Designing the Perfect Shower Niche

If you have bottles of shampoo and conditioner sitting on the shower floor, then a shower niche might be the solution you’re looking for.  I have one of those shower caddies that hooks over the shower rose, but it’s not an ideal solution.  As we are about to renovate our ensuite it’s the perfect time to design the perfect shower niche.

Image: Marble shower niche from Milton Developments

What is a Shower Niche?

A shower niche is a neat and tidy way to store your bathroom products  by creating a shelf n your shower wall.  A shower niche is a shelf built into the wall cavity, usually between the wall studs.  It can be square, vertical or horizontal and contain one or a number of shelves.  It is usually waterproofed and tiled in the same way as the rest of the shower.

Image- Geddes Ulinskas Architects

What Do You Need to Store in Your Shower Niche?

To design the perfect size shower niche, first decide exactly what you need to store in the shower:

• Bottles of hair products – shampoo, conditioner, hair treatments
• Soap – a bar of soap or a liquid body wash, facial wash and scrubs
• Shaving equipment
• Other items such as a mirror, hair comb, exfoliating mitt, squeegee for the shower screen

Once you know what you need to store, you can work out how big you need your shower niche to be and how much shelf space you will need to accommodate your shower toiletries.

Image – No Glitter No Glory Bathroom Renovation

Here are some ideas for designing your shower niche:

Square Shower Niche

A simple design is just to create one or two square niches in the wall.  Great for his and her shower niches.

Images Top left –   HGTV  |   Top right – This Old House  |   Bottom left – Lush Home    |   Bottom right – Style Carrot

Vertical Shower Niche

If you need more storage consider a vertical shower niche with multiple shelves.  Having a low shelf is great for the kids, or you can use the lowest shelf as a foot rest for washing or shaving.

Images Left – Better Homes & Gardens   |   Middle –  JShirley Photos   |   Right – Golden Boys & Me

Horizontal Shower Niche

A horizontal shower niche creates clean lines in the shower and is great to use on half walls.

Images – Top left – Home Design etc   |   Top right –  Tops Tiles   |    Bottom left – Exquisite Surfaces   |   Bottom right – Bo Bedre

Other Design Tips

• Line the shelves with marble, stone or another solid surface rather than tiles so you don’t have to clean soap scum from the grout lines.
• Frame the niche with a tile or stone edge
• Use a contrasting style of tile inside the shower niche to make the niche a feature.
• Height of niche – Place the shower niche at a convenient height for you to reach your toiletries.  Somewhere between chest height and eye level is a good guide.
• Decide which wall is best to build your niche in.  Try to position the niche so that water from the shower rose does not directly hit the niche.

Contrasting tile shower niche from Subway Tile Outlet 

You will need to design your shower niche before the builder starts work on your shower as it must be built in the very early stages, before waterproofing and tiling.

Your builder can custom make your niche or pre-manufactured ready-to-tile shower niches can also by purchased from Ripple Systems and other bathroom supply companies and simply installed into your shower.

Image – Wanda Ely Architect

Do you have a shower niche?  Are you happy with it or would you design it differently next time?

I'm Kylie, and I love to share practical home decorating and styling tips. I'm a qualified interior designer and self taught crafter and DIY'er. I'm addicted to decorating, and can't walk past a homewares shop without going in for a look. I live in a 1930's Queenslander in Brisbane's inner suburbs which I'm turning into a home one project at a time.