Open Shower Design
Bathroom Design with Universal Appeal
Whether designing a bathroom with universal design, or simply trying to create the most modern appearance possible in the bathroom, open showers can lend a lot to the bathroom design. Eliminating the need for a shower door or curtain, while allowing the floor to flow seamlessly into the room, open showers add beauty and function to the space.
Elements of an Open Shower
By definition, an open shower is any style of shower that remains open to the rest of the room, with no glass, curb, or curtain separating the space. This means that the floor of the bathroom should continue straight into the shower, making for a seamless look.
Since a shower floor needs to accommodate the pitch of the drain, mosaic tiles of 2” or smaller are frequently used. This design element also serves the secondary purpose of creating a non skid surface for the bather to stand on, as the multiple grout lines of mosaic tiles help grip the feet.
If creating a barrier free shower, with no threshold, either a mosaic tile floor will need to be used through the entire bathroom, or the bathroom floor design should move in progressively smaller tiles toward the shower, ending with mosaic at the point where the floor begins to pitch.
Open Shower Designs
There are many ways to create an open shower. This can be done by creating a separate room, or compartment for the shower to reside in, with an open door way leading to the rest of the space, if the bathroom is large enough. This method works particularly well if using performance showering, as the full walls can accommodate multiple water sources.
Half walls can be built to section off the shower from the rest of the bathroom, while keeping the tops open for an airy feel in a European style bathroom. This method can give the feel of an open shower, while still giving some containment to the water. Smaller bathrooms can still create an open shower by simply positioning the water flow at the greatest distance from the other bathroom fixtures, and utilizing the same wall and floor tiles throughout the space.
Since the open shower can typically be seen from anywhere in the bathroom, it makes sense to include design elements in the wall tile. An accent wall made from whichever wall is facing out into the rest of the bathroom can be made by framing the wall with a large tile around the edges, and filling in the center with decorative or mosaic tiles. A spa style bathroom may have river rocks running down the back of an accent wall, over the floor of the shower and then out into the rest of the bathroom. Glass tiles in a large size can be used on the shower walls, while mosaics of the same glass cover the bathroom floor.
Shower Heads and Water Sources in an Open Shower
To help contain water in an open shower, it’s important to position the water sources correctly. Try using a ceiling mount shower head, or shower head tiles in two or three areas of the shower, to create a rain effect that will not spray water into the room.
If using body sprays, or multiple water surfaces, try to position them on a side wall, away from bathroom fixtures; do not point them directly at the opening of the shower, unless the bathroom is of a large enough size that the shower is positioned far away from the other elements.
If necessary, a splash guard, or a fixed panel of glass can be placed in front of the sprays. The rest of the shower would remain open, but the glass panel would help to contain water that might otherwise escape.
Open showers can go a long way toward making a modern, European or spa style bathroom complete. Consider their use when planning a bathroom design, and open up the area and the design, today.
A European Style Shower
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