curtain every day replacing a shower door,” Curtis says. We love the warm feel of this stunner, complete with an unexpected backsplash and color palette.
Photo: Jenna Peffley5/18Go retro
“This newly built bathroom allowed us to place a window for light and ventilation inside the shower,” says Julia Chasman of this 8-foot by 3.5-foot standing shower in Pasadena, where soft green vertical tiles echo the pastel pink in the rest of the bathroom. Plus, the “walk-in shower with a custom glass surround and door allows an ideal shower experience with no drafts and ample room for accessories in the wall niche.”
Photo: Shelby Bourne6/18Keep it simple
Clean lines sometimes look even better in shady hues, as you’ll see in the luxe walk-in shower in this modern bathroom. “Walk-in showers don’t necessarily have to be light and bright to make you feel like you are getting an escape from your day,” designer Mollie Ranize says. “For example, this dark and moody walk-in shower is the perfect place to sit back and decompress with the steam shower on.” One nonnegotiable for Ranize? Include “a niche or ledge to keep products organized and tidy.”
Photo: Dustin Halleck7/18Round the corners
We have overarching support (get it?) for this walk-in shower with a rainfall shower head by Devon Grace Interiors, thanks to its span of cinnamon-hued subway tile design overhead. The matching alcove for toiletries lends added interest.
Photo: Lance Gerber8/18Frame the view
Mosaic tile, a rainfall shower head, and an expansive glass wall overlooking the mountainscape make this Joshua Smith walk-in shower a showstopper. Adding to the “Spa-la-la” feel? The lush and manicured garden beyond the windows.
Photo: Aaron Dougherty9/18Emphasize juxtaposition
When herringbone floors juxtapose a horizontal expanse of wall tiles, like in this perfect example by Maestri Studio, the result is pure eye candy. Above the vanity, the orb of a mirror provides an unexpected counterbalance.
Photo: Jenifer McNeil Baker10/18Choose something sleek and sculptural
You may feel like you’re stepping into a hammam in this walk-in shower by Maestri Studio, thanks to its elongated built-in bench (an ideal spot to try a salt scrub). Inky black floors and bold veining in the white marble add visual interest to the shower experience.
Photo: Jenifer McNeil Baker11/18Add some pizzazz to a black-and-white palette
If literary child queen Eloise were reincarnated as a walk-in shower idea, she’d look something like this one by Maestri Studio: classic to the core, yet rawther sassy, thanks to the graphic tile floor. Instead of clear glass, frosted glass adds to the functionality of the shower enclosure.
Photo: Jenifer McNeil Baker12/18Add a window
Who needs a skylight? When you have privacy from an upper-floor roost, you can let a window in the wall provide daylight galore through the shower wall…even in a small bathroom. In this doorless walk-in shower by Maestri Studio, the bathroom floor has the elegance of an Escher lithograph.
Photo: Chipper Hatter13/18Bet on bold wallpaper
Walk-in showers often offer a “cleaner, more effortless look,” designer Corine Maggio says. “They also give the bathroom a more expansive feel since it’s more open, with less physical barriers.” This one she designed piles on the charm with exultant wallpaper, a colorful foil for the diminutive floor tiles, and wall paneling.
Photo: Carley Page Summers14/18Create a walk-in shower with a tub
A plaster shower designed by Maggio has a secret: It also doubles as a tub—a prescient move for parents who need a spot for bath time. “It’s an open shower/tub the whole family can fit in,” the designer says.
Photo: Julie Soefer15/18Wrap it all in tile
Some homeowners’ walk-in showers make a splash with wall-mounted fixtures and rainfall shower heads; this one does it with floor-to-ceiling tile that emulates natural stone. “The floors, walls, and ceiling are all clad in a porcelain tile that mimics real stone for a unified look, which will protect all surfaces from moisture-related issues that could happen with use,” says Benjamin Johnston, the Houston-based partner and creative director of his namesake design and architecture firm. “We chose the mosaic for the ceiling as it mirrored the floor and is lighter in actual weight than solid material.”
Photo: Julie Soefer16/18Outline the view
In this shower area designed by Johnston and his team, the creatives eschewed a standard shower curtain in favor of clear glass, staying in step with the bathroom’s sleek aesthetic. “The steel-and-glass shower enclosure was designed to complement the window; the geometric lines help to visually define the space from the rest of the bathroom,” he says of the striking surround. “We love bringing in a handsome shower frame when the design calls for it—in this space, we need some extra oomph, and it gave us the punch we were looking for.”
