It’s shower week here on homethangs, and today I want to talk a little bit about shower doors. Now, there are plenty of reasons you might prefer a shower curtain to a glass shower door, but if you want a sleek, sophisticated looking bathroom, and especially if you want your bathroom renovation to add value to your home, you really can’t beat shower doors for style – or as a long-term investment. Depending on the scope of your project, it can even be worth replacing your existing shower door to update your look.
Now, home improvement shows will show you huge, luxurious dream bathrooms that are tiled head to toe and outfitted with every designer perk you can imagine. And admittedly brands like Anzzi cater to magazine-quality bathrooms. Take their luscious Emperor Shower Door, done in polished chrome to add a slightly modern touch to a very ornate traditional bathroom. But even if you aren’t planning on building a bathroom suited for royalty, stylish shower doors can still have a big impact.
My personal favorite brand for sensible, stylish bathroom remodels is Vigo, for their sleek modern designs that are stunning in their simplicity. I personally love this Rectangular Shower Enclosure, which sits on a plain white pre-fab shower floor, but offers a spectacular, seamless glass finish that can keep your bathroom from feeling closed off and add a little more light to your shower. Plus, having a pre-made shower floor rather than elaborate tile or stonework can dramatically cut the cost of your remodel while still giving you a polished magazine-quality finish.
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That said, if you are doing a full tile job, frameless shower doors are practically made to show it off. The more elaborate your design (or materials) the more strongly you want to consider frameless shower doors like this Deacon model. Why? Seamless shower doors will show off your tile work to a T, of course, and ones that protrude into the center of your room will give your bathroom a huge, barrier-free feeling that can make even a very large shower less dominant in a big bathroom. Frameless shower doors are also one of the current “it” items for the bathroom. That means that if you decide to sell your home any time soon, not only will your bathroom show well, but you’ll also have a major design talking point that will indicate just how up to date your bathroom is.
More than that, of course, is the fact that showers with frameless doors are really nice to use. In a small, enclosed shower, short of installing water proof lighting, you’re going to want all the natural outside light you can get. So while having frameless shower doors in an enclosed shower might not give you the dramatic, wide-open feel a three-walled frameless shower enclosure, it will prevent a smaller shower from feeling closed off or – worse – extremely dark. Plus, a frameless shower door like this Chief Shower Door will leave your shower looking more like a nook or enclave, rather than something tucked away and hidden.
If you’re muttering to yourself about the luxury of having a separate shower space in the first place (and, boy, do I feel you!), shower doors can do wonders for a shower/tub combination, too. Whether you’re replacing an old shower curtain or even an existing shower door, the clean, clear glass of a brand new shower door can make your bathroom seem dramatic and clean in a way that textured or frosted glass or acrylic doors don’t. Of course, if privacy is an issue, there are textured versions of these doors, but personally I love the crisp, clean look of something like this Moselle model from Aston Global.
And if you just so happen to be replacing a shower curtain, not only will the difference be dramatic, but it’s also a project you can potentially do yourself. Most shower doors require professional (or at least experienced DIY) ability to install properly, but with a little looking, you can find ones that you can install yourself, often with nothing more than an alan wrench. That said, the more DIY-able your shower is to install, typically the more frame it’s going to have showing. And as a word of caution, if your DIY-ability is only so-so, and especially if your shower door recommends a professional installation (as this Keep Series door does), keep in mind that you’re working with very large, very heavy pieces of glass that need to be oriented very precisely… and which you definitely don’t want to drop or mis-handle!
If you’re looking for a fast and easy bathroom update, a new shower door or enclosure might be it – it’s a great way to make a huge difference in the appearance of your bathroom without too much time, effort, or money invested.
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