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(Above) Leslie’s renovation with Sweeten resulted in a separate room for a full shower system including a steam shower, rain showerheads and jet sprays

Americans have become highly sophisticated about their renovation choices and preferences. And nowhere is this more evident than in the bath. Homeowners count on their bathrooms to help them rev up in the morning and wind down in the evening. Manufacturers now create elaborate shower systems that provide a luxurious shower experience. Here, Sweeten’s guide to modern shower systems outlines popular features and add-ons, with tips on adding one into your bathroom remodel plans.

Design to go with the flow

Let’s begin with the layout. Shower systems should be isolated, almost like a room, and shouldn’t be part of a tub. While it doesn’t have to be big enough to fit two, there should be enough footage to move around and extend your arms fully. Simple materials and clean lines deliver the best aesthetic to convey a feeling of serenity. This means frameless glass doors and a floor-level shower tray. (Bonus: It’s fully accessible!) A built-in bench, particularly if the shower is clad in stone, adds another luxurious touch. Make sure you assess your plumbing capacity to be sure it can supply sufficient volume pressure. Your water heater must also be ready if you include a steam shower or body jets. (These features often operate at the same time as the shower.) Ensure your contractor evaluates the drain so it evacuates all that water quickly. Next, you’ll want to plan your shower system features!

Luxury shower system options

Luxury shower systems in the home go way beyond simple showerheads, even one with diverse spray patterns. The typical luxury shower system is a combination of individual features that come as a unit in a panel, or those you choose individually. You’ll want a shower head with several spray patterns, a hand shower on a wall-mount slide bar, and several pairs of body jets (six to eight are common). This arrangement should come with a thermostatic diverter that controls the water temperature to a preset degree. This means you don’t have to fiddle with it each time you turn it on.

Shower panels

For a few hundred dollars, you can find an all-in-one shower panel at a box store such as Home Depot. (This is at least half of what you would spend on a shower system of individual components.) The panel includes a showerhead, two to eight body jets, and an adjustable hand shower. Advantageously, a shower panel provides quick installation at a price that fits most budgets. The disadvantage: the panel mounts to the wall, extending several inches into the shower space. If you want a sleeker look, you will need to go with individual components that recess into the wall. Either way, make sure that your plumbing provides sufficient water pressure for all the features to operate simultaneously. If not, your contractor should make adjustments before installation.

Rain shower heads

An increasingly popular type of luxury shower head is the rain shower head. Rain shower heads are preferred for the soothing effect that its name indicates. These luxury-type shower heads can be mounted to the wall and angled to drop directly down, or installed on the ceiling. Look for an extra-wide spray span, as much as 15 inches, and a choice of spray patterns, from gentle to drenching. Grohe and Appliances Connection also offer digital controls with their rain shower systems. These controls allow you to preset your favorite spray pattern with your preferred water temperature. You simply push a button to start your shower and enter your specific experience. Kohler developed a showering panel that simulates the varying sizes and angles of raindrops as they fall, for a fully sensory occurrence.

If you really want to splurge, you can get a shower panel installed in the ceiling that will shower you with several spray patterns simultaneously. This requires special framing for the ceiling, so you need to plan this feature before you start your renovation.

(Above) A rain showerhead in Andrew & Cory’s L.A. bathroom remodel with Sweeten

Body sprays

These components allow for water therapy that hits every inch of your body to soothe or stimulate. Surface-mounted or recessed, the sprays are typically installed in pairs. Pay careful attention to placement, particularly if people of varying heights will use the shower. Swivel body sprays can help for minor adjustments. The top-level jets target the shoulders, the middle, the waist or hips, and the lowest, the thighs or knees. Some jets pop out when in operation, then retract when the water is turned off. You can find these sprays in the classic faucet and showerhead finishes—chrome, nickel, bronze, polished or brushed—and in square or round shapes from most major manufacturers including American Standard, Kohler, Hansgrohe, Grohe, Delta, and Appliances Connection.

Steam

Technological advances have made it possible to bring the coveted spa experience of steam into modern homes. The operation appears simple: steam is emitted by heads installed on the shower wall, and operated by a control pad programmed for temperature and session length. However, you will need to plan with your contractor to allow for several precautions. Don’t forget: steam showers generate more moisture and heat than a regular shower. As a result, your contractor will first install vapor proofing material to prevent water vapor from seeping through the walls. The shower door should be airtight, too, so water doesn’t escape to create mildew on wallpaper and paint. The ceiling should be curved so that condensed vapor droplets run down the walls, instead of dripping on you.