Photo: Joe Fletcher17/18Welcome the wilderness
Occasionally, you get very lucky with the placement of your shower room and find that you’re overlooking a literal postcard—with plenty of privacy, to boot. To craft the ultimate shower experience in this Orinda, California project, the team at Kate Martinez Design decided on a floor-to-ceiling glass wall to encourage “a sense of connection to nature, making even a small bathroom feel expansive,” says the firm’s operations director Annie Howard. “That said, it requires careful planning: You want high-performance glass to reduce condensation and to maintain insulation, as well as a layout that ensures the view feels intentional rather than exposed. Done well, it turns a functional space into a sanctuary.”
Photo: Sam Frost18/18Go for a fresh take on a classic
It’s very possible to whip up a combo aesthetic that combines the minimalist yearnings of a modern bathroom—such as a serene shower bench in the shower stall—with the classical ones that never go out of style, like a deep matte black soaking tub. “The floor is a classic black-and-white harlequin pattern, but done in richly veined marble and with the addition of a mid-tone gray to make the pattern feel fresh,” says Howard of this San Francisco residence. “Achieving this look requires high quality stone and a tile installer who can carefully lay out the pattern for symmetry and balance. It’s a bold design that gives the space a sense of history.”
Frequently asked questions
In a walk-in shower design (or indeed any primary bathroom’s ensuite wet room), floor tile choice is a matter of safety as well as aesthetics. “Individual walk-in shower floor tiles should be four inches or less in order to increase slip-resistance,” says Vern Yip, author of the new book Color Pattern Texture: The Foundation to Make Your Home Your Own. “The increased number of grout joints provides more traction. Smaller tiles also more easily conform to the slope of the underlying shower pan to support positive water drainage.”
Don’t forget to look for flooring with some texture or grip underfoot. “Polished tiles should be avoided on the floor,” Yip suggests. “They’ll generally be more slippery than a honed tile.” That’s true whether you’re going to DIY a tile shower or enlist a pro for a large scale bathroom renovation.
Just like humble bar soap—which ranges from dollar-store varieties to triple-milled French versions that can last you months—price options vary for walk-in shower projects. The team at Solis Betancourt & Sherrill says that $35,000 is a good general estimate, though others will quote you less. “Most of our walk-in showers start in the $13,000 range and include quality material and timeless plumbing fixtures,” Jaime Zehner of JZ Interiors says. As Parker points out, much of the discrepancy in pricing comes from the complexity and materials of the remodeled space. “The costs for a walk-in shower vary widely depending on materials and required plumbing work,” he says. “That said, bathroom designers on Houzz say the sleek lines and minimal styling of walk-in showers gives them a high-end luxe look that will boost any bathroom’s style credentials and potentially improve a home’s overall value.”
Besides being aesthetically pleasing, walk-in showers can also be beneficial for seniors. “A curbless or barrier-free entrance creates a mobility-friendly threshold that can accommodate a wheelchair if needed,” Parker says. “It can also make a space look sleeker and feel larger, especially when you run the same tile throughout. A curbless shower takes some extra construction planning—and budget—to slope the subfloor for proper draining, but it can be worth it.”
Though we’ve touched on some of the advantages of walk-in showers, consider some of the disadvantages to this type of bathroom fixture. Walk-in showers can sometimes feel drafty compared to glass-wall enclosed ones, “since there is not a door to hold in heat and steam,” designer Shannon Adamson says. (This can be minimized by installing in-floor heating in the shower.) Another thing to keep in mind: “If the shower is not carefully designed, spray from the shower head or hand shower may end up outside of the shower footprint, causing potential water damage issues.”
There is no one “right” size for your walk-in shower; however there are some dimensions that tend to work well. “The average size of walk-in showers measures at approximately 5 by 2.5 feet,” Zehner says. “But we typically like a little larger to allow for a shower bench.”
However, when showers are even roomier, they tend to feel more like your own private spa. Just ask Parker, who says Houzz has featured walk-in showers that measure five by eight feet. “These showers offer a serious opportunity to create a big design statement because they are tall elements that typically stand at the end of a narrow room, making them natural focal points.”
