Tips for Expanding Your Shower
We spend a lot of time in our bathrooms, keeping fresh, getting clean, and relaxing. So, it’s only natural that we want things to look nice and stylish – and feel comfortable and welcoming.
You can’t beat enjoying a nice long shower after a hard day’s work! With so many hours spent in our bathrooms, you might want to upgrade your ordinary cubicle into something a bit bigger, inviting, and exciting.
But how can you expand a shower?
There are a few things to consider when expanding your shower into something more lavish and beautiful.
Here’s our list of important tips that will help make your shower expansion as easy as possible.
First up, do you have space to expand your shower?
How you expand your shower really depends on how much space you have inside your bathroom or ensuite. If you have a strict budget to stick to, or limited space, knocking down walls isn’t really an option.
When you’re planning your expansion, It’ll make your life so much easier if you can avoid moving supply lines – it’ll prevent having to pay for extensive plumbing work.
This will leave you with two options to expand:
- To expand from the showerhead
- To expand from the sidewall
Moving the shower doors or walls by a foot or so can make a huge impact on the amount of space in your shower. It doesn’t sound like much, but it’ll feel a lot better when you’re inside.
You can even get adventurous and upgrade your showering experience with a shower bench or new shower technologies.
Replacing your shower pan
One of the most critical parts about expanding your shower is replacing the shower pan. This is the raised floor area of your shower that collects the water and makes sure it goes down the drain with no issues.
If you’re looking to expand your shower, you’ll need to invest in a good shower pan. You can either choose a pre-existing shower pan (though this will greatly limit your sizing options) or get one custom-built for your ideal shower size (they can also be made for ADA compliant accessibility too).
You might have to move the drain in your bathroom to align it with your new shower pan, but this shouldn’t be a huge job – but it is crucial that it’s done correctly. If your shower pan isn’t installed right, it could lead to a lot of leaks and possible flooding.
How to make your shower feel bigger
There are a few ways you can help your shower seem bigger than it already is. To create the effect or illusion that your shower is bigger than it seems (even if you’ve just expanded it) consider trying out these four tips:
1. A new way to shower
By adding a rain shower head to your shower, you can give your shower that luxury touch. You can also add a unique sprayer to help with a more relaxing and calming wash. These two combined can turn your ordinary shower experience into something truly magical.
2. Seating
Seating isn’t just to help older or disabled folks shower safely; it’s also an option to add more relaxation into your showering experience. Consider adding a corner seat for smaller showers and a nice bench for larger showers. Not only does seating make your shower seem larger and luxurious, but it also gives you somewhere to relax after a long day’s work. A nice seat also provides a safe resting spot to place a foot to assist with grooming.
3. Strategic storage
Keep your shower space neat and tidy with some nook, niche, and alcove options recessed into the wall. By clearing your floor space of unwanted shampoo and conditioner bottles, you’re opening up your shower and creating more space for a relaxing wash. Check out our recent blog on bathroom storage tips!
4. Improve the lighting
Adding a new skylight, light tube, or even a glass block window can give the illusion that your bathroom is bigger than it seems. It also provides some wonderful mood lighting after a long day at work. You can get some ceiling cans that have waterproof light options too.
How to choose the right shower enclosure
Choosing the right enclosure for your shower is a key step in helping you create a larger and more spacious shower.
Here are 3 different types of enclosures that you can choose to make more room in your shower.
1. Glass wall panels
Glass wall enclosures can be cut to whatever size you want and provide you with a clear and open feeling while showering. You can also choose from pivot doors, sliding doors, panels, barn-door style, and even frameless options.
2. Glass blocks
Glass block shower walls are easy to clean, provide loads of open space thanks to the lack of a door, and are incredibly cost-effective.
3. No enclosure
It’s quite a common feature in Europe. They just don’t add an enclosure and instead have a one level wet room. The lack of an enclosure opens up your whole bathroom, providing you with lots of extra space.