For operation, a steam shower requires a generator and a ventilation unit. Both of these features are concealed from sight. Accordingly, your contractor can help you to determine the best, most effective placement for each. Alternatively, you can buy a stand-alone steam shower, complete with rain shower, hand shower, massage jets, whirlpool tub, steam generator, and LED lighting. Companies that specialize in steam showers, as well as major manufacturers like Kohler or Appliances Connection, offer many choices. If you don’t want to go the custom route, a two-person unit will cost you about $2,000. If you are creating a custom steam shower, expect your costs to double, to about $4,000. For either route: work with a contractor to ensure properly-installed plumbing and electricity.

(Above) A steam shower system in Ilene and Neil’s West Village home remodel with Sweeten

Seating for shower systems

When planning to introduce a steam shower to your bathroom, plan for it to be big enough for at least two people to use. Also, allow footage for a bench for lounging and even reclining.

Chromotherapy

We know that humans crave the healing power of light based on our innate need for sunlight and full-spectrum light in wintertime. You can isolate the individual colors that make up full-spectrum for healing effects in the bath. This is called chromotherapy. You’ll want at least four lights installed in your shower ceiling for even illumination. You can find LED versions in primary colors, and connect them to a separate switch in the shower. Amazon sells chromotherapy bulbs in seven colors—orange, red, blue, aqua, indigo, green, and yellow. You can change them at will, or set them to cycle through all the colors. Make sure your contractor adds a dimming capability. You can also choose a chromotherapy package made to go with a tub or steam shower enclosure from a manufacturer.

Adding music to your shower system

Once upon a time, you set your radio on the counter to listen to news and music. Kohler is among a handful of manufacturers that lets you bring music right into the shower. They offer a shower head with a wireless speaker that you can connect to your phone with Bluetooth® technology. The speaker docks in the center of the showerhead when in use, and is removable for recharging the battery, which lasts up to seven hours. The showerhead is available as a wall-mount or rain shower. Grohe also makes a rechargeable wireless speaker that attaches to the slide bar of the hand shower. For under $100, you can opt for wireless Bluetooth® speakers, compatible with most smartphones, that attach to the wall by suction cups.

When it comes to the bathroom, it makes sense that your shower should provide the personalized experience you seek. By adding one or all of the features described above, you can luxuriate in your favorite spa rituals every day without leaving home.

Curious to learn more? See how Sweeten helps make dream bathroom renovations a reality.

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Find out which types of professionals you may need for your bathroom remodel, from architects to designers and contractors.

Bathroom storage is often scarce, but it doesn’t have to be. We’ve got bathroom storage ideas for every nook and cranny of your bath.

Sweeten handpicks the best general contractors to match each project’s location, budget, and scope, helping until project completion. Follow the blog for renovation ideas and inspiration and when you’re ready to renovate, start your renovation on Sweeten.

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Laura and Matthew’s double drawer wall-hung vanity

With all the fixtures taking up space in the bathroom—sinks, toilet, plus tub or shower—it can be hard to also fit sufficient storage. The vanity alone is rarely enough. And if your space is traditional, with a pedestal sink, the need is greater. However, with smart planning that addresses all the tasks in the bath, you can find the best bathroom storage solutions.

Sweeten matches home renovation projects with vetted general contractors, offering guidance, tools, and support—for free.

Planning your space

First, figure out where the fixtures will go. If you’re remodeling, you need to decide if everything stays put or if something moves. Evaluate the floor and wall space to find areas for storage—bathroom cabinets, shelves, or freestanding pieces like furniture.

Bathroom vanity

Once a simple box with doors and drawers for storing toiletries, the vanity has expanded its capabilities. Manufacturers like Appliances Connection and Appliances Connection have introduced built-in internal storage compartments that corral items small, medium and large, while still remaining in arm’s reach. Look for helpful add-ons like electrical outlets, adjustable shelves, and rollout trays. For existing vanities, small acrylic trays and storage boxes at the Container Store fit a variety of drawer dimensions. If the bathroom is shared, and you have room for twin vanities instead of one large one, go for it! This allows each occupant to organize the space exactly as he or she wishes. You can identify the type of vanity you want from among the following styles:

*Floating – This style, attached to the wall, keeps the floor clear for an open look. You can find models from manufacturers like Decorá that include at least one drawer under the sink. Expect a small cutout in the middle of the top drawer to clear the plumbing pipes, and still allow room on the left and right.

*Freestanding – The advantage here is the vanity can be moved, with little impact on the wall behind it. It typically goes countertop to floor so there’s more square footage for storage and more door-and-drawer combos. Appliances Connection makes vanities with integrated sinks and storage below starting as narrow as 19 inches wide, good to fit twin sets in a small bath. Console styles closely resemble furniture, with shapely legs below the cabinet to create an open effect, and usually incorporate a shelf near the bottom.

Built-in cabinets

This might be custom cabinetry, similar to what you would order for the kitchen, and from many of the same manufacturers. Or it might be bespoke, crafted by a carpenter. Because the unit is built into a wall, it can be as large and long as you want. It also allows the addition of matching units above the counter, on either side of the sink, or between double sinks. You get lots of opportunities to vary door, drawer, and open shelf combos above and below the counter. KraftMaid makes a narrow pullout unit with shelves, much like a pantry, to make use of a narrow vertical space. Consider upper cabinets with glass doors as bathroom storage for towels and pretty toiletries in a spa-like display.

Freestanding cabinets

Similar to kitchen solutions, you can add a cabinet or an open case fitted with shelves in any free space in the bath. Make sure there is clearance for any activity taking place nearby. The advantage here is that the shelves can be adjusted when you wish—to hold a hamper or bath towels on a lower shelf, and smaller personal care items at arm level. Another alternative: a shelf that is not a shelf, such as an étagère—an open-back shelving unit—or one side of a ladder. These repurposed bathroom storage ideas can be found at resale shops or some furniture stores that make small decorative furniture for the bath.

Built-in shelves

Shelves maximize vertical space anywhere there is an open wall space with studs that provide support for attaching the units. Find a place for shelves adjacent to a sink, between sinks, or flanking sinks, above a toilet tank, high up around the perimeter of the ceiling, on a wall a foot or so from the shower, or even a shallow ledge above the vanity. In addition to shelves that match a manufacturer’s vanity collection, options include a wide selection of widths and depths or you can have a carpenter craft shelves to exact specifications. As with vanities, they come in a variety of styles.

The most versatile, these shelves go anywhere there is sufficient support to attach them: above the toilet, between sinks or flanking sinks, high up around the perimeter of the ceiling, or even a shallow ledge above the vanity.

Melina and Fabio’s gold and marble floating shelves

Medicine cabinets

Why go for a simple mirror when you can capture storage above the sink too? You have two options for storage here, with medicine cabinets that recess into a wall or mount on the wall, each with the traditional mirrored door that opens out.

*Recessed – Placed in the shallow wall space between studs, this style comes in versions from 4 to 8 inches deep—big enough to stow rolls of toilet paper. Kohler offers one for less than $100. Robern adds options with one, two, or three doors as well as electrical outlets for added organization and versatility.

*Wall mount – If you mount the cabinet on the surface of the wall, check out Decorá, which makes a model with storage shelves that slide out from either side, disappearing when not in use.

Maria and Eric’s built-in niche

Built-in niche

This type of shelf is located in a recessed area, such as between studs or even between two cabinets. Built-ins also work on a smaller scale in the shower, in the form of a niche for shampoos and soaps. In the wall above the tub, you can go larger and perhaps fit a couple shelves for a practical display of bath salts and liquid soaps. For visual interest, insert mirrored panels or beadboard on the back surfaces of the niches, or paint them a contrasting color.

Furniture

In addition to the small decorative pieces described above, it can be fun to introduce a vintage dresser or bookcase, if you have the room. Use the top to display personal items as well as toiletries. Drawers hold towels, small appliances like a hair dryer or electric razor.

Solve your bathroom storage with some of the suggestions described above, and begin to enjoy the serene space you deserve.

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We love Brian’s travel-inspired take on classic bathroom storage; check out his antique basin table and custom red balau wood medicine cabinet.

Sweeten handpicks the best general contractors to match each project’s location, budget, and scope, helping until project completion. Follow the blog for renovation ideas and inspiration and when you’re ready to renovate, start your renovation on Sweeten.

